ABC Medical Center > Tipos de dieta > Clear liquid diet

Clear liquid diet

9:42 - 12 April , 2022

It is a diet based on clear (or translucent) liquids and liquid foods at room temperature. This type of diet consists of providing fluids, electrolytes, and energy (400 to 600 Kcal/day) in the form of easily digestible simple sugars and minimal intestinal residue until the patient can eat solid food. Clear liquids are easily digested (broken into very small portions) and do not put pressure on the stomach or intestine. A clear liquid diet may be necessary before certain tests or surgery to ensure that the digestive tract (the pathway that food follows through the body when digested) is empty. It may also be required in case of short-term acute diarrhea, after stomach or intestine surgery (small or large), or if you have problems with solid food. This diet should not be used for more than 48 hours. A supplementary diet should be chosen (residue-free, elemental, enteral, or parenteral) if it is necessary to continue with one that has the same characteristics.

Foods offered at ABC Medical Center as part of a Clear liquid diet*

  • Diluted apple juice.
  • Diluted natural apple juice.
  • Diluted pear juice.
  • Diluted grape juice.
  • Gatorade®.
  • Jello with or without sugar.
  • Flavored water.
  • Fat-free soup.
  • Sorbets (lemon or orange).
  • Infusions (chamomile, lemon, mint).

*Always subject to the doctor’s instructions.
Only the doctor or nutritionist can authorize any of these foods.

Example menu*:

Breakfast:

  • Strawberry jello.
  • Diluted apple juice.
  • Chamomile tea
Lunch:
  • Fat-free soup.
  • Diluted apple juice.
  • Lemon jello.
  • Peppermint tea.
Dinner:
  • Fat-free soup.
  • Diluted grape juice.
  • Pineapple jello.
  • Flavored water.
  • Lemon tea.
Note: It is important to clarify that not all patients with a clear liquid prescription can have all the aforementioned foods, in many cases it will depend on the condition or the doctor’s instructions.