Diet is playing an important role in the recovery process. The person is left weak, hurting and immune compromised after chemotherapy and radiation; therefore, dietary guidelines play an important part in the rebuilding of a healthy cancer free person. The long term goal of diet changes is to prevent cancer from recurring.
The American Institute for Cancer Research believes that there is a relationship between cancer and diet, body weight, and the physical activity of a person. A dietitian will discuss the right food options for that patient-the right care plan that will recommend the right diet, a high protein, enriched with fruits and vegetables and maintaining a healthy body weight.
What should a cancer patient do to help maintain body homeostasis? Research suggests that diet patterns can influence both the risk of developing cancer and the risk of cancer recurrence. Maintaining a healthy body weight is a main key in prevention of some cancers. Obesity is the number one problem in all diseases and with fast foods, high sodium intake, over processed foods, and sugary sweets and drinks: this is a disease that leaves everyone vulnerable to secondary diseases.
Breast cancer and prostate cancer have been linked to obesity. The right eating plan-normal body weight-exercise; can prevent a lot of diseases that are on the rise today. What is the right dietary plan to be adopted by everyone to prevent obesity and to help cancer patients to build their bodies and immune system back? A diet high in antioxidants! Antioxidants protect from cancer in many ways. They prevent faulty metabolism in the cell, which can predispose the cell to becoming carcinogenic.
Fruits and vegetables are your best source for antioxidants. Eating these foods will decrease your wanting fatty foods. Fruits and vegetables contain phytochemicals-which may help the body to fight off certain cancers. The five major classes of compounds that occur in fruits and vegetables as natural blocking agents against carcinogens are: phenols, indols, flavones, cumines, and isothiocyanates. These neutralizing agents prevent carcinogens from reaching critical target sites within the cell. Vegetables and fruits eating in their raw state provide the most nutrients.
Most people do not eat the recommended five servings a day. One bowl of salad with spinach leaves, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, green peppers and olive oil for dressing would help you to meet the daily servings plus it is full of antioxidants that your cells thrive on. Green tea is rich in antioxidants-four cups a day may reap for the anti-cancer benefits. You remember the saying-An apple a day will keep the doctor away! Furthermore, an apple will prevent the growth of harmful bacteria and in building up the cancer patient body these foods will rejuvenate the cells and possibly keep cancer cells away. Limit red meats and processed foods can decrease your chance of a recurrence.
The recommendation is to limit red meats to 18 ounces a week. That includes beef, pork, and lamb. Stay away from processed meats like ham, hot dogs, and sausage. These foods damage the cell and can make a recurrence of the cancer. Get your protein from beans, legumes, peanuts, and soy products. The primary anti- cancer value of soy seems to come from phytonutrients (for example, isoflavones) which inhibit the growth of new blood vessels necessary for tumor survival. Soy seems especially to help women from getting breast cancer.
Eating less meat will reduce your chance of a recurrence of certain cancers. 1 / 2 Limit sugary sweets and drinks. These are empty calorie nutrients that provide more sugar than what the body needs. Too much sugar will result in diabetes and hamper your healing process. All cancer cells need sugar to grow. This is because, unlike normal healthy cells, cancer cells must rely on the anaerobic pathway called glycolysis for metabolizing energy for themselves. For this reason, malignant cancer cells are called obligate glucose metabolizers. In other words, they literally cannot survive without sugar.
Drink water, green tea and coffee and leave the soft drinks alone especially the diet sodas-the artificial sweeteners have been linked to some cancers. Get your sugar naturally from fruits not something that is manmade. For the occasional treat try a dark chocolate (candy bar or hot chocolate) it is enriched in antioxidants that can protect you from many cancers plus it helps you maintain your blood sugars. There will be no sugar high or sugar crash that you get from other sugary treats. Flaxseed would be a good addition in the diet.
Flaxseed has been proven to be good source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. In lab studies it had has found that flaxseed slows down the growth of the cancer cell and make certain treatments work better. Flaxseeds are rich in omega-3 which also helps the heart. Flaxseeds come in liquid oil form or seeds; however, the seeds have a better taste. You can sprinkle on yogurt, on a bowl of cereal, and oatmeal. Flaxseed is a second important ingredient in helping the cancer patient in making dietary changes for the good of their health.
A low sodium diet is very important. Taking in too much salt will cause the body to become dehydrated-which is a medical emergency. Ham, processed meats, and microwavable dinners are high in sodium. To a recovering cancer patient, this could mean a return trip back to the hospital. Read labels on all foods-to see the sodium content. Keep a daily track of how much salt you are eating.
Recognize the first symptom of too much salt: THIRST!! In order to stay hydrated-your body needs more water than salt. Finally, the most important ingredient in the diet is water! The body is made up of 60% of water. We need water to live and stay healthy. Dehydration is the most common problem in the healing cancer patient because of impaired oral mucus membranes-which makes swallowing hard. It is recommended to have 8 glasses of water a day; however, you can get your daily intake of water with fruits, teas, and coffee. Water is also important in weight control.
The more you drink the less you eat. Water helps the body to stay in homeostasis-a hydrated body has a better chance of warding off infections for a cancer patient. All these methods are not 100% given that you won’t get cancer again; however, all put together, they can lower your risk of a recurrence.
Diet and exercise are a part of the regime to recovering from cancer. More and more research is showing that taking an active role in your health will decrease your chances of getting cancer. For the recovering cancer patient, a healthy diet is a priority to reach optimal health for a recovering body.
Works Cited Lopez, R. (2014, April, 5). What are the general diet guidelines for patients after they have completed treatment? pg 30. (2014, April, 5). Retrieved from http://www. outsmartyourcancer. com/tips_for_cancer_recovery. html POWERED BY TCPDF (WWW. TCPDF. ORG).