Low-fiber diet for colonoscopy preparation

 

Three days before your colonoscopy, eat only low-fiber foods listed below.
Two days before, continue eating only low-fiber foods.

Print this chart (PDF) for easy reference.

See the clear liquid chart for the day before, and day of, your colonoscopy.  

Type of Food or Drink Yes – Ok to Drink No – Avoid These
Milk and dairy

OK to eat:

  • Milk

  • Cream

  • Hot chocolate

  • Buttermilk

  • Cheese, including cottage cheese

  • Yogurt

  • Sour cream

NO yogurt mixed with:

  • Nuts, seeds, granola

  • Fruit with skin or seeds (such as berries)
Bread and grains

OK to eat:

  • Breads and grains made with refined white flour (including rolls, muffins, bagels, pasta)

  • White rice

  • Plain crackers, such as Saltines

  • Low-fiber cereal (including puffed rice, cream of wheat, corn flakes)

NO whole grains or high-fiber:

  • Brown or wild rice

  • Whole grain bread, rolls, pasta, or crackers

  • Whole grain or high-fiber cereal (including granola, raisin bran, oatmeal)

  • Bread or cereal with nuts or seeds
Meat

OK to eat:

  • Chicken

  • Turkey

  • Lamb

  • Lean pork

  • Veal

  • Fish and seafood

  • Eggs

  • Tofu

 NO tough meat with gristle
Legumes None allowed

NO:

  • Dried peas (including split or black-eyed)

  • Dried beans (including kidney, pinto, garbanzo⁄chickpea)

  • Lentils

  • Any other legume
Fruits

OK to eat:

  • Fruit juice without pulp

  • Applesauce

  • Ripe cantaloupe and honeydew

  • Ripe, peeled apricots and peaches

  • Canned or cooked fruit without seeds or skin

NO seeds, skin, membranes;  or dried fruit:

  • Raw fruit with seeds, skin, or membranes (includes berries, pineapple, apples, oranges, watermelon)

  • Any cooked or canned fruit with seeds or skin

  • Raisins or other dried fruit
Vegetables

OK for some if cooked or canned:

  • Canned or cooked vegetables without skin or peel (includes peeled carrots, mushrooms, turnips, asparagus tips)

  • Potatoes without skin

  • Cucumbers without seeds or peel

NO raw, skin, seeds, peel; or certain other vegetables:

  • Corn

  • Potatoes with skin

  • Tomatoes

  • Cucumbers with seeds and peel

  • Cooked cabbage or Brussels sprouts

  • Green peas

  • Summer and winter squash

  • Lima beans

  • Onions
Nuts, nut butter, seeds

OK to eat:

  • Creamy (smooth) peanut or almond butter

NO nuts or seeds:

  • Nuts including peanuts, almonds, walnuts

  • Chunky nut butter

  • Seeds such as fennel, sesame, pumpkin, sunflower
Fats and oils

OK to eat:

  • Butter

  • Margarine

  • Vegetable and other oils

  • Mayonnaise

  • Salad dressings made without seeds or nuts

 NO salad dressing made with seeds or nuts
Soups

OK to eat:

  • Broth, bouillon, consomme, and strained soups

  • Milk or cream-based soup, strained

No:

  • Unstrained soups

  • Chili

  • Lentil soup

  • Dried bean soup

  • Corn soup

  • Pea soup
Desserts

OK to eat:

  • Custard

  • Plain pudding

  • Ice cream

  • Sherbet or sorbet

  • Jell-O or gelatin without added fruit or red or purple dye

  • Cookies or cake made with white flour, prepared without seeds, dried fruit, or nuts

NO:

  • Coconut

  • Anything with seeds or nuts

  • Anything with added red or purple dye

  • Cookies or cakes made with whole grain flour, seeds, dried fruit, or nuts
Drinks or beverages

OK to eat:

  • Coffee

  • Tea

  • Hot chocolate or cocoa

  • Clear fruit drinks (no pulp)

  • Soda and other carbonated beverages

  • Ensure, Boost, or Enlive without added fiber

NO:

  • Fruit or vegetable juice with pulp

  • Beverages with red or purple dye
Other

OK to eat:

  • Sugar

  • Salt

  • Jelly

  • Honey

  • Syrup

  • Lemon juice

NO:

  • Coconut

  • Popcorn

  • Jam

  • Marmalade

  • Relishes

  • Pickles

  • Olives

  • Stone-ground mustard


 

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