Healthy Diet

Fighting Cancer with the Right Diet

A balanced diet is an important part of cancer treatment. Eating healthy and nutrition-packed food before, during and after cancer treatment helps the patients to stay strong and energetic. It's not an easy task for them because cancer medications can cause side-effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, altered taste and painful oral ulcers. A well balanced and nutritious diet helps the patient maintain healthy body weight and also helps to minimise the side-effects of the treatment.

Studies show that eating a low-acid, high-alkaline diet can help to fight cancer. It has been noted in a laboratory setting that cancer cells grow in acidic and shrink in alkaline medium. Thus, including alkaline foods in the diet creates an environment in the body that helps to slow down the rate of cancer growth.
A good diet for cancer patients includes fresh fruits, vegetables, foods containing carbohydrates, minerals, fat, vitamins, etc. The recommended method of cooking is steaming and boiling. It is very important that cancer patient drink plenty of fluids and keep themselves well hydrated.

Food that cancer patients should eat and avoid:

Food to include in your diet

We advise our patients to include the following food items in their diet, as they have been proven to help in recovery.

• Vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, pumpkin, peas, turnips are rich in vitamins and fibre. Green leaves veggies have iron and calcium.
• Bitter gourd, cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage are also important to maintain sugar levels and to convert bad oestrogen into good.
• Fruits such as avocados, oranges, guavas, apricots, bananas, peaches, mangoes, strawberries, raisins and pears contain vitamins and fibre.
• Extract proteins from sprouted pulses, lean meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, nuts, dried beans, and chickpeas.
• Fish and soy foods are rich in proteins and it is best for prostate cancer.
• Millets should be part of the regular diet.
• Rice, whole-grain bread, corn, chapati are good in carbohydrates.
• Honey is best to prevent infections because it has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. Consume it in moderation.
• Consumption of liquids like green tea, protein shakes, vegetable soups, fresh fruit juices, buttermilk, fruit smoothies along with plenty of water is recommended.

Food to avoid during the cancer treatment

• Excess salt, sugar and oily food.
• Deep-fried, barbequed meat or grilled meat are not recommended for cancer patients.
• Red meat and processed meat.
• Avoid alcohol consumption
• Processed food and packed food like pickles, jam, crispy chips, are to be avoided.

Try to eat healthy food even if there is loss of appetite because a person who eats well will be able to maintain good immunity, thereby can tolerate the side effects in a better way, fewer treatment breaks and hence there will be a good response for treatment. All this ultimately lead to a better quality of life and prognosis.

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