Reducing protein intake before surgery reduces cardiovascular complications

Regardless of the type of surgery being performed, doctors will require patients not to eat within 8 hours before the operation to prevent food from flowing from the stomach through the trachea into the lungs after anesthesia, causing aspiration pneumonia. The latest foreign research shows that if you can reduce protein intake before surgery, you can effectively avoid symptoms such as vascular infarction or stroke.

A Harvard University research team pointed out that reducing protein intake before surgery can avoid cardiovascular complications. (Photo/taken from France's "Le Figaro")

Le Figaro, a French newspaper, recently reported that a research team from Harvard University published a paper in the journal Science Translational Medicine on January 25, stating that in an experiment on mice, the researchers allowed some mice to completely avoid protein-rich foods for 6 to 14 days before surgery, while another group of mice maintained their original feed rations. The researchers then observed the recovery of the two groups of experimental mice after surgery and found that 40% of the mice that did not undergo "diet control" developed fatal cardiovascular complications and their recovery was less than ideal.

The researchers said that mice with lower levels of protein in their bodies were better able to resist the stress and trauma caused by surgery, and could effectively alleviate renal and hepatic ischemia and subsequent "reperfusion injury", which not only reduced the risk of tissue inflammation but also ensured that organ function would not be damaged.

The experiments on mice showed quite significant and consistent results, and the next step will be to enter the human trial stage. The research team is optimistic that this theory should be able to be successfully applied to humans.