Your vitamin shelf is a surgical problem.

Fish oil. Vitamin E. Turmeric. Ginkgo. Garlic tablets. Most surgeons ask you to stop all of them one to two weeks before a procedure, because they affect bleeding — and most people either never hear that or hear it too late. Twelve of them, why each is on the list, and the timing to take to your pre-op appointment.

The question nobody asks at the consultation

"Are you taking any medication?" You said no. You take six supplements.

Almost nobody counts fish oil as medication. Or turmeric, or the multivitamin, or the garlic capsules a friend recommended. But several of them affect how you bleed, which is why surgeons ask about them and why they ask you to stop most of them well before the date. This guide is the list, the reason, and the timing — to take to your surgeon, not to use instead of them.

This is the one that matters most and costs the least. Read it two weeks before, not two days.

12To stop

6To keep

18Pages

60Day guarantee

In this issue

01
The twelveeach one with the reason it is on the list and the usual timing.
Page 3
02
The six worth keepingthe ones commonly continued — and still worth confirming.
Page 5
03
Why "natural" is not the questionthe reason surgeons ask about supplements at all.
Page 3
04
The two-week timelinewhat to stop when, laid out backwards from your date.
Page 13
05
What to bring to pre-opthe one-page list that answers their questions in five seconds.
Page 16
06
Alcohol and smokingthe timings your surgeon will ask about, and why.
Page 17

From the eBook · No. S1

The Two-Week Audit

Fourteen days before the date

Recipe
No. S1

Prep: 20 min
Cook: —
Serves: One cupboard
Texture: Paperwork

Ingredients

Every supplement bottle you ownall of them
The occasional ones tooyes, those
Your phone, for photographs1
A pen1
The list from page 111

From the test kitchen

The photograph is the point. Surgeons ask what you take and almost nobody remembers accurately.

Method

Empty the entire cupboard onto the kitchen table. All of it.
Photograph every label, front and back.
Mark anything that appears in the twelve entries.
Take the photographs to your pre-op appointment and ask directly.

This guide never tells you to stop anything. Your surgeon does. Never stop a prescription alone.

Ten dollars to walk into pre-op
with an answer instead of a shrug.

The twelve most commonly stopped, each with the reason
The six commonly continued
The two-week timeline, counted back from your date
The printable audit page for the cupboard
The one-page list to hand over at pre-op
The alcohol and smoking timings your surgeon will ask about

P.S. — This is the one that matters most and costs the least. Read it two weeks before, not two days.

^$10

One-time · instant eBook

One postponed surgery date: the deposit, and the wait

Show me the stop list — $10

Instant digital download — an eBook in PDF form. One-time payment of $10, billed securely by Digistore24, which acts as reseller and merchant of record. Photographs throughout are for illustration only and do not depict the product, a patient or a result. Nothing physical is shipped.

Questions readers ask

Is this telling me to stop my supplements?: No — and it says so on the first page. It tells you which ones surgeons commonly ask about and the usual timing, so you can raise it. The instruction to stop anything comes from your surgeon.
Does it cover prescription medication?: No. Prescriptions are entirely between you and the doctor who prescribed them. This is about over-the-counter supplements.
Why would fish oil matter?: Several common supplements affect platelet function or interact with anesthesia. That is why the pre-op questionnaire asks about them. The guide explains each one in plain language.
What if I already stopped too late?: Tell your surgeon. They decide whether it matters for your date — and they would far rather know than not.
Is this specific to cosmetic surgery?: The list is the same for most elective procedures. The timeline in the guide is written around an elective date you booked in advance.
What if it isn't for me?: Email within 60 days and get a full refund. No questions asked.

Where this sits next to your surgeon

Underneath. Fasting times, when you may eat and drink, wound care, medication and every clinical instruction come from your surgical team, and where they differ from anything here, theirs applies. This is food for two weeks that are harder than anyone tells you — nothing more, and nothing claimed about your result.

© 2026 The Recovery Kitchen. Educational content about food — not medical advice, not aftercare, not a diagnosis and not a treatment. Independent publication, not affiliated with any clinic or surgeon. Payments processed by Digistore24.