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Healthy eating

Good nutrition is very important to everybody, but especially important for people with cancer because the disease itself, as well as the treatment, usually affects your appetite. Some cancers and cancer treatments can also alter your body's ability to tolerate certain foods and the ability to absorb nutrients.

If you have not been seen by a dietician yet, please ask your consultant to refer you to one. The dietician can help you to adjust your diet to your individual needs. A well-balanced diet can help you to:

1. feel better
2. retain your energy
3. keep up your weight and your body’s store of nutrients
4. decrease your risk of infection when your immunity is compromised
5. tolerate the side effects of your treatment
6. speed up your recovery

           Foods rich in protein:

1. lean meat,
2. poultry,
3. fish, dairy products,
4. beans, peas, lentils, soy

• Fats: also play an important role in nutrition as they are the main source of energy for our body. The body uses fat to store energy, insulate the body tissues, and to transport fat-soluble vitamins through the blood stream.

• Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates provide the body with the fuel it needs for physical activity and functioning of its organs. Carbohydrates are found in a wide selection of foods-bread, beans, milk, popcorn, potatoes, biscuits, spaghetti, soft drinks, corn. They also come in a variety of forms. The most common and abundant forms are sugars, fibres, and starches.

The basic building block of every carbohydrate is a sugar molecule, a simple union of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Starches and fibres are essentially chains of sugar molecules. Some contains hundreds of sugars. Some chains are straight, others branch wildly.

Carbohydrates can be divided into two main categories:

• Simple carbohydrates included sugars such as fruit sugar (fructose), corn or grape sugar (dextrose or glucose), and table sugar (sucrose)
• Complex carbohydrates included everything made of three or more linked sugars. Complex carbohydrates were thought to be the healthiest to eat, while sugars weren't so great. It turns out that the picture is more complicated than that.

The digestive system handles all carbohydrates in much the same way—it breaks them down (or tries to break them down) into single sugar molecules, since only these are small enough to cross into the bloodstream. It also converts most digestible carbohydrates into glucose (also known as blood sugar), because cells are designed to use this as a universal energy source.

• Fluids: All body cells need water to function. If you do not drink enough fluids or if you loose a lot of them through vomiting or diarrhoea or perspiration, you may become dehydrated. In general, a person should drink about 2 litres (8 glasses) of water or clear fluid (tea or coffee without milk) each day to be sure that the body cells get the fluid they need. However, you need to be aware that coffee has a weak diuretic effect!

• Vitamins and minerals: are needed for proper growth and development. In addition, they allow the body to use the energy (calories) supplied in foods. A person who eats a balanced diet with enough calories and protein usually gets plenty of vitamins and minerals. However, eating a balanced diet can be challenging when you are receiving cancer treatment and have treatment side effects that persist for long periods of time. When that is the case, your doctor or dietician may suggest a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement. If you are thinking of taking a vitamin or supplement, be sure to discuss this with your doctor first. Some people with cancer take large amounts of vitamins, minerals, and other dietary supplements in an effort to enhance their immune system or even destroy cancer cells.

However, you need to discuss it with your doctor as some of these substances can be harmful, especially when taken in large doses!

• Antioxidants: Antioxidants are substances that protect the body's cells from damage caused by free radicals (by-products of the body’s normal processes). Examples of antioxidants include vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin A (beta carotene), and selenium. If you want to take in more antioxidants, health experts recommend eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, which are good sources of antioxidants. Taking large doses of antioxidant supplements is usually not recommended while having chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Talk with your doctor to determine the best time to take antioxidant supplements.
  
  
• Herbs: Herbs have been used to treat disease for hundreds of years. Today, herbs are found in a variety of products such as pills, liquid extracts, teas, and ointments. While many of these products are harmless and safe to use, others can cause severe and harmful side effects and interfere with proven cancer therapies, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and recovery from surgery. If you are interested in using products containing herbs, talk about it with your doctor or nurse first.
  
            
  NOTE: Tell your health care team about any herbal products and supplements that you are using or are thinking about using. Bring the container and included leaflet to your doctor for him/her to ensure that the ingredients will not interfere with your health or the treatment.
  
  Some other safety tips:
  
  
• Ask your dietician for reliable information on dietary supplements.
• Check the product labels for both the quantity and concentration of active ingredients contained in each product.
• Stop taking the product immediately and call your doctor if you experience side effects such as headache, wheezing, swelling, rash, itching, numbness, or tingling in your limbs.

It would also be advisable to:

• Ask your dietician for reliable information on dietary supplements.
• Check the product labels for both the quantity and concentration of active ingredients contained in each product.
• Stop taking the product immediately and call your doctor if you experience side effects such as headache, wheezing, swelling, rash, itching, numbness, or tingling in your limbs.

NOTE: Some people with cancer take large amounts of vitamins, minerals, and other dietary supplements in an effort to enhance their immune systems or even destroy cancer cells. Some of these substances can be harmful. In fact, large doses of some vitamins and minerals may reduce the effectiveness of your tratment.

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