Diet and Nutrition During Cancer Treatment

As we all are well aware of the fact that people face health issues to have an appetite during cancer treatment. With commonly faced issues like nausea, vomiting, and other unbearable symptoms, it becomes quite difficult for patients to eat. However, a hearty meal is never an option meant to be dropped by a healthy or an ill person, and here’s how consuming healthy can help you get back on your feet: 

• Proper food intake can help you maintain your body weight and muscles. 
• As the treatment process of cancer is tiresome, eating proper food can help you gain more energy, avoid delays in treatment, and your response to the treatment can be fastened up. 
• It can help you cope up with certain side effects like differences in tastes, diarrhea, constipation, fatigue, and other similar symptoms.

Food to Ensure Better Recovery from Cancer Treatment:

Undergoing cancer treatment can be a hassle considering the doubts, concerns, and queries that might arise about recovery and the results of it in the mind of the patient or their loved ones. There are healthcare teams that prepare the diet and nutrition requirements of the person receiving the treatment based on the side effects. So it would rather be helpful to go for a journal addressing the symptoms and your fooding habits to let them assist you better. To ensure the healthiest diet for you, there are certain instructions and recommendations by cancer specialists in India, listed below that will help you cope with your treatment and come out healthier. 

When you don’t feel hungry or get full easily: 

• In such a case, you are advised to take 5-6 meals of small amounts on a daily basis rather than eating three big meals. 
• Entertain yourself while taking your food, like talk to someone or watch television to distract yourself from what you’re doing. 
• Set a schedule for eating and always keep snacks within your reach. 
• Encourage yourself to eat often by whatever means possible.

When you get hungry too often or overeat: 

• If your appetite happens to increase over time or if you get hungry more than usual then distributing your food intake into three big meals can be the right choice. 
• Restrict yourself from consuming high-calorie food like pizza, cheese, fatty foods, sweets, fried edibles, and other similar items. 
• Make yourself comfortable with food like fresh fruits such as oranges, bananas, pears,  vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, fish, poultry products, beans, and other healthy items. 
• Inculcate some instructed proportions of avocado, nuts, and more in your meal along with filling yourself with water before having a meal. 

If you experience a change in your taste and smelling sense: 

• Cancer treatments tend to mess up your ability to taste and smell the food which may lead you to try new dishes and different cooking methods to finally like anything. However, some people often find their food tasteless and the best way to get rid of that is to get a strong and flavorful add-on to your meal. 
• You might also try to include spices and get your food seasoned to treat your tastebuds. 
• Consuming sugar-free candies before and after the meal might be helpful or you can also rinse your mouth with baking soda to revive your taste senses. 
• Sometimes the patient might complain about having a metallic taste in his mouth, and in such cases, you can take suggestions from online oncologist services and proceed accordingly.
• If the patient complains that the smell of the food turns them off from eating it, then take them into the fresh air for a while and let the natural air calm their senses. One can also try to generate some pleasant smell around them through a scented candle or essential oil. Also, keep the patient away from the place where their food is being prepared or cooked. 

The tele-health services in India also favor the up-keeping of food and its safety measurements that one should follow during the treatment. As the immune system of the person undergoing the treatment weakens during the process, they become more vulnerable to infections and diseases. Here are the suggested ways from VanyaHealth that must be followed to keep your food healthy: 

• Washing hands before consuming food is a must that even the non-patients should follow and cleaning the vegetables thoroughly isn’t a new fact but a mandatory process. 
• Keeping hot food over the temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit and cold food below 40 degrees Fahrenheit is advised. 
• It must be made sure that the surfaces coming in touch with the food are free from germs and the cross-contamination of raw meats and vegetables should be a total no-no. 
• The patient shouldn’t be served any half-cooked food and other high-risk edibles must be totally avoided by the suffering soul. 

Considering your actual health conditions and symptoms arising, your health team will be able to give you more specific advice and help you recover in the best possible manner.