When they say Avoid Spicy Foods, do they mean hot stuff?

I like spicy stuff in my broth, ginger, black cardoman,clove, coriander and Star anise...basically PHo sop broth. These are not hot but they are spicy.

At what point?

Early on you want to avoid irritants that would annoy your incision, but after, as long as it doesn't give you reflux, go for it imo.

Some of these spices are listed as healing. Turmeric for example which you find in many curries heals the gut, is an anti-inflammatory. Ginger soothes the stomach as does mint. I'm not talking hot chiles and stuff like that just spicy.

agree with Kiwideb. You don't want to irritate your stomach while its still healing, but after that i think its whatever you can tolerate :) I drank a ginger tea that had a little kick to it a little over a week after my surgery with no problems.

I wouldn't have spicy food the moment you're cleared to eat solids but give it 6 months and try something mild and gradually see what you can stand. I can handle spicy food just fine, it's my butt that pays the price after :-)

I was never told to stay away from spicy food. But I also have no issues with reflux. The only thing I was told was to avoid the seeds that can come in some chile or jalapeno dishes. I found that adding spice early on was about the only way I survived the blandness of the liquid and soft food phases. I also found my heat tolerance skyrocketed after surgery.

I was never told to avoid spicy or well-seasoned food. The only complication I have with actual hot spicy food is that I can no longer drink during meals to calm the burn! So I have to be careful.

Yeah...I love my hot stuff.