Below is a guest blog post from David Haas who has a special interest in healthy eating for those battling cancer. For any questions regarding the post, please contact David directly at: david.d.haas22@gmail.com.
Nutrition and Cancer: Eating Well with Eating Challenges
From surgery to chemotherapy to radiation, cancer treatments are harsh and aggressive. They are designed to kill hostile cancer cells. In the process, they also damage healthy cells. This produces unpleasant side effects that can cause eating problems.
Good nutrition is extremely important for cancer patients, whether they are facing a mesothelioma diagnosis or breast cancer surgery. Cancer nutrition looks different than traditional healthy eating, though. People with cancer have different dietary needs, and their meals contain other than normal, healthy foods.
For most people, healthy eating means fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and limited meat, dairy, fats, sugars and salt. People with cancer eat to keep up their strength. It is the only way to deal treatment symptoms. However, since this includes eating problems, good nutrition is challenging for most cancer patients.
Common Eating Problems During Cancer Treatment
Some cancer treatments cause dry mouth, sore mouth, sore throat and swallowing problems. This can make it hard to eat certain types of food. Most patients are also concerned with weight maintenance since treatments can cause severe weight loss or gain.
Common Nutritional Needs During Cancer Treatment
Cancer patients require extra calories and protein. This applies to people with breast cancer, mesothelioma symptomsand other complications. They may need to add more eggs, milk and cheese to their diets. Unfortunately, lactose intolerance is a common treatment symptoms, so dairy foods are not always advisable.
People with mouth and throat problems often benefit from gravies, sauces and other soft, wet foods. Those who struggle with diarrhea may need to exchange their fiber-rich foods for low-fiber alternatives. Dietitians and nutritionists can help cancer patients make appropriate changes to their diets.
Vitamins, Minerals and Other Nutritional Supplements
Some cancer patients may require supplementation to get the nutrients they need for good health. Taking vitamins, minerals, herbs and other supplements are a common practice in holistic medicine. No studies prove that these products prevent, cure or treat cancer. However, they may be good complementary therapy for some patients.
Herbs and nutritional supplements may interact with cancer drugs and prescription medications. In some cases, they may actually change the way certain cancer treatments work. Therefore, they should only be used under doctor supervision.
