What is a bland diet and is it really helpful?

It refers to a simple diet excluding all the irritant foods that may irritate the intestine lining.

This diet is often recommended to those who have undergone intestinal surgery or have issues like acidity, stomach ulcers or diarrhea.

As per experts, this diet is also good for those who have breakouts, as the absence of spicy foods make it easy for them to heal faster.

Rules to follow
Make sure that you are eating evenly cooked, boiled, microwaved, baked, steamed roasted, or creamed food. Avoid raw, blanched, or deep fried food. As per experts, a bland diet rule suggests minimal use of spices and salt and it is suggested to avoid peels of fruits and nuts. Also, avoid smoking, alcohol, and even aerated drinks. The bland diet promotes 3-4 meals a day, which should exclude the random snacking habit of packaged food too.

Fruits and veggies you may eat
As per nutritionists, fresh produce like sweet potato, waxed beans, pumpkin, carrot potato, bananas. Apple and grapefruit are good for intestinal health. As far as dairy and oil are concerned, butter, mayonnaise, olive oil, buttermilk, low fat yogurt and milk are good for gut health. And if you need a good portion of carbs in your diet, then you can choose wheat bread, brown bread, rice noodles and even cornbread.

Foods you may avoid
Fried veggies, potato wafers, broccoli, tomato, berries and figs should be avoided at all costs. Also animal fat, high-calorie dressing and coconut oil should be avoided along with processed cheese. Full fat milk, full fat yogurt , clove, garlic, ginger, barbecue sauce, sweet chili sauce, strong lemon-based sauces, mustard seeds, and pickles should also be avoided.

Sample bland diet menu
As per experts, one can have 1 scrambled egg and a fresh fruit in breakfast. For lunch avocado and spinach soup, along with boiled veggies can be a good option. And for evening snack, 1 glass of buttermilk and then lastly for dinner sweet potato salad with low-calorie dressing can be an ideal choice.