Do not eat foods containing fibre. This is found in fruit, vegetables, pulses and grains, such as wholemeal bread and cereals.
Three days prior to your procedure, please eat low fiber foods: Do not eat any nuts or seeds (including those in pickles, tomatoes, fruit, etc.). Do not eat high-grain/ high-fiber bread, rolls, pasta, crackers or cereal with nuts or seeds. This includes granola, raisin bran and oatmeal.
Low residue breakfast foods include eggs, white bread, cottage cheese, yogurt, grits, coffee, and tea. You may have clear liquids.
The biggest culprits that will show up in a colonoscopy and obscure our view are foods like nuts, seeds and high-fiber cereals. You also want to avoid granola, coconut, dried fruit and fresh fruit with the skin on, like apples and pears, or fruit with seeds, like strawberries and raspberries.
A few days before the colonoscopy procedure you should start eating a low-fibre (low residue) diet: no wholegrains, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, or raw fruits or vegetables. Fruit juices, white bread, refined breakfast cereals, meat and dairy foods are allowed.
You will usually be asked to avoid eating all solid foods the day before your colonoscopy, including eggs. However in the week preceding your colonoscopy, you can eat eggs.
Foods allowed:
Canned or cooked fruit without skins or seeds (peaches, pears, apricots, apples) Applesauce. Banana.
Two Days Before Your Appointment
Drink at least eight glasses of water today. STOP eating high-fiber foods such as vegetables and beans until after your colonoscopy. You can eat all other types of foods today.
Have a light breakfast, such as boiled egg on toast (white bread), no later than 9am. After breakfast, do not eat any solid food until after your test. Drink clear fluids only today.
One day before your colonoscopy
☐ Eat breakfast — clear liquids only, no solid food. ☐ Eat lunch — clear liquids only, no solid food. ☐ Eat dinner — clear liquids only, no solid food. ☐ Take your bowel prep in the evening as instructed.
You can still have smooth soups with no bits (e.g. tomato, vegetable Bouillon), jelly, ice cream, Ambrosia custard, Complan drinks, Bovril and Oxo drinks, and water, clear juices, fizzy drinks, coffee and tea.
A: It is normal to feel hungry whilst preparing for a colonoscopy, particularly in the liquid-only stage. It is important to follow the food intake plan in order to ensure that the prep is effective. Drinking sodas with a high sugar content can help to keep feelings of hunger at a minimum during this stage.
The day before the colonoscopy procedure — Don't eat solid foods. Instead, consume only clear liquids like clear broth or bouillon, black coffee or tea, clear juice (apple, white grape), clear soft drinks or sports drinks, Jell-O, popsicles, etc.
For Breakfast You may have a light breakfast consisting of plain or vanilla yogurt, 2 slices of dry or buttered toast, coffee or tea (with a little cream or milk) and clear liquids. After Breakfast Start on a clear liquid diet. Clear liquids are those you can “see through”. NOTE: CLEAR LIQUIDS ONLY.
Background. Colonoscopies performed in the afternoon (PM) have been shown to have lower adenoma detection rates (ADR) compared to those in the morning (AM). Endoscopist fatigue has been suggested as a possible reason. Colonoscopies tend to be technically more challenging in female patients.
What if I've taken all my preparation and am still passing solid stool on the day of my exam? In this case, your procedure will need to be rescheduled. You may be prescribed a different preparation for your next procedure. Please call the triage nurse to reschedule your procedure with a different preparation.
Three days before your colonoscopy, eat only low-fiber foods listed below. Two days before, continue eating only low-fiber foods. See the clear liquid chart for the day before, and day of, your colonoscopy.
Avoid products containing Olestra (a fat substitute found in some fat-free and low-fat foods) for one week. A few examples of foods you may eat are dairy products, meats, poultry, fish, pasta, white rice, white bread, eggs, mashed potatoes, cooked carrots or squash. *** Take NO SOLID FOODS – CLEAR LIQUIDS ONLY.
OK to eat:
Hot chocolate. Buttermilk. Cheese, including cottage cheese. Yogurt.
Foods that you may eat include:
Cooked fresh/canned vegetables and vegetables without seeds including asparagus, beets, carrots, mushrooms, green beans, potatoes without skin. Bananas, soft cantaloupe, honeydew, avocado.
Will I be up all night with colonoscopy prep? Probably not, if you start on time. While everyone's body is different, most people are able to complete their round of purging before going to sleep for the night.