Nutrition to Support Postoperative Recovery

The shake mixes will be dry shelf -stable powders prepared with ingredients readily available in the US food supply and contain a minimum of 990 mg total cocoa flavanols, with a profile to support general nutritional health including 10 g protein. Accordingly, each shake contains approximately 95 mg of caffeine, equivalent to a medium-sized cup of coffee. Based on prior studies of cognition, additional composition specifications are: 1600 mg DHA and up to 400 mg EPA and 550 mg choline; \>250 mg epicatechin and epigallocatechin (plant polyphenols); multivitamin/mineral fortification to ensure 50-100% of all essential micronutrients except calcium (to prevent competitive absorption with other divalent cations). Participants will be given a supply of pre-portioned daily servings upon discharge from the hospital, for 30 days after surgery.

The control arm receives the Nutrition After Surgery instructions, which provide guidelines for healthy eating after surgery but not the nutritional shake. The intervention arm receives the same instructions along with the nutrition shake mix and accompanying postoperative supplementation