How to recover from
surgery faster — and avoid many complications

Did you know that if you ever undergo elective surgery, there's something you can do that will make recovery a whole lot easier? All you have to do is load up on certain nutrients before going to the hospital. In fact, a new study shows that taking certain antioxidants can do more than dramatically improve your outcome. It can help you avoid potential complications.

In the study, the researchers gave surgery patients three different nutrients. They gave them 1,000 mg of vitamin C, 1,000 IU of alpha-tocopherol (three times a day), and 200 mcg day of intravenous selenium. Then they followed the trauma victims for complications. Here's what they found:

The antioxidants lowered abdomen pressure (abdominal compartment syndrome) by 75%. They cut respiratory failure by about half. They halved surgical-site infections and abdominal wall complications. They cut overall infections by 20%. And they reduced respiratory failure by 38%.

Most people who undergo surgery are entering the hospital with a body that cannot heal optimally? This study is not the first to show that good nutrition helps you recover much faster; nor will it be the last. The fact that nutrients help is absolute proof that people are generally not ingesting optimal nutrition. If they were, supplements would add nothing.

Continued Below...

I don't recommend waiting for surgery to bring up your nutrition with IV minerals or belated vitamins. It's far better to have your body already prepared for a crisis than wait for the crisis to happen. It might even help you avert the crisis altogether!

So make sure you're taking a high-quality multivitamin/mineral like Advanced Bionutritionals Healthy Resolve. It's an outstanding all-purpose nutritional supplement. And if you need elective surgery, increase your antioxidant intake a few weeks prior to the surgery.

Yours for better health and medical freedom,

J Am College Surgeons 2008; 207: S40-S41.