Foods that can be eaten in chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a therapy that is given to Cancer patients. The name itself is so dangerous that a person itself undergo in depression after hearing the name. In this therapy the drugs (medicine) are given intravenously that alter the mechanism of our organ system. From outside it looks nothing happens but inside many changes take place. Chemotherapy also affects our nutrition and digestive system. So to overcome these problems we need to maintain the proper nutrient intake and to maintain the proper functioning of the body we need to have balanced diet that are rich in vitamins and minerals.

Let’s take a look how we can improve the intake of the patient who is on chemo.

Keep food tasty - Chemo alters the taste buds and making certain foods that have metallic taste decreases the intake. Water is one of that. It’s become difficult at times to have water for the patients but on the other hand it is necessary to have as water helps in removing the toxins that are present in the body. So to help them we can give them flavored drink like rooafza water, coconut water, lemon water, flavored tea like green tea, jasmine tea, infused water along with lean protein like eggs, cottage cheese.

Fight constipation – As earlier said it affects our internal organ system; digestive system is one of the highly affected systems. During chemo some will experience diarrhea and some will experience constipation. In constipation make them hydrated and include all types of fiber in the diet like include fruits and vegetables. Those fruits should be given to the patients who have the tough upper skin like orange, papaya and so on. If you want to give a thin skinned fruit then always de skinned the fruit and makes them in stewed form. Getting exercise can be good intestinal stimulant. If diarrhea persists avoid greasy and fried foods. Foods that well tolerated by the patient can be given like mashed potatoes, sweet potato, fruits without skin, vegetable soups and so on.

Improve your appetite – Many people undergoing chemo finds that their appetite suffers. Include different types of foods in variety of colour and make special dishes like pita breads with hummus, multigrain chapatti with mix vegetable, stuffed rotis, smoothies, flavored yogurt and so on.

Keep a food and symptom diary – make a habit of recording everything during the treatment. Whatever you eat and whatever you feel after that record all that in a diary. Due to which it can be easily identified the reasons for nausea, constipation and diarrhea and medication can be altered accordingly.

Some handy tips that a patient can follow in this phase
• Keep yourself hydrated that lowers the affect of medicine on other body parts
• Have vegetables that are cooked with water (gravy), it helps you in prevention of your dry mouth.
• Include more of rice and banana recipes especially when you are suffering from diarrhea.
• Whole grains help you to battle with constipation.
• Small and frequent meals should be taken to combat the problem of loss of appetite.
• Fruit custard, smoothies, plain soups can be taken in case of mouth sores.
• Include lean protein in the diet that helps you to maintain the energy and muscles of your body.
• Brazil nuts, seafood, oats, and brown rice are all great sources of selenium, which is a cancer-fighting mineral.

Follow us at: