Eating a healthy diet is important for patients undergoing chemotherapy. Your goals should be to have enough calories to keep your weight stable. You also want to eat enough protein to optimize your immune system and give you the strength to tolerate your treatments.
Planning
Consulting with a physician or dietitian is a good idea so that you can come up with a well-balanced plan. Since many chemo patients experience nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation, see if taking a multivitamin could help you maintain nutritional balance. Ask if there is anything you can eat that will help you with things like fatigue, dry mouth, or poor appetite, all common occurrences for people undergoing chemotherapy.
Protein
Since getting adequate protein is important, chemotherapy patients must eat plenty of high-protein foods like meat, legumes, nuts, and dairy products. Some good dairy options include cheese, cottage and ricotta cheese, sour cream, milk, ice cream, and yogurt. Eggs and peanut butter are other good protein choices. Also consider protein bars as a convenient snack food. Check with your doctor to see what his recommendations are for the number of g of protein you should be eating each day.
Liquids
If you are a chemo patient experiencing vomiting and diarrhea or if you have just undergone surgery, you most likely will be on a clear liquid diet that includes things like broth, fruit juices, popsicles, gelatin, tea, and coffee. If you tolerate these liquids well, move up to eat full liquids that include the dairy products mentioned earlier as well as pudding, strained cream soups, mikshakes, sherbet, and hot cereal. From there, you would move up to a soft diet that includes potatoes and steamed veggies, staying away from foods like raw fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains. A soft diet is helpful for people who have extreme constipation. On the other hand, if you are experiencing diarrhea, gas, cramps, or bloating, avoid foods that contain milk.
Tips
Unfortunately, many chemo patients find that food smells and tastes differently that it did before, and some foods they may have enjoyed, they may not like any more. The type of diet best for you is one you can tolerate well and that helps you deal with your symptoms. Since chemotherapy patients often undergo extreme weight loss, many need to eat more just to maintain a healthy weight. Also, because chemotherapy can affect your immune system, make sure your diet is full of antioxidants and vitamins. Again, check with you physician to see what foods might work best to help you maintain your energy, strength, and immune system.
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