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.
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.
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.
Vegetables: Well-cooked vegetables; canned vegetables without seeds; green or wax beans; lima beans; carrots; spinach; pumpkin; asparagus tips; lettuce; potatoes without their skins. Fruits: Peeled apple; ripe bananas and melons; canned, pureed, and soft fruits.
Foods allowed:
Canned or cooked fruit without skins or seeds (peaches, pears, apricots, apples) Applesauce. Banana.
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.
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.
OK to eat:
Hot chocolate. Buttermilk. Cheese, including cottage cheese. Yogurt.
1 Day Before Your Colonoscopy (Prep Day)
Examples of a light breakfast are: eggs, soup or broth with noodles (no meat or vegetables), white crackers, white rice, white potatoes, white bread, Boost® or Ensure®. At 10:00 am, begin a clear liquid diet. Do not eat anything solid. No red, orange or purple products.
A few days before the colonoscopy procedure — Start eating a low-fiber diet: no whole grains, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, or raw fruits or vegetables. The day before the colonoscopy procedure — Don't eat solid foods.
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.
How long does it take a colonoscopy prep to clear bowels completely? It can take 12 to 16 hours for the bowels to completely clear. Eating a low-residue, soft diet for a day or more before starting the prep can help make it easier and faster.
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.
Clear Liquids
The clear liquid diet may be prescribed for a few days prior to procedures or surgery on the colon. This diet includes all liquid (or liquid at room temperature, like gelatin) foods that you can easily see through.
NO tough meat with gristle
Two days before, continue eating only low-fiber foods. See the clear liquid chart for the day before, and day of, your colonoscopy.
You may have low residue breakfast only. Low residue breakfast foods include eggs, white bread, cottage cheese, yogurt, grits, coffee, and tea. You may have clear liquids. Do not drink milk or eat or drink anything colored red or purple.
1. Can I Have Chocolate Before a Colonoscopy? Leading up to your colonoscopy, yes, you can have chocolate! It is recommended that you follow a low-fiber diet (simply put, stay away from foods that can't be digested as easily, such as fiber, seeds, or nuts, for example) for two to three days before your colonoscopy.
These foods contain insoluble fiber, which can make it harder for the bowels to be fully clean before the scope goes inside. Other high-fiber foods you should avoid include beans, whole grains and cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts — but remember these changes are temporary.
Don't eat these foods
Avocado, mushrooms Beans, nuts, peas, lentils – all other vegetables including salads. Fish, chicken, tofu, eggs, oils Red meats, processed meats; ham, sausage.
Two to Three Days before Your Colonoscopy
This means that you cannot eat: Whole grains: Including brown rice, whole grain breads and cereals, and high-fiber cereals and muffins.
You can help the cleansing process by eating light 3 or 4 days before the procedure. Doctors recommend low-fiber foods that are easy to digest and leave your system quickly. You can have: White bread, pasta, and rice.