Soft diet recommendations for people with a duodenal stent

You will need to be careful about what you eat to make sure the stent does not get blocked. These tips may help.​

• Take your time eating, and make sure you chew your food well.​
• Avoid large meals – eat smaller meals more often instead.​
• Foods should:​
  • Be soft and moist in consistency ​
  • Not need biting or need much chewing​
  • Be easily mashed with just a little pressure from a fork, or eaten with a spoon​
  • Be able to be mashed with the tongue if lumpy​

Examples of foods to eat

• Pureed soup (add cream, milk or cheese for extra nutrients and calories)​
• Poached fish or minced meat​
• Eggs, including poached and scrambled eggs or an omelette​
• Soft pasta dishes, such as macaroni cheese​
• Mashed potato (add butter, cream or cheese for more calories)​
• Vegetables well cooked until they are soft​
• Rice pudding, stewed fruit, yoghurt, custard or ice cream.​
• Porridge or cereal soaked in milk

Examples of foods to avoid

Any food that cannot be mashed up into a soft puree consistency after chewing may block the stent:

• Raw vegetables or vegetables that are harder to digest, such as salads, celery, green beans and sweetcorn​​
• Nuts and dried fruit​​
• Citrus fruits like oranges or grapefruit – this is because of the skin around each segment​
• Tough or gristly meat​​
• Bread or dry cereal, as these expand in your stomach​​
• Wholegrain foods, such as wholegrain pasta or rice, as they are more difficult to digest​