Nutrition during chemotherapy

An important stage of cancer therapy is chemotherapy. The cancer itself, as well as antitumor drugs, entail significant changes in the patient's body, resulting in: distortion of taste preferences, loss of appetite, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, inability to consume the required amount of food. In turn, the effectiveness of therapy largely depends on the nutritional value of the food consumed, so carefully organized nutrition during chemotherapy will help cope with the side effects of drugs, improve overall well-being and set the body up for recovery.

Cancer patients often face the problem of weight loss, the presence of which makes it impossible to continue chemotherapy. An individual diet rich in protein, vitamins and minerals requires mandatory attention from the doctor and the patient. In addition to nutritional value, food should be easily digested and absorbed. In situations with a complete lack of appetite or with an aversion to the usual cuisine, they resort to alternative nutrition with special high-calorie formulations - Nutridrink, Nutrizon, etc.

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Proper nutrition during chemotherapy

The development of a diet during antitumor treatment is based on the individual characteristics of the patient's body (often with a list of foods that cause nausea), as well as on negative reactions to medications.

Frequent and fractional meals during chemotherapy normalize the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, help cope with bouts of nausea. The food consumed should be warm, no more than 50º C. You can get rid of the gag reflex by sucking on an ice cube, ice cream or a piece of lemon.

Proper nutrition during chemotherapy, basic principles:

• It is preferable to drink between meals, since drinking liquids during meals increases nausea and causes bloating;
• It is better to replace solid food with liquid food – soups, thin porridges, juices, etc.;
• eat when your body requires it most (for example, some patients have an appetite in the morning);
• use high-calorie foods with low volume and maximum nutritional value (for example, nut kernels);
• you should eat slowly, chewing well;
• it is advisable to steam, boil or bake food (sometimes you will have to puree the food to make the digestion process as easy as possible);
• eat at the same time;
• Prepare snacks that you should always have on hand.

While undergoing chemotherapy, it is important to remain attentive to yourself:

• don't worry when you don't feel like eating at all;
• ensure you drink enough fluids;
• do not force yourself to eat after a bout of vomiting (you can start eating only a few hours later, and before that, water in small sips is recommended);
• if diarrhea develops, reduce fiber intake;
• If another wave hits, give up eating your favorite foods so as not to develop an aversion to them.

Nutrition during chemotherapy of malignant tumors

Drug treatment of malignant neoplasms is a method that is quite aggressive for the body, allowing to get rid of cancer cells while damaging healthy tissues. The main blow from chemistry falls on the mucous membrane of the digestive system and blood cells.

Nutrition during chemotherapy for malignant tumors:

Recommended	Forbidden
Bakery products
Diabetic biscuits, crackers, stale biscuit	Pastries, pies/pies, products with rye flour, pancakes
Meat dishes
Steamed or boiled: turkey/chicken (remove skin), lean lamb/rabbit meat, etc., liver, tongue	Fatty meat, especially with tendons/fascia, processed by frying/stewing, canned food, meat in dough (dumplings, manti, etc.)
Seafood
Steamed/boiled lean fish (do not eat bones and skin)	Fatty fish dishes, exclude fried, salted, stewed, avoid smoked and canned foods
Eggs
Omelette, preferably steamed	Scrambled eggs, hard boiled, uncooked egg whites
Fats
Sunflower/olive oil, refined; butter is allowed in the absence of mucositis	Rest
Dairy products
Any products for children (curds, yogurts, etc.), casseroles, puddings, ice cream	In case of mucositis, avoid fatty foods and spicy cheeses; in other cases, highly acidic foods are not recommended.
Cereals, pasta, legumes
Semolina, rice (brought to a state of soft boiling), buckwheat and oatmeal (necessarily mashed) are prepared in water or milk, various puddings (preferably steamed), soufflé/cutlets from crushed cereals, pasta from coarse wheat	Buckwheat kernels, pearl barley, millet, barley, legumes
First courses
Strained soups or pureed soups with light meat/fish broth, as well as cereal, vegetable, and milk soups	Rich broths with meat, fish, mushrooms and vegetables, okroshka, borscht, rassolnik, shchi
Vegetables
Preferably steamed or boiled - potatoes, cauliflower, beets, carrots, pumpkin, zucchini	Others, including canned, pickled, marinated, fermented, and mushrooms
Sauces and seasonings, spices
Dill, vanilla sugar, milk/sour cream based sauces, as well as egg-and-oil based sauces	Spicy, hot, it is also recommended to reduce the amount of salt consumed
Fruits, berries
Kissels, compotes, jellies, mousses, sweet fruit/berry jams, baked apples without peel	Fresh berries/fruits, except bananas and sweet apples, unripe and sour, dried fruits
Sweets
Protein-based desserts (e.g. mousse), ice cream	Halva, chocolate
Drinks
Weak teas with added milk/cream, weak cocoa boiled in milk, sweet juices, rosehip decoction, uzvar	Coffee and alcohol-containing drinks, kvass, homemade juices, sodas, sour juices

Nutrition during chemotherapy for lung cancer

Anti-tumor treatment requires the patient to have a good appetite and consume the required amount of vitamins and minerals, which can be difficult to achieve without a proper diet. Avoiding foods that are strongly disliked, it is important to build a diet so as to prevent weight loss. That is why the diet during chemotherapy for lung cancer should include dishes made from dietary meat (rabbit, poultry) and eggs. As for drinking, preference should be given to clean water, herbal decoctions or green tea. For tumors in the lungs, traditional medicine recommends sweet pears.

The goal of diet therapy is to reduce the side effects of medications, unload the gastrointestinal tract by reducing the cost of digesting food and maintaining the strength of a weakened body. Nutrition during chemotherapy for malignant lung tumors should exclude:

• use of preservatives, colorings, food additives;
• marinades, canned and smoked products;
• canned goods, sausages;
• sweeteners;
• drinks based on coffee and alcohol;
• sugar, confectionery and sweets;
• fatty foods, refractory fats.

To replenish protein, lean meat, fish or eggs are suitable; if you don’t like animal food, replace it with dairy products, nuts, almond oil. An alternative to protein food can be dry milk or soy whey.

Nutrition during chemotherapy for lymphoma

The medications used to treat lymphoma have a negative impact on the digestive system, the ability to eat, and the appetite. As a result of therapy, patients experience unpleasant symptoms such as: bowel disturbances, weight changes, nausea, taste problems, mouth and throat ulcers.

According to doctors, the patient should be aware that proper nutrition during chemotherapy is an important component of successful treatment. Following an individual diet will make it easier to tolerate antitumor drugs, add strength and help to recover faster. The ability to have a quick and full snack often solves the problem of loss of appetite, helps to easily digest and assimilate foods. The following are suitable for a snack:

• apple puree;
• cereal breads with nuts, fruits, sprouted grains;
• cream soup with cream;
• hard-boiled eggs;
• nuts;
• fruit ice, ice cream, frozen yogurt;
• muesli, quick breakfasts;
• dairy products or cocktails;
• various puddings;
• nut butter.

In case of damage to the oral mucosa or larynx (ulcers, inflammation, etc.), nutrition during lymphoma chemotherapy consists mainly of pureed and liquid dishes. Such patients should avoid products that irritate the mucosa - spicy, salty, tomato juice/sauce, citrus fruits and juices from them, raw and coarse food (toast, vegetables, etc.).

Nutrition during chemotherapy for stomach cancer

As a result of the growth of cancer cells on the mucous membrane or after surgery to remove a malignant tumor in the gastrointestinal tract, the absorption of nutrients is sharply reduced. It has been proven that 30 kcal/1 kg of weight is enough to maintain normal body weight. The food consumed should be high-calorie and easily digestible. When compiling a diet, the following ratio should be taken into account: 55% carbohydrates, 30% fats and 15% proteins. Moreover, the percentage of raw food should be selected individually for each patient.

Sprouted grain is an indispensable nutrition during chemotherapy for stomach cancer. Fresh sprouts optimize metabolic processes and strengthen the immune system, replenish the balance of vitamins, microelements and enzymes. But you should not store sprouted kernels for future use, they lose their nutritional value and oxidize.

Honey and bee products (propolis, mumiyo, etc.) are a real find in supporting weakened patients. Flower pollen, for example, helps normalize hemoglobin, reduces fatigue and activates the body's defenses.

Problems of the gastrointestinal tract can be eliminated by drinking red or black currant juice, which has a general strengthening effect. Nutrition during chemotherapy for stomach tumors includes various varieties of cabbage containing ascorbigen, a substance capable of slowing down the process of reproduction of cancer cells. A source of easily digestible fructose, glucose, as well as macro- and microelements is watermelon honey, obtained from the pulp of ripe watermelons. Figs eaten before meals improve digestion and liver function. Steamed pumpkin is the number one remedy for patients who have undergone severe surgical treatment; it contains copper, zinc, and iron.

The attending physician often prescribes enzymes and hydrochloric acid to promote rapid emptying of the stomach. After surgery, it may be recommended to eat every two hours.

Therapeutic nutrition during chemotherapy

Therapeutic nutrition during chemotherapy is considered an integral part of the complex treatment of malignant neoplasms. The main goal of nutrition for cancer patients is to prevent weight loss and maintain vitality. Metabolism in cancer patients changes significantly depending on the stage of the disease and the treatment load. On the one hand, the body reacts to stress when food intake is limited, and on the other hand, there is a loss of appetite and problems with consuming familiar foods. In turn, a decrease in the food norm is fraught with mental dissatisfaction and even disorders. Therefore, it is important to understand that rational diet therapy is not a weapon against cancer, but only a means of maintaining the normal state of the body. The balance between plant and animal products is also important. No one requires a patient with cancer to become a vegetarian, it is only a question of choosing dietary meat. Another matter is when a cancer patient shows intolerance to meat dishes. In this case, cooking meat in a closed pan, masking the smell with sauces and other tricks helps.

Nutrition during chemotherapy should be constantly monitored and adjusted by a specialist. An important role is also played by a new daily routine, in which food is taken in small portions with a frequency of up to 6 times.