Questions before surgery?
Start here.
Starting + timing
Ideally, begin your 21-day protocol about two weeks before your procedure. Surgery date coming up faster? Don’t worry—even starting a few days out gives your body clean, targeted nutrition when it needs it most.
It creates a practical preparation window before surgery and continues support through the early postoperative days, when appetite and routine may be disrupted. Long enough to build consistency, short enough to follow.
The window is informed by how prehabilitation and perioperative nutrition are studied. Surgical guidelines and reviews describe preoperative nutritional optimization over roughly 1–3 weeks (often 7–14 days), and immune-supporting nutrients are typically studied over 5–7 days before surgery. Our 14-day runway sits within that range, and the 7 post-op days cover the early recovery period when eating well is hardest.
The final serving is deliberately at least 24 hours before surgery — well clear of standard fasting windows (clear liquids to 2 hours, solids to 6–8 hours), since PREP contains protein and is not a clear liquid. Always follow your surgical team's specific fasting instructions.
Don't double up. Continue the next scheduled day. Missed pre-op servings may be added to later postoperative days if appropriate.
No. PREP contains protein and is not a clear liquid. Take your final serving at least 24 hours before surgery, or earlier if directed, and pause completely on surgery day.
Your hospital's fasting rules (such as nothing to eat or drink after midnight) reduce aspiration risk during anesthesia, and your team's instructions always take priority. Because PREP's final serving is at least 24 hours before surgery, it does not overlap the fasting window.
Surgical schedules shift. You can pause or adjust your daily servings to match your new date. PREP can be stored per the label until a rescheduled procedure, within the shelf-life date.
If surgery is canceled, the return policy governs available options.
Safety + your care team
No. GlowWell is an educational wellness program, not a medical treatment. It provides lifestyle and behavioral guidance grounded in published research. It does not diagnose, treat, or cure any condition. Always follow the instructions of your surgeon, anesthesiologist, and care team. If GlowWell guidance ever conflicts with anything your medical team has told you, follow your medical team.
GlowWell does not replace any part of your medical care. Pre-operative appointments, lab work, imaging, and conversations with your surgeon and anesthesiologist are essential and cannot be substituted by any wellness program. Medical clearance is your team's job; readiness is the part you own — GlowWell is designed to complement your medical care, not replace it. Always attend your pre-op appointments and follow your care team's instructions.
Yes. GlowWell's framework is evidence-informed, grounded in published research on surgical prehabilitation. The 14-pillar framework draws on peer-reviewed literature in areas including exercise prehabilitation, perioperative nutrition, sleep optimization, and cognitive health. Research in this field has found associations between structured pre-surgical preparation and outcomes including complication rates and recovery speed. GlowWell translates this evidence into accessible daily actions; it does not make claims about your individual outcomes.
Send your surgical team the Clinical Ingredient Passport and ask them to review it. Many “stop all supplements” instructions exist because teams can’t see what’s in a product.
Some teams are comfortable with PREP™ once they’ve reviewed it; others still prefer you pause it. Either way, follow your surgical team’s final instructions.
If they advise against it, you have two options:
- Return it for a refund under the guarantee terms, or
- Keep preparing. Use the guidebook and the READY Method™ to prepare before surgery, then use your full 21 servings of PREP™ during recovery once your care team says food and drink are okay. You still get to prepare — and nothing goes to waste.
Follow the hospital or surgical team's plan first. PREP is not meant to replace or automatically add to a prescribed pre-op drink, medical nutrition product, or procedure-specific protocol.
Pause PREP during any prep and follow your surgical team's instructions exactly — theirs come first.
PREP contains protein, milk, wheat, fiber, and minerals, so it is not a clear liquid and not low-residue. That means:
- Bowel prep / clear-liquid day: Don't take PREP. Only clear liquids are allowed during this window, and PREP isn't one. This usually affects just the 1–2 days right before surgery, so most of your 14-day plan is unaffected.
- Low-fiber or low-residue diet: Don't take PREP during those days — its fiber (inulin/FOS) and milk protein add residue your team is trying to avoid.
- A hospital carb-loading drink or prescribed pre-op nutrition drink: Follow that plan.
You won't waste servings. Simply skip PREP on those days and add the unused servings to your post-op days once your team says eating and drinking are okay. Everything else in the READY Method™ — the daily learning, your questions for your care team, and your non-food goals — continues right up to surgery. Always share the Clinical Ingredient Passport with your surgical team so they can tell you exactly when to stop.
Share the Clinical Ingredient Passport with your surgical team and pharmacist. They can review the complete formula in the context of your medications, diagnoses, labs, and procedure.
If you are getting chemotherapy or radiation, share the one-page Clinical Ingredient Passport with your oncology team before starting PREP™. Your oncologist can confirm whether and when the vitamins and antioxidants in PREP fit with your treatment plan. Their instructions come first.
Maybe — but review the full list with your care team, because PREP's vitamins and minerals can overlap or add up with a multivitamin or other products. Share the Clinical Ingredient Passport alongside your other supplements so your team can see the totals and tell you what to keep, adjust, or pause before surgery. Their instructions come first.
Tell your care team about all supplements before blood testing so they can account for anything in the formula. PREP contains 300 mcg of biotin — a low, everyday dose — and at this level it is not expected to interfere with lab assays; interference is generally a concern at much higher supplement doses. The Clinical Ingredient Passport lists the full formula so your team can review it against any planned testing.
PREP contains milk (from whey protein isolate) and wheat (from the Humiome® postbiotic, which is cultured on a wheat-derived substrate). Always check the “Contains” statement on the label before use.
Milk: whey protein isolate has had nearly all its lactose removed, so many people who are lactose intolerant tolerate it well. But it still contains milk, so it is not safe for anyone with a milk allergy.
Wheat: a small amount carries into the finished product, so PREP is not gluten-free and is not suitable for anyone with a wheat allergy or celiac disease.
If you have a milk or wheat allergy or a gluten-related condition, don't use PREP — talk to your care team about other ways to hit your protein target.
No product is right for everyone. PREP was designed for adults preparing for planned surgery — not pediatric patients, or as a substitute for individualized medical nutrition therapy. PREP™ is not designed for acute trauma or emergency resuscitation. For unplanned or urgent surgeries where pre-op runway wasn’t available, PREP™ may be taken post-operatively with care team approval once you are cleared for oral nutrition. People who are pregnant or nursing, have medical conditions, take medications, or have allergies should consult their healthcare team.
No. PREP is formulated for adults preparing for elective surgery. Doses and nutrient forms weren't designed for children or teens. For anyone under 18 facing surgery, follow the pediatric team's nutrition guidance instead.
Tell your surgical and anesthesia team you're on a GLP-1 medication (Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound) — this matters regardless of PREP. These drugs slow stomach emptying, so your team will make an individualized plan about whether to pause the medication and whether you need a liquid-only diet in the 24 hours before surgery.
Because PREP contains protein and is not a clear liquid, follow the same timing rules: last serving at least 24 hours before surgery, and don't take PREP during any clear-liquid or liquid-only window your team sets. Never stop or change a prescription GLP-1 on your own — that's your prescriber's decision.
Usually yes, with your care team's okay — but check first. PREP is built around protein and contains a modest amount of added sugar (6 g per serving), but it does contain carbohydrate and other nutrients, and everyone's glucose response is different.
If you use insulin or other glucose-lowering medication, ask your care team how to fit PREP into your plan, and keep monitoring as you normally would. Stable blood sugar going into surgery matters, so share the Clinical Ingredient Passport so your team can see exactly what's in each serving.
Ask your care team before starting. PREP is designed to raise daily protein and also provides potassium, magnesium, and sodium. People with reduced kidney function often need individualized limits on protein and these minerals, so PREP may not be appropriate without medical guidance.
Share the Clinical Ingredient Passport so your team — ideally with a kidney dietitian — can review the exact amounts against your targets. Your team's plan always comes first.
Talk to your care team before using PREP. PREP is formulated for adults preparing for elective surgery, and some nutrients — including its vitamin A — are dosed for that purpose rather than for pregnancy or nursing.
Because needs and safe limits are different during pregnancy and breastfeeding, don't start PREP until your obstetric and surgical teams have reviewed the Clinical Ingredient Passport and cleared it for you.
Always review any supplement with your surgical team before surgery, and share the Clinical Ingredient Passport so they can check it against your medications.
Here's where PREP's design helps: many products patients are told to stop before surgery are the herbs and botanicals linked to bleeding. PREP contains zero herbal ingredients, zero botanicals, and no fish oil — and its ingredients (protein, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals) aren't on standard “hold for bleeding” lists. That's exactly why the formula is fully disclosed: so your team can confirm it fits your plan. If you take an anticoagulant, follow your team's instructions on both your medication and your supplements.
If you're prone to cold sores (HSV) or shingles (herpes zoster) and want to be cautious, this is a good thing to raise with your care team — and easy to work around. The long-standing idea is that the amino acids arginine and lysine compete, and that higher arginine intake could favor herpesvirus activity. It's a reasonable theory, but high-quality studies have not established that arginine at food or supplement doses actually triggers an outbreak, and PREP provides 7 g per serving for a defined 21-day window, not open-ended use. Arginine is also found naturally in everyday high-protein foods like poultry, dairy, nuts, and seeds. If you have frequent outbreaks or are in an active flare, ask your care team whether to hold PREP; you can always use the guidebook and the READY Method™ to prepare, then take your servings during recovery. As with any supplement, share the Clinical Ingredient Passport so your team can advise for your situation.
Talk to your cardiology and surgical teams before starting, specifically because PREP contains L-arginine (7 g). Arginine is a nitric-oxide precursor that can modestly lower blood pressure, and major cardiology guidance is cautious here: the American Heart Association advises avoiding L-arginine after a recent heart attack, where supplementation has been linked to worse outcomes in older patients, and it is used with caution in heart failure or with nitrates and certain blood-pressure or potassium-affecting medications. If you've had a recent cardiac event, are on nitrates or a PDE-5 inhibitor, or take spironolactone or another potassium-sparing medication, don't start PREP until your care team has reviewed it. Share the Clinical Ingredient Passport, which lists arginine's dose, its blood-pressure and potassium considerations, and the standard hold at least 24 hours before surgery, so your team can decide what's right for you.
PREP is designed as a general preparation system for adults undergoing elective surgery, and the foundations it's built on — nutrition, movement, sleep, and preparation — apply broadly across procedures.
Prehabilitation has been studied most in major surgery, and that's where the evidence is strongest. Systematic reviews and guidelines report fewer complications and shorter hospital stays with prehabilitation before major abdominal and colorectal (including cancer) surgery, and professional guidelines specifically recommend it for frail or higher-risk patients facing these operations. In orthopedic surgery — total knee and hip replacement and lumbar spine surgery — prehabilitation improves preoperative strength and function and can reduce complications. Research also spans vascular, urologic, gynecologic, and cardiothoracic procedures, though it is less mature there.
Your surgical team decides what's appropriate for your specific procedure and history. Share the Clinical Ingredient Passport with them, and use the guidebook for the preparation habits that apply to nearly any operation.
PREP™ Nutrition
Want the dose rationale for each ingredient? Why every PREP ingredient is here →
Absolutely. PREP™ is specifically formulated with clean proteins, amino acids, and prebiotic/postbiotic support designed to be gentle on digestion and reduce the gastrointestinal stress often caused by surgery and standard medical drinks.
Never. We believe in 100% clinical transparency. Every active ingredient, amino acid, and vitamin is fully disclosed with exact dosages on the back of the pack—with zero hidden blends, artificial colors, corn syrup, or seed oils.
A 21-day Surgical Readiness system for the days before and after elective surgery. It combines daily nutrition support with The READY Guide, built around 14 research-informed Pillars of Surgical Readiness.
A typical shake mainly provides protein. PREP combines whey protein isolate with L-arginine, L-glutamine, selected vitamins and minerals, postbiotic and prebiotic support, and electrolytes — plus a structured preparation method and care-team transparency. It's a complete system for the surgery window, not a single-ingredient drink.
No. It's a dietary supplement intended to complement the regular diet, not replace meals or serve as the sole source of nutrition.
Stir or shake one scoop into 8–12 oz of cold water. Always follow the final product label directions.
Yes. Sometimes surgery happens fast, or you found us after your procedure. The 21 servings of PREP™ and the READY Guide still give you support after surgery. Start once your surgical team clears you for normal food and drink, and follow any procedure-specific nutrition instructions.
Surgery isn't the finish line — it's the turn. The same 14 pillars in the READY Guide that built your foundation carry you through recovery, at the level your care team has cleared for you. The movement goals are written for before surgery, so don't resume exercise or lifting until your surgical team says it's safe.
Start recovery with PREP™ →PREP comes in Pineapple Passion — a bright, tropical flavor that tastes like a sunny vacation drink. It's lightly sweetened with a small amount of cane sugar (6 g per serving) plus stevia leaf extract, so it's easy to drink every day without being overly sweet. Just stir or shake one scoop into 8–12 oz of cold water, and adjust the water to taste.
Many surgical teams ask patients to stop herbal and botanical products before procedures. PREP was deliberately formulated with zero herbal ingredients, zero botanicals, and zero proprietary blends so the complete formula can be reviewed clearly.
No. PREP contains no caffeine and no stimulants — a deliberate choice for a product used around surgery, when your team wants a clear, predictable formula.
PREP is not vegan — the protein comes from milk (whey). It contains no meat or fish ingredients, so it fits a lacto-vegetarian diet. Vegans and anyone avoiding dairy should choose a different protein source and review protein targets with their care team.
PREP is not currently NSF Certified for Sport or Informed Sport certified — earning one of those certifications is a goal we're working toward. What PREP does today: finished batches are tested for identity, purity and potency, and the formula is built to be surgery-conscious — zero herbal ingredients, zero botanicals, zero proprietary blends, and no stimulants — with every ingredient and amount fully disclosed on the label and in the Clinical Ingredient Passport. If you're a competing athlete subject to anti-doping rules, know that PREP is not yet third-party certified for banned substances, so check with your governing body and review the full ingredient list before use.
Because most products are not made with surgery in mind. Around surgery, what's actually in the bottle matters as much as what's on the label — and with most supplements, you can't be sure.
Dietary supplements — including PREP™ — don't require pre-market FDA approval, and commercial products frequently conceal doses inside proprietary blends or include undeclared herbs. That's a big reason surgical teams often tell patients to stop all supplements before surgery — they can't verify what a product really contains.
PREP™ is Surgery-Conscious by Design™ — our standard for choosing every ingredient and amount with surgery in mind:
- A defined, fully disclosed formula — every ingredient and amount on the label, with zero herbal ingredients, zero botanicals, and zero proprietary blends for your team to question.
- Documented sourcing and cGMP-compliant manufacturing.
- Finished-product and heavy-metal testing on every batch.
- A Clinical Ingredient Passport made for your surgical, anesthesia, and pharmacy teams to review.
- The READY Method™ wrapped around the nutrition, so it's a plan — not just a pile of ingredients.
Buying a dozen separate products can't replicate that. The combined standard — transparent formula, tested, and surgery-conscious — is the product.
The Surgery-Conscious by Design™ Standard →Around surgery, probably not — and that's the core reason PREP exists. Surgical-safety guidance directs patients to stop herbal and botanical supplements 1–2 weeks before surgery, and the rule for multi-ingredient products is strict: if a blend contains even one ingredient on a “hold before surgery” list, the whole product should be held. Greens and wellness stacks commonly contain exactly those ingredients — turmeric, ginger, ginkgo, ginseng, garlic, green tea extract, high-dose vitamin E — and proprietary blends often can't be evaluated quickly enough for a team to clear them. PREP is deliberately the opposite: no herbs, no botanicals, no proprietary blends, and every ingredient and amount fully disclosed on the label and Clinical Ingredient Passport, so your team can actually review it. Always share your full supplement list with your surgical team.
We source each ingredient from where we can get the quality and form we want — some come from trusted suppliers here in the U.S., others from established suppliers abroad. Every ingredient meets the same standard regardless of origin: documented sourcing, identity and quality verification, and finished-batch testing for identity, purity and potency. PREP is then blended in a cGMP-compliant facility and packaged in Bend, Oregon. Every ingredient, amount, and form is disclosed on the label and in the Clinical Ingredient Passport.
An independent laboratory evaluates the finished product against the finalized testing specification.
Yes. The finished-product testing program includes heavy metals.
Yes. GlowWell is committed to the standard rather than one fixed ingredient list. If evidence, guidance, ingredient science, safety information, or manufacturing requirements change, the anesthesiologist-led team can reevaluate. The label and Clinical Ingredient Passport always reflect the current product.
Surgical stress can increase protein breakdown while appetite and activity fall. Protein supplies amino acids required for normal tissue maintenance and repair. Individual targets should come from your healthcare team or a qualified nutrition professional.
PREP is designed to help you prepare mentally and physically for surgery — with targeted nutrition, practical guidance, and daily actions across the areas that matter before and after an operation. Its approach is informed by published research on prehabilitation, perioperative nutrition, and the individual ingredients in PREP. PREP itself has not yet been clinically studied as a complete system, so we don’t claim that it improves surgical outcomes. The goal is to help you go into surgery more prepared for the physical and mental demands ahead.
READY Guide
While PREP™ builds your biochemical and muscular reserves, The READY Guide walks you step-by-step through the other critical dimensions of recovery—including movement, cardio reserve, sleep, brain health, and care-team communication.
Not at launch. The physical guidebook is meant to be written in and kept nearby. A digital companion may be added later.
Preparation before surgery through areas such as nutrition, exercise, psychological support, smoking cessation, education, and risk-factor management. Evidence varies by intervention, population, and procedure.
Pre-op visits are tightly focused on medical clearance, anesthesia evaluation, and immediate procedural safety—rarely leaving time for lifestyle, nutrition, or physical conditioning.
Being cleared is not the same as being prepared. Clearance confirms you are medically safe to undergo surgery; preparation builds the physical and nutritional reserve you need to heal and recover.
Prehabilitation is supported by thousands of clinical trials (ERAS, surgical oncology, orthopedics), but busy hospital systems don't have the staffing to deliver it to every patient.
Prehabilitation is an established and growing field, but it isn't yet routine everywhere. Surgical workflows are usually built around the procedure, clearance, and immediate safety tasks; evidence takes time to become standard care, and many practices lack the staff or structure to deliver a multimodal preparation program to every patient. So even when the concept is well recognized, it often isn't formally offered.
Many surgeons and anesthesiologists are familiar with prehabilitation concepts even if the specific term is new to them. GlowWell simply translates this general education into a patient-led daily system, while leaving all individual decisions to your care team. You're welcome to share GlowWell's educational materials if your team has questions — and the most important thing is that they're informed about any supplements or significant lifestyle changes you make before surgery.
It organizes the 14 Pillars of Surgical Readiness into five areas: Rebuild, Energize, Align, De-Stress, and You. The guidebook turns them into one lesson and one focused pre-op action per day, followed by postoperative check-in prompts.
No. It's designed around consistency and useful action, not perfection — one focused step at a time.
What comes with the System?
GlowWell is a surgical preparation program designed to help you arrive at surgery in your best possible condition. It combines evidence-informed lifestyle guidance across 14 Pillars of Surgical Readiness — including strength, nutrition, sleep, and stress — into a structured 21-day program: 14 days before surgery and 7 days after. It was created by a board-certified anesthesiologist who has cared for 20,000+ surgical patients. GlowWell is an educational wellness program, not a medical treatment or a substitute for your surgical team's instructions.
GlowWell was founded by Dr. Cherie Long, a board-certified anesthesiologist who has cared for 20,000+ surgical patients. She developed GlowWell's framework based on published research in surgical prehabilitation — the practice of preparing before surgery to support recovery. The program reflects the evidence-informed approach she wished every patient had access to before going into the operating room.
Fuel without a plan is just a shake. A plan without fuel is just advice. The GlowWell Surgical Readiness System is sold as one system because the READY Method™ guide and PREP™ nutrition were built to work together — the plan tells you what to do, the nutrition fuels it. For your first surgery, start with the complete system.
Already own the system? You can reorder the PREP™ nutrition pouch on its own at refill pricing, since you already have the guide.
Reorder PREP™ → (link pending)- PREP™ Nutrition: 21 daily servings
- The READY Guide: 39-page workbook with 14-day pre-op plan, surgery-day plan and 7-day recovery log
- Surgery-Day Companion Bag
- Clinical Ingredient Passport
- Care-Team + Home-Recovery Tools
- Safety Resources
- Surgical Readiness Quiz
- Early READY app access
- Free shipping (ships within 2 business days)
- The READY Guarantee™
Nutrition plus an action plan, not just a supplement. A one-time purchase.
Ordering + guarantee
Eligibility varies by plan and may require documentation such as a Letter of Medical Necessity. Check with your plan administrator.
Every order ships free within 2 business days. Need it sooner? Choose expedited shipping at checkout. Because PREP is timed to your surgery date, order as soon as your date is set so it arrives with runway to spare.
Right now we ship within the United States only. But we'd love to reach you — email us at support@getglowwell.com and tell us where you're located so we can work on shipping to your destination soon.
Recovery isn't just a week — your body keeps rebuilding for months, and your nutrition should keep up. You can add a 21-day refill right at checkout. If you're already past checkout, email us at support@getglowwell.com to get refill pricing.
The system covers one 21-day surgery window. For staged or multiple procedures, you already own the guide, so you can reorder the PREP™ nutrition pouch at refill pricing for each additional window. If you're unsure how to time it, contact support and we'll help you map it to your dates.
Yes — and it's more than something to open. You're giving someone with surgery coming up a real plan: daily nutrition, a structured preparation guide, the questions to ask their care team, and support for the days before and after.
At checkout, choose Send as a gift to add a personal message and ship directly to the recipient (or to yourself to hand over in person). Not sure of their surgery date? The system works on whatever runway they have.
Send PREP as a gift → (link pending)Email support@getglowwell.com. For anything about your medical care, medications, fasting, or activity, your surgical team comes first — we can't give medical advice, but we're glad to help with the product, your order, and how to use the system.
Yes. We don't sell your personal information, and your surgery date is used only to help you time the program. You can unsubscribe from emails anytime.
Privacy policy → (link pending)If your clinical team doesn't love it, or you don't, return PREP within 14 days of delivery for a full refund. Some servings must remain and the guidebook must be returned, and return shipping is the customer's responsibility. Contact support@getglowwell.com with your order number. Refunds go to your original payment method, typically within a few business days of approval. This guarantee covers your purchase experience — it is not a promise of any medical result.
Refund & Guarantee Policy → (link pending)Still have a question?
Orders, returns, press or partnerships — we’re here to help.
Prepare better.Recover stronger.