Surgery asks a lot of your body. The weeks beforehand are your chance to stock the shelves — so healing starts from a position of strength.
Surgery triggers a healing response that demands energy, protein, and micronutrients. Patients who arrive well-nourished tend to handle that demand better. This is not the time to crash-diet — even if weight loss is a long-term goal, aggressive calorie restriction right before surgery can shortchange the raw materials healing requires. The concepts below are considerations drawn from the published evidence — not blanket recommendations. What is right for you depends on your health history, medications, and procedure, and is worth a conversation with your care team.
Protein provides the building blocks for tissue repair, and published evidence suggests that adequate protein intake around surgery may help preserve muscle mass and strength.1,2 For most people this looks like high-quality protein sources at meals — lean meats, fish, eggs, dairy, legumes — rather than loading up in a single sitting. There is no one-size-fits-all number: appropriate targets vary with body size, kidney function, and health conditions, so an individualized target is best set with your primary care physician or a dietitian.
Several micronutrients play established roles in healing.3 For most patients the goal is simply meeting needs through a varied diet — not defaulting to supplements.
In specific cases, perioperative laboratory testing — for example, vitamin D, iron, or nutritional status — may be appropriate to identify a deficiency actually worth correcting before surgery. This is individualized, not routine: it's a question to raise with your primary care physician or surgical team rather than a reason to start supplements on your own.
Tell your surgical team about everything you take. Some common supplements (fish oil, vitamin E, and certain herbals among them) can affect bleeding and may need to be paused before surgery. As a general rule, any nutritional supplementation — before or after surgery — should be started only after discussion with your primary care physician and surgical team. For patients interested in a structured perioperative nutrition system, one option to bring up in that conversation is the Thrive Protocol.
This page is general education, not medical advice or an individualized plan. Nutritional needs and training progressions vary — always follow the specific guidance of your surgeon, physician, physical therapist, or dietitian, and do not start, stop, or change any supplement, medication, or diet based on this page without discussing it with your primary care physician and surgical team first.