Can I eat chocolate before a Colonoscopy?

By - Dr Hafeez Arshad

The colonoscopy itself is not painful and you may feel only slight discomfort during the procedure. Sedatives and painkillers make it relatively smoother.

However, colonoscopy prep can be a bit troublesome for a few. Before a colonoscopy, cleaning the colon is called bowel preparation or simply “prep.”

The prep starts about one week before the colonoscopy procedure. During this prep, you have to check your food intake and many more. Very often, my patients ask, “can I eat chocolate before a colonoscopy?” And the food restriction makes most people avoid a colonoscopy.

But this is one of the best procedures known to diagnose and treat colon cancers. One week’s trouble is much better than life with cancer or life loss due to cancer.

And it’s better to stick to the liquid diet one day before the procedure.  As colonoscopy prep is not easy, your one mistake can leave you repeating the whole one-week prep, so you must be careful.

Can you eat chocolate before colonoscopy-In which form can you take?

You can eat chocolate before colonoscopy but under some conditions.

You can take plain chocolates before colonoscopy but not one day before colonoscopy. The reason behind this is that one day before the colonoscopy, you should stick to a liquid diet only, so your intestines are empty at the time of the procedure.

You can take chocolate a few days before the colonoscopy, but you should take only plain chocolates. Chocolate should not contain any type of nuts or hard things.

You can eat chocolate cake before colonoscopy. In the case of cookies or cake, make sure to avoid the ones with nuts and dried fruits. You can also take chocolate milk, chocolate jello, donuts, and coca before colonoscopy.

It is ok to take chocolate ice-creams and chocolate bars before colonoscopy but not just one day before. Chocolate pudding is allowed if it does not contain any hard or solid ingredients.

When and In which form should you avoid chocolate?

You should avoid nutty chocolates. Nuts are hard and not easy to digest, so they can stay in your large intestine. During the procedure, your doctor will face difficulty discriminating against the polyps or any tumor in the colon. Moreover, these hard nuts can block the passage of the colonoscope.

Avoid chocolates with red, blue, or purple stains. It can mislead your doctor while performing a procedure. He can assume these stains, blood clots, polyps, or tumors. Because such things can stain your colon, it can mislead doctors who are observing your colon on the screen.

It is ok to eat chocolates a few days before colonoscopy but try to avoid hard chocolate candies. Any hard thing that can stay in your colon for a long time because of difficulty indigestion you should avoid.

So, if you are wondering about “ can I eat chocolate before a colonoscopy,” my answer is that the software is better.

Try to avoid all kinds of chocolates one day before colonoscopy. But you can drink hot chocolate or cocoa. No solid things are allowed because this can ruin your whole week’s colonoscopy prep.

Why should you avoid eating chocolates one day before the colonoscopy?

You can not eat chocolates one day before colonoscopy. All solid food is prohibited according to the instructions of the hospitals. Food takes between 24 to 72 hours to move from the mouth, esophagus, then digested in the stomach and small intestine, from where it enters the large intestine and anus.

Food takes about 36 hours to travel from the entire colon. One night before colonoscopy, you take laxatives that help rapid emptying of the colon. These strong laxatives are given to clear your colon so doctors can observe your colon.

But if you take hard things like nuts, they may stay for more days in your gut. And these hard objects in your colon can mislead doctors as tumors or polyps. So to prevent it, stop eating any solid food, like Chocolate, one day before colonoscopy.

Stick to a liquid diet because liquid takes less time to pass through the intestines. Plain water takes 10 to 20 minutes to pass through the intestines. Simple beverages like plain juices, sodas, tea, etc., takes only 20 to 40 minutes to pass through the intestines. That’s why doctors advise you to take lots of liquids so that your colon is empty before the procedure and you remain dehydrated.

And finally, 4-6 hours before the procedure, stop even taking liquids. Your colon must be clear at the time of the procedure. Although this prep is complicated and burdensome, you can not neglect its importance. Must go for a colonoscopy if recommended!

Never avoid colonoscopy just because of discomfort

During colonoscopy prep, you have to face a lot of discomforts. For example:

You will take laxatives, so you may need to go to the toilet repeatedly, which is annoying. You need to avoid a lot of your favorites. You may get diarrhea. Prep may cause stomach discomfort. You may have feelings of nausea.

Despite all of the discomfort you are facing, never avoid colonoscopy when it is essential. There are a lot of benefits of colonoscopy.

It helps you diagnose colon cancer, polyps, and hemorrhoids (if hemorrhoids are present in the lower digestive tract). It can determine the stage of colon cancer. It helps diagnose symptoms such as unexplained diarrhea, blood in stools, and severe abdominal pain. It can help remove early tumors and polyps present in the colon.

How to make your colonoscopy prep easy?

Colonoscopy prep usually begins 6-7 days before the procedure, so here are tips for how you can make these tiring and annoying days into easy prep.

If your doctor prescribed you some bad taste split-dose liquid laxatives, first dose at night and second 6-7 hours before the procedure, then try to take it using a straw. Put straw at the back of your tongue so that taste buds cannot get sensitized by this liquid.

Moreover, a new drug Plenvu is now in US markets to replace the bad-tasting laxatives. 

During prep, some people get nausea symptoms because they are only on a liquid diet one day before colonoscopy. It is advised to take antinausea medications.

Because you are taking liquids during colonoscopy prep and it is boring to drink only water, you can add Kool-aid or lemons in water. You can replace water with other clear beverages like Gatorade.

You can take tea and coffee but without milk and cream. You can eat chocolate before colonoscopy but only on dates before colonoscopy.

Try to drink more and more liquids because laxatives can cause diarrhea, and loss of water in diarrhea can leave you dehydrated.

Final words

So, can I eat chocolate before a colonoscopy?

Well, it’s ok to eat chocolates a few days before the colonoscopy. But avoid them one day before the colonoscopy procedure. You can take chocolates in all forms like chocolate bars, chocolate cakes, chocolate milk, etc. But be careful about some things that can ruin your whole colonoscopy prep.

Don’t take nutty chocolates before a colonoscopy because if the doctor finds that your colon is not fully empty, he can make you repeat the whole bowel prep process. And it is annoying to repeat this entire disturbing prep. Also, avoid colorful or stained chocolates.

Chocolate is ok for colonoscopy but one day before the procedure, try not to eat any solid food. Only take clear liquids. One night before colonoscopy, take the liquid laxative doses properly. And about 4 to 6 hours before the colonoscopy procedure, don’t even take drinks.

FAQ

What sweets can I eat before a colonoscopy?

You can eat all sugar-based sweets. But try to avoid hard candies. And don’t take any solid thing 1 day before colonoscopy. You can take sweet candies like popsicles or gummy bears but not blue, red, or purple.

You can take chocolates, cakes, etc., a few days before the colonoscopy. Avoid nuts, shells, or any other hard ingredient in sweets.

Can I eat chocolate pudding 2 days before colonoscopy?

Yes, you can eat chocolate pudding 2 days before the colonoscopy, but you should avoid few things:

But during the last day, don’t take any chocolate. Stick to clear liquids. Liquids don’t stay in your gut for a long time, so the digestive tract is cleared quickly.

Can you eat chocolate Jello before a colonoscopy?

You can eat jello a few days before the colonoscopy but go for yellow or green Jell-O. Don’t take red, blue, or purple-stained jello because it can stain your intestines and make colonoscopy procedures difficult for doctors.

Don’t take chocolate jello one day before a colonoscopy because chocolate jello can cause your stool to turn brown. Then if your stool is brown, you will need to take a 10-ounce bottle of sodium or magnesium citrate before colonoscopy.

What can you not eat 2 weeks before the colonoscopy?

Try to avoid food that can cause constipation, such as processed food, gluten-containing food, fried and fast foods. You should avoid alcohol before colonoscopy. In a nutshell, it’s best to avoid foods low in fiber and high in fats, such as cheese, potato chips, hamburgers, etc. If you are still enquiring about can I eat chocolate before a colonoscopy, I would recommend not before the day of the procedure.