Eating Well After Your Transplant

As someone with an organ transplant, there are certain eating and dietary guidelines to follow to help keep you and your new organ healthy. In particular, you'll need:

• More calcium for strong bones
• Less salty food to control blood pressure
• Less sugar to control blood sugar and weight
• Less cholesterol and saturated fats to reduce your risk of heart disease
• No grapefruit / grapefruit juice if you take Cyclosporine (Neoral®), Tacrolimus (Prograf®), or Sirolimus (Rapamune®)
• Food that is prepared and stored in a safe way

What Is Healthy Eating?

Eating foods that give you vitamins, minerals, protein and calories is healthy eating. These will help your body to heal.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has created a new "food pyramid" that focuses on increased fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and less fats.

You can even see what they suggest as a reasonable diet for you, and then show it to your dietician who will be able to modify to suit your specific needs.

Increase Your Calcium

Steroids can weaken your bones.  Eating more calcium (such as from dairy products) can help protect your bones. Eat at least 3 servings of high calcium foods per day. Foods with calcium include:

• 1% low-fat or skim milk (8 oz. = 1 serving)
• Low fat cheese (1 oz. = 1 serving)
• Juice with calcium added (8 oz. = 1 serving)

Decrease Your Salt Intake

Salt, fluid and some drugs may cause your body to hold fluid.  Too much fluid in your body can raise your blood pressure.

• Avoid table salt.
• Avoid foods with visible salt (such as chips or crackers).
• Eat less processed foods (such as cold cuts, sausages, pickles, hot dogs,packaged macaroni & cheese, rice mixes, and canned foods).

Use Less Sugar

Too much sugar in your blood is not good for you -- and some drugs you need to take after your transplant can raise your blood sugar.  Eat fewer sweets to help keep your blood sugar normal and control your weight. To do this, consier:

• Replacing candy, pastries and desserts with fresh or dried fruits
• Replacing sugary drinks, including fruit juices and soda, with calorie-free beverages and water

Eat Cholesterol-Friendly Foods

Your blood cholesterol may be high due to the drugs you now take.  High cholesterol can increase the risk of heart disease.  Your doctor will check your cholesterol level.

You can help control your cholesterol by

• Eating foods low in saturated fat, such as baked, broiled, or poached seafood, chicken or turkey.
• Substituting skim or low-fat milk for whole milk.
• Using a butter-type spray or soft tub margarine instead of butter or using small amounts of canola and olive oil.
• Limiting the amount of beef, lamb, pork, cold cuts, sausage, bacon, liver and cheese.

Food Safety

You need to prepare and store food in a safe way to prevent infection from germs since the drugs you take can make it hard for your body to fight germs. 

• Wash your hands with soap and hot water before handling food and before eating. 
• Thaw all foods in a refrigerator or microwave.
• Wash all fresh fruits and vegetables with cool running water.
• All canned fruits and vegetables are safe to eat but you may need to avoid some of them if they are too sweet or have salt in them.
• Use a separate cutting board for raw meats, chicken, turkey, fish and other seafood.
• Cook beef, chicken, turkey, fish, seafood and eggs until well done. 
• Do not eat a runny egg or egg yolk.
• Avoid sushi, raw oysters and raw eggs in any form (e.g. cookie dough, cake batter, salad dressing, eggnog, etc.)
• Refrigerate foods promptly.  Use shallow dishes to cool food quickly to 40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder.
• Unpack store-bought foods right away – do not leave foods in a hot car, direct sunlight, or on a counter for a long time.
• When eating out do not eat salad bar foods.
• Do not eat out in places that do not seem clean.
• Use a paper towel or clean dishcloth.  Do not use a towel that smells bad.
• When eating out do not eat:  salad bar foods.
• Do not eat out in places that do not seem clean.
• Use a paper towel or clean dishcloth.  Do not use a towel that smells bad.

For more patient information, explore the links below.

• Post-transplant
• At Home
• Medications

• Eating Well
• Sexuality
• Clinic Visits

• Infections
• Support
• Contact Us