Low-Residue/Fiber Diet
for Colonoscopy
Your doctor has prescribed a low-residue diet. “Residue” is the word for parts of food (such
as fiber) that pass undigested through the bowel. This is what forms stool. Low-residue
foods are easily digested and absorbed. They leave the least residue, which results in less
stool. This lets the intestine rest.
Reasons to Eat a Low-Residue/Fiber Diet
The goal of a low-residue diet is to limit the size and number of stools. It may be prescribed
if you:
• Are having chemotherapy, radiation treatments or a colonoscopy
• Have had intestinal surgery
• Have a condition that affects the intestine, such as Crohn’s disease, ulcerative
colitis or diverticulitis
General Guidelines for a Low-Residue/Fiber Diet
Your doctor may give you a list of things you can and can’t eat or drink. Read food labels
and choose foods and drinks that have as close to zero grams as possible of fiber. Here are
general guidelines:
Breads, pasta, cereal, rice, and other starches
What to choose:
• White bread, biscuits, muffins, and rolls; plain crackers; white pasta;
white rice; cream of wheat; grits; white pancakes; cornflakes; cooked
potatoes without skin.
• Fiber content of these foods should be less than 0.5 (half) gram per
serving.
What to avoid:
• Whole-wheat or whole-grain breads, crackers, and pasta; breads with
seeds or nuts; cornbread; wild or brown rice; whole-grain cereals, bran
cereals, granola cereals, popcorn, cereals with seeds, nuts, coconut, or
dried fruit; potatoes with skin
Milk and dairy
What to choose:
• Milk, smooth yogurt, ice cream, custard, cheese and cottage cheese
What to avoid:
• Ice cream and yogurt with seeds or nuts, or with chunks of fruit
Fruit
What to choose:
• Ripe banana; ripe nectarine, peach, apricot, papaya, plum; soft
honeydew melon and cantaloupe; cooked or canned fruit without skin
or seeds; applesauce; strained fruit juice (without pulp)
What to avoid:
• Raw or dried fruit; all berries; raisins; canned and raw pineapple;
prunes and prune juice
Vegetables
What to choose:
• Well-cooked or canned vegetables without seeds, such as eggplant, green
and wax beans, carrots, yellow squash, pumpkin, beets
What to avoid:
• Vegetables with seeds, such as unstrained tomato sauce; green peas; lima
beans; broccoli; corn; parsnips, tomatoes
Meats and protein
What to choose:
• Tender, well-cooked meat, including ground meat, poultry, and fish;
eggs; tofu; creamy peanut butter
What to avoid:
• Tough, chewy meat with gristle; peas, including split, yellow, black-eyed;
beans, including navy, lima, black, garbanzo, soy, pinto, lentil; peanuts
and crunchy peanut butter
Fats, oils, sauces, condiments
What to choose:
• Butter, magarine, oils, whipped cream, sour cream, mayonnaise, smooth
dressings and sauces; plain gravy; smooth condiments
What to avoid:
• Dressing with seeds or fruit chunks; pickles and relishes
Other foods and drinks
What to choose:
• Plain gelatin; plain puddings; pretzels; plain cookies and cakes; honey,
syrup, caffeinated drinks, including tea and coffee (ask your doctor
first); soda
What to avoid:
• Popcorn; spicy foods; foods made with cocoa powder; alcohol (ask your
doctor); marmalade, jam, preserves; desserts that have seeds, nuts,
coconut, dried fruit, whole grains or bran; candy that has seeds or nuts
