Empowered Explant

Protein to Boost Surgery Recovery and 5 Simple Ways to Get More of It

May 29, 2024 • Darnah Mercieca • Season 3 • Episode 52

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Can prioritizing protein support your explant surgery recovery? Uncover this and more as I guide you through the essential role of protein in surgery preparation and healing in this episode of Empowered Explant. To help you feel confident on your healing journey, I explain the science behind protein's critical contributions to wound healing, immune support, and hormone regulation. You'll learn practical tips to consume a sufficient intake of high-quality protein from diverse sources, including plant-based options. 

Feeling empowered through knowledge is a game-changer in your recovery. Explore actionable steps to take charge of your health, from maintaining a balanced diet to understanding how dietary choices impact your healing. For those seeking additional support, I encourage reaching out via my website or email.

Don't forget to share these valuable tips with other breasties in explant groups and communities! Let’s help each other explant strong and recover fast!

Links and resources:

  1. Explant Surgery Protein Planner
    protein.empoweredexplant.com

  2. Healing Super Smoothies Guide
    smoothies.empoweredexplant.com

  3. Empowered Explant Website Resources
    www.empoweredexplant.com/resources

  4. For coaching and support before or after surgery, email me!
    darnah@empoweredexplant.com

Scientific sources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8970868/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12070399/#:~:text=Protein%20deficiency%20has%20been%20demonstrated,with%20a%20high%20protein%20diet.
https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=abs1199&lang=en-ca#:~:text=for%20Wound%20Healing-,Overview,amount%20of%20protein%20you%20need.

Please help us be heard and raise awareness:

  1. Subscribe to the show
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Let's connect!

Join the Empowered Explant Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/empoweredexplant

Connect with Darnah on Instagram: @darnahmercieca

Interviews and sponsorships email: podcast@empoweredexplant.com

Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/ilya-kuznetsov/anticipation

Disclaimer: This podcast does not constitute medical or mental health advice. Darnah is not a medical practitioner. She shares from personal experience, research, and conversations with other people. If you are experiencing symptoms, pain, post-surgery complications, or mental health concerns, please seek care from your medical provider or surgeon.


Darnah Mercieca:

This is Empowered Explant the podcast helping women ditch their breast implants with confidence. I'm Darnah Mercieca, board certified health and wellness coach and explant warrior. Today we're diving into a topic that's super important for anyone preparing for or recovering from surgery protein for or recovering from surgery. Protein it's the building block of ourselves and a superhero in the healing process. I think we all understand that protein is necessary. It's a part of our diet that we need to consume. But let's get into why protein is so crucial, especially before a surgical procedure and during recovery, how much protein you actually need to consume and how you can up your intake in five simple steps. If you find this episode helpful, please share it inside of explant communities and Facebook groups, because this is something that can help with healing that isn't really talked about. A quick disclaimer please know I'm not a medical doctor and this podcast does not constitute medical or mental health advice. I share from my personal experience, research and conversations with other people. If you're experiencing symptoms, pain, post-surgery complications or mental health concerns, please seek care from your medical provider or surgeon, and please make any medical decisions in consultation with a qualified and experienced healthcare professional.

Darnah Mercieca:

First up, why is protein so important when you're gearing up for surgery. Well, it's all about recovery and giving your body what it needs. Protein forms the basis of all cells, including those that repair wounds and regenerate tissues. By boosting your protein intake before surgery, you're essentially giving your body the tools it needs to heal faster and more effectively. It reduces your risk of infection, supports your immune system and ensures your body can handle the stress of surgery. Protein helps wounds heal because it's a key building block of tissue growth, cell renewal and repair. Protein deficiency can lead to poor wound healing rates, reduced collagen formation and wound dissonance, and that is when the wound keeps separating and opening, and this is actually something that I've seen recently in the empowered explant community. There have been a couple of women in there who are wondering you know why my wounds, weeks after surgery, are still not healing? Why do they keep opening up and they're having issues with stitch spitting and different things and just not healing properly? So this is something that we do see not super frequently, but it does come up. High exudate loss which exudate is the cells and fluid that seeps out of the wound can cause a protein deficit of up to a hundred grams in a single day, which needs to be replaced with a high protein diet. So you know, this whole wound healing side of things is actually really important, and protein can play a significant role in helping make sure that your body is repairing those wounds and also that you're replacing any protein that has been lost during the wound healing process.

Darnah Mercieca:

Another fun fact is that protein is crucial for maintaining breast health. It helps the cells in breast tissue function properly and stay healthy. Hormones play a massive role in breast health, and proteins are essential in both hormone production and regulation. Proper protein intake helps balance hormones like estrogen and progesterone, which significantly influence breast tissue. It also helps your body's immune response fend off potential threats, including abnormal cell changes in breast tissue, which can lead to conditions like breast cancer. And also, let's not forget about structure. Collagen and elastin are two proteins that we often hear about in the context of skin health. They're also crucial for keeping breast tissue firm and in good shape. So paying attention to protein intake supports your recovery from surgery, but also plays a pivotal role in maintaining healthy breast tissue and helping with that, like fluffing process afterwards and and helping your breasts um, you know, heal the tissue, heal the skin.

Darnah Mercieca:

Now it's not just the amount of protein that matters. It's also about the quality. We want to be maintaining an anti-inflammatory diet during your preparation for surgery and recovery, while increasing protein. So we want to keep it real, clean and whole food based. Lean meats, fish, beans, soy, eggs, grains, nuts and seeds are your go-to sources. Dairy is also another major source of protein, but once again, the quality is important and I actually recommend cutting out dairy when prepping for surgery to reduce inflammation and support your gut health. So you know, dairy is a funny one. I am lactose and casein intolerant. I think a lot of women in the explant community uh, you know especially those who have been diagnosed with any kind of um autoimmune disease or are struggling with BII symptoms. Really, I believe cutting out dairy is going to be beneficial in the process of getting ready for surgery and healing your body afterwards, so you can get plenty enough protein in your diet without dairy.

Darnah Mercieca:

Something else I want to highlight is you need to make sure the proteins you consume offer a complete amino acid profile. This is key to fully supporting your body's recovery process and it's important all the time. So proteins are made up of amino acids, which are described as the building blocks of protein. There are nine essential amino acids that your body can't make on its own. They have to come from your diet. A complete protein source contains all nine essential amino acids in sufficient amounts. These are super important for tissue repair, immune function and muscle growth Everything that your body is focusing on after surgery. Everything that your body is focusing on after surgery.

Darnah Mercieca:

Animal proteins like meat, fish, eggs and dairy are typically complete proteins, but if you're vegetarian or vegan or just prefer to minimize meat consumption, it's important to vary your protein sources. So combining different plant-based proteins, such as beans with rice or peanut butter with whole wheat bread, can make sure that you get all the essential amino acids your body needs. There are some plant-based proteins that are complete protein sources, so it's just important to be really mindful of what you're putting on your plate and whether or not that's actually serving you the way it needs to. So, as you plan your meals, consider not just the quantity but also the quality of the protein. Stick with me. I know it's a lot, but I'm going to make it really easy for you. We're going to get into how much protein you need and what that looks like in a moment, but I want to share that I created a free protein planner for you. That's basically your cheat sheet and will help you make sure you're getting adequate protein on a daily basis. I just wanted you to have something that could make this really simple. If you want a copy, go to protein. empoweredxplant. com to get your free protein planner PDF. Wow, that's a tongue twister.

Darnah Mercieca:

Now let's get into the numbers. Typically, adults need about 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram or 2.2 pounds of body weight per day, but when you're preparing for surgery, you want to bump that up to 1.2 to 1.5 grams of protein. This boost helps your body prepare and recover, maintaining muscle mass and supporting immune health and tissue healing. I recommend increasing your protein intake at least two weeks before surgery. I personally think four weeks is even better and continue until at least six to eight weeks after surgery. Now let's talk about how you can increase your protein intake. It's a lot easier than you might think, and if you do the math and find you're already getting enough protein, that's great. This is also just a great opportunity to ensure the quality and diversity is there. Hot tip what I'm about to share with you is helpful always, not just for surgery.

Darnah Mercieca:

Step one kickstart your day with protein. Begin with breakfast. Add things like eggs, nut butter or a protein shake to your morning routine. It's an easy way to start the day strong and there are several health benefits associated with starting your day with protein. Step two smart snacking. For snacks, go for protein-rich choices like nuts, hummus with veggies or a favorite treat of mine homemade protein balls. If you download my protein planner, I'll also send you five delicious, easy-to-make protein ball recipes. They're so good.

Darnah Mercieca:

Snacks that are high in protein are filling and satiating, so you're going to feel nice and full, and they also fuel your body's repair processes. So you're doing your body a favor by snacking on these yummy treats, and I really recommend. I know it can feel like everywhere you look in the grocery store there's something saying high in protein, high in protein. But, like A lot of these packaged products are heavily processed, they have a lot of ingredients that are not necessary, a lot of sugar or artificial sweeteners in them. So just be really mindful. It's super easy to make your own high protein snacks at home using clean ingredients.

Darnah Mercieca:

Step three protein packed salads Now salads don't have to be boring. Protein packed salads Now salads don't have to be boring. Amp them up with grilled chicken, fish or legumes, even a sprinkle of seeds or a scoop of quinoa can turn a basic salad into a recovery power meal and make it way yummier. But when you're eating salads, just do your best to make sure you're adding a quality protein source, whether it's animal or plant protein. And then, remember, you can use those combinations of plant-based proteins to make sure that you're getting your complete amino acid profile.

Darnah Mercieca:

Step four step up your smoothie game. I love a good smoothie and on a day where I'm especially struggling to get all my protein in a meal maybe I'm just not that hungry they're a quick, delicious way to get a protein boost. I recommend finding a good, clean, plant-based protein powder, making sure that there's no added sugar or artificial sweeteners, especially or, you know, just kind of look for filler ingredients that don't need to be in there. I also love adding collagen to mine and mix that with fruits and veggies and almond milk With your milk, with your almond milk or your plant-based milk. Make sure there's no added sugar, no artificial sweeteners, and try to avoid gums and filler ingredients. My favorite brand is milk, because it's just the cleanest that I could find in the grocery store at a reasonable price, and so you know otherwise you could always make your own nut milk at home. It's actually pretty easy as just a little bit of time. So if you know otherwise, you could always make your own nut milk at home. It's actually pretty easy, it's just a little bit of time. So if you're at home and you don't mind doing some cool, creative, fun projects in the kitchen, then that could be something you could try.

Darnah Mercieca:

Also, if you don't already have a copy, download my healing super smoothies guide, which includes 15 smoothie recipes specifically for healing and recovering through your explant journey. They are delicious. You can download that at smoothie s. empoweredexplant. com. I am plugging all my free resources today. I hope you love them all. And just so that you know, all the links I mentioned are in the show notes for you, so you don't have to rewind and grab a pen and paper. Pen and paper I sound like my mom. I sometimes love to go the traditional route and still use a pen and paper, but I guess you could just take notes in your phone. Anyway, you don't need to do any of that because the links are included.

Darnah Mercieca:

Step five diversify with plant-based options. It can get a little overwhelming feeling like you need to cook meat or seafood every day, and sometimes my body just needs a break from meat for digestive reasons. I have days where I just crave plant-based meals, so I love to add things like tofu, tempeh, edamame nuts, quinoa, brown rice beans, hemp seeds there's a great list, but some of these are actually complete proteins themselves, and then others you want to combine together and put them with veggies to make sure that you're getting all the amino acids you need. And there you have it five simple steps to boost your protein intake, prepare your body for surgery and help your body heal faster. I promise it's super easy. It's. It's, you know, really worth it. So give this just a little bit of energy and your body will thank you and you will thank your body.

Darnah Mercieca:

Remember, while it's important to focus on protein, balance is key. So include fruits, vegetables and gluten-free whole grains in your diet to support your overall health and optimize your recovery. You can have too much of a good thing, my love. So it's important to not just go and eat a whole bunch of protein and then end up neglecting other key nutrients or kind of OD on protein. That's why I recommend downloading my free protein planner just to help you make sure you're hitting the numbers you need and just to make it easy, you can get it at protein. empoweredxplant. com.

Darnah Mercieca:

Well, this was fun. I really got to step into my health coach shoes today. If you enjoyed this topic and want more nutrition and healing tips, let me know. Shoot me an email email, or if you're listening to the podcast, there's a text me button in the show notes and you could just click that and then shoot me a quick message. And if you're watching on YouTube, then drop me a comment, let me know in the comments if you loved this episode and you want to hear more content, more tips like this.

Darnah Mercieca:

Now, as you know, I love to give you a whole bunch of free information and resources. I love it. I want you to be empowered with everything that you need, but if you're like girl, I need help implementing all of this. I need help staying on track. I need help putting together all the pieces so that I can heal and recover as best and as quickly as possible. That's what I do. I can help you with all that before and after surgery and get you set up with a plan to follow, and you can have me there if you want to personally guide you and answer all the questions you have along the way I can basically be in your pocket.

Darnah Mercieca:

If that sounds like it would be a huge stress reliever for you, then reach out to me through the website www. empoweredxplant. com, or directly to my email. Or directly to my email darnah@empowerdexplant. com. That's D-A-R-N-A-H at empoweredexplant. com. I hope this episode helps you feel empowered and ready to support your body's healing process. There's so much you can actually take control of on this journey. Thanks for listening to the Empowered Explant Podcast. I appreciate you more than I can even articulate. I'll see you back here next week, breastie.