It can be hard for people with cancer to eat enough to stay fit. You might not want to eat, have less of an appetite, or have a change in taste because of your treatment. You might also be having side effects like diarrhoea and sickness.
Not getting enough food can make patients weaker and more likely to get sick, among other things. Cancer treatments might not be able to go on or may have to stop in the long run. To keep the body running at its best while getting care for cancer, it’s important to eat well.
If someone is sick, they can handle it better if they know what things to eat. By getting the right mix of foods and calories, you can lessen the side effects of cancer therapy. It helps your body heal faster if you eat well while you are getting care.
Foods To Include In Cancer Diet
What you eat depends on what kind of cancer you have and how healthy you are when you are first identified. The important goal is to get enough nutrients and calories healthily. There are times when you may only be able to drink anything clear. A liquid diet can help you control your symptoms and side effects for a short time, but it doesn’t give you enough nutrition.
Cruciferous Vegetables
They can fight it and make it go away again. It has been found that the plant molecules in cruciferous veggies stop cancer cells from spreading and growing. It can slow the growth of cells in tumours that are getting out of hand. Bioactive chemicals in cruciferous veggies help get rid of enzymes that can cause cancer.
Include cruciferous vegetables like:
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Bok Choy
- Kale
- Cabbage
- Arugula
Protein
It did help to get stronger, fix broken cells, and get more energy after treatment to eat a lot of protein. So you don’t lose muscle, slowly raise the amount of protein you eat before your treatment. A lot of people with cancer and cancer medicines lose their muscles. Here are some good places to get protein:
- Beans
- Chicken and other lean meat Cottage cheese
- Eggs
- Lentils
- Freshwater or fatty fish
- Yoghurt
- Tofu
- Paneer
- Oats
Berries
More flavonoids and anthocyanins are found in them than in any other food. The skin, seeds, and leaves of the berries all have anthocyanins and other flavonoids. They can help with cancer signs because they are antioxidants.
Cranberries, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries may help keep you from getting cancer. A study found that eating berries can help keep you from getting cancer in most parts of your breast and GI system. Berries also have phytochemicals that can help with prostate, liver, kidney, and lung cancer, but not as much.
Vitamin C
It is known that vitamin C can help the defence system. This is because people with cancer often have weak immune systems. Eating vitamin C-rich foods can help keep their health from getting worse.
- One raw red pepper of average size has 226 mg.
- One medium fresh raw pepper has 106 milligrams.
- One medium orange has 69 mg
- 86 mg for 1 cup of cubed papaya
- 58 mg for 1/2 cup of cooked broccoli
- 124 mg for 1 cup of orange juice to pulp
Garlic
It has been shown that eating a lot of Allium veggies, like garlic, lowers the chance of getting stomach cancer. As little as two to five grams, or one clove, of fresh garlic every day can help people with cancer stay healthy. Onions, leeks, and shallots, which are allium veggies, are also good for you in the same way.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Cancer tumours in the breast and prostate can grow a little more slowly when omega-3 fatty acids are present. Your body does not make omega-3 fatty acids, so you need to eat them or take pills that have them. But it’s better to stay away from omega-3 fatty acid pills if you have cancer.
Instead, here are some things that are high in omega-3 fatty acids and are good for you:
- Flaxseed oil and flour.
- Beans like kidney, Great Northern, and navy beans
- Walnuts
Aim to eat shrimp or cold-water fish three to four times a week.
- Salmon
- Mackerel
- Sardines
- Herring
- Tuna
- Lake trout
- Halibut
Cancer’s Worst Food Groups
Those who are trying to lose weight to fight cancer should stay away from things that aren’t on the list. People with cancer shouldn’t eat these everyday things.
Organized Meat
When you salt, dry, smoke, or cure meats that have already been handled, they stay fresh longer. These include cold foods, hot dogs, beef jerky, and bacon. Chemicals are used to keep processed foods fresh, which is bad for your health. A study found that if you eat a lot of processed meat, you have a greater chance of getting lung, breast, colon, and rectal cancers.
Nitrates and nitrites, which are used to keep meat fresh, are known to cause cancer, so people who already have cancer shouldn’t eat processed foods. A lot of cured foods also have a lot of salt in them. When you are being treated for cancer, you should limit your sodium intake so that you don’t retain water.
Charred Meat
There are chemicals called heterocyclic aromatic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that meat gives off when it is cooked at high temperatures. It is known that HCAs and PAHs can lead to cancer. A study found that the HCAs and PAHs in red meat make getting colon cancer more likely.
If you want to cook meat, use low- or moist-heat ways, such as stewing, baking, or braising. It’s not hot enough for the meat to get burned when cooked this way. In this way, you can stop chemicals from coming together that could lead to cancer.
Sugar-sweetened Beverages
If you drink sweet drinks, you gain weight, and your blood sugar goes down. When you eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight. It’s not healthy for a lot of people with cancer to lose weight, but it’s also not healthy for them to gain weight. Studies have shown that drinking sugary drinks can make you more likely to get cancer.
If you drink sugary drinks, it lets you take steps to reduce your risk of obtaining cancer. One thing you could do is eat mostly whole fruits instead of drinks in bottles. You cannot change your genes, but you can change the way you eat, which can help stop cancer from happening.
Conclusion
It’s important to eat well before, during, and after cancer treatment. Your body will feel better after chemo, radiation, surgery, and other cancer treatments if you eat healthy foods. However, people with cancer need different amounts of nutrients. A professional dietitian can help you set nutrition goals and plan your meals to help you reach those goals.
