The treatment of patients with gastroparesis generally relies on dietary modifications, medications that enhance gastric emptying, and medications that reduce nausea and vomiting. Using the strategies listed below may help those patients with mild to moderate gastroparesis, but for those patients who also have other medical problems such as diabetes or kidney disease, seek dietary counseling with a dietician to help individualize nutrition therapy and maximize nutritional benefits.

Some Dietary Strategies for Patients with Gastroparesis:

To prevent symptoms of delayed gastric emptying, experts suggest:

• Eating 4-6 small meals daily, rather than three large meals, to prevent overloading of the stomach
• Avoiding high-fiber foods, such as many fruits and vegetables, dried beans and peas, and whole-grain breads; diets high in fiber are associated with bezoars, which are a mixture of food fibers that get caught in the stomach and can cause a blockage. Also avoid foods difficult to chew such as popcorn, sesame seeds, nuts.
• Eat low fiber foods to delay gastric emptying. These foods include lean meats, poultry, eggs, white rice,
• Eliminating high-fat foods from your diet and avoiding adding fat, such as butter, margarine, mayonnaise, and oils, to other foods
• Chewing foods well—you may need to grind or puree foods, such as meats, before eating them to make them easier to digest
• Sip fluids containing calories during the meal to increase calorie consumption. These include milk, sweet tea, lemonade or punch.
• Choosing pudding, such as Ensure® Pudding, and liquids, such as Ensure® or Glucerna®, to help prevent weight loss—these often are easier for your stomach to digest

A Sample Diet for Patients with Gastroparesis

6 Small Meals

Breakfast 1 cup cream of wheat cereal
½ cup skim milk
½ cup grape juice
1 scrambled egg

Snack 10 ounces of instant breakfast with skim milk

Lunch ½ cup vegetable soup
½ turkey sandwich
½ cup applesauce
½ cup milk
1 tablespoon mayonnaise

Snack 10 ounces banana shake made with l plain or vanilla yogurt, milk and sugar

Dinner 2-3 ounces baked chicken or fish
½ cup mashed potatoes
1 teaspoon margarine
½ cup spinach
½ cup milk
½ cup fruit cocktail

Snack ½ cup pudding, custard or gelatin