Eating Healthy During Cancer
Modern medicine allows more people to survive their battles with cancer. Treatments like radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery are effective in removing many types of cancer and preventing the disease from returning. However, as effective as these treatments are, they still have detrimental side effects that interfere with patients' ability to eat a healthy diet. Many patients feel nauseous and weak after undergoing their treatments. Even so, doctors urge patients to maintain a healthy diet. Eating a variety of healthy foods while undergoing treatments for mesothelioma and other forms of cancer allows people to retain their strength and improve their chances of recovery.
In fact, the healthiest food choices are sometimes the most unappetizing to cancer patients. After they go through a round of radiation and chemotherapy, their sense of smell becomes sensitive to unpleasant odors. As a result, some people cannot stomach dairy products. The smell of cheese, yogurt, and even ice cream may make them nauseous and cause them to vomit. Thus, many cancer patients prefer to avoid dairy products altogether in the days after they receive their therapies.
However, as the National Cancer Institute indicates, dairy proves to be an essential part of a cancer patient's diet. Dairy foods contain calcium and Vitamin D, both of which are imperative to a person's bone health and immune system. If a person avoids eating dairy, he or she compromises the body's bone structure and makes that individual susceptible to fractures. Likewise, the person's immunity may become weakened to the point of its being unable to fight off viral and bacterial infections.
Patients can also improve their immunity by eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. These foods contain vast amounts of Vitamin C, which is an essential vitamin needed for natural immunity to infections. As with dairy, however, the sight and smell of fruits and vegetables may leave cancer patients feeling queasy. To mask the smells associated with these foods, people may try to blend them into a drink or season them with salt or sugar.
Seasoning meat also helps patients eat and retain foods that are high in protein. Many cancer patients become severely anemic after they receive chemotherapy. This treatment deprives the bloodstream of iron, which is needed for the body's energy and ability to perform daily tasks. Without the proper amount of iron, people feel weak, tired, and unable to carry out their normal routines. As such, doctors suggest that eating plenty of red meat, including steak and hamburger, helps people retain their iron levels.
If patients are not able to eat meat or if they are vegetarians, they can still get the needed amount of iron by eating legumes and beans. Foods like peanut butter, navy beans, tofu, and whole grains contain healthy amounts of this dietary component. If patients find it difficult to retain their meals, they are advised to eat small portions and eat more frequently. A few bites of food once an hour is better than not eating at all.
Modern medicine allows more people to survive their battles with cancer. Treatments like radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery are effective in removing many types of cancer and preventing the disease from returning. However, as effective as these treatments are, they still have detrimental side effects that interfere with patients' ability to eat a healthy diet. Many patients feel nauseous and weak after undergoing their treatments. Even so, doctors urge patients to maintain a healthy diet. Eating a variety of healthy foods while undergoing treatments for mesothelioma and other forms of cancer allows people to retain their strength and improve their chances of recovery.
In fact, the healthiest food choices are sometimes the most unappetizing to cancer patients. After they go through a round of radiation and chemotherapy, their sense of smell becomes sensitive to unpleasant odors. As a result, some people cannot stomach dairy products. The smell of cheese, yogurt, and even ice cream may make them nauseous and cause them to vomit. Thus, many cancer patients prefer to avoid dairy products altogether in the days after they receive their therapies.
However, as the National Cancer Institute indicates, dairy proves to be an essential part of a cancer patient's diet. Dairy foods contain calcium and Vitamin D, both of which are imperative to a person's bone health and immune system. If a person avoids eating dairy, he or she compromises the body's bone structure and makes that individual susceptible to fractures. Likewise, the person's immunity may become weakened to the point of its being unable to fight off viral and bacterial infections.
Patients can also improve their immunity by eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. These foods contain vast amounts of Vitamin C, which is an essential vitamin needed for natural immunity to infections. As with dairy, however, the sight and smell of fruits and vegetables may leave cancer patients feeling queasy. To mask the smells associated with these foods, people may try to blend them into a drink or season them with salt or sugar.
Seasoning meat also helps patients eat and retain foods that are high in protein. Many cancer patients become severely anemic after they receive chemotherapy. This treatment deprives the bloodstream of iron, which is needed for the body's energy and ability to perform daily tasks. Without the proper amount of iron, people feel weak, tired, and unable to carry out their normal routines. As such, doctors suggest that eating plenty of red meat, including steak and hamburger, helps people retain their iron levels.
If patients are not able to eat meat or if they are vegetarians, they can still get the needed amount of iron by eating legumes and beans. Foods like peanut butter, navy beans, tofu, and whole grains contain healthy amounts of this dietary component. If patients find it difficult to retain their meals, they are advised to eat small portions and eat more frequently. A few bites of food once an hour is better than not eating at all.
Just to reiterate I am not an m.d. I have a bachelor of nutrition science. I relay information. Anything posted on this blog does not replace any form of medical advice.
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