While it is your best defense in fighting off cancer, chemotherapy comes with serious side effects that can be extremely difficult to deal with. Chemotherapy can be responsible for a wide range of problems and issues that interfere with your eating habits. Chemo can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, appetite loss, dry mouth, sore throat, loss of taste and smell and fluctuation of weight. All inhibiting your ability to maintain a healthy diet.
The graphic that can be found below, 20 Healthy Diet Tips for Chemotherapy, can be helpful for anyone who themselves are undergoing or will soon undergo chemo or if you know someone who is or will be. The guide suggests tips that are simple and easy to follow and can be the perfect guide to tape to the refrigerator door. If you can make eating more enjoyable and nutritious during your treatment, you’re going to feel much healthier and be much healthier as time goes on.
- Water may become distasteful; try flavored water or adding lemon.
- Get enough protein — eggs, beans and fish may taste better than meat.
- Eliminate junk food and empty calories.
- Try new foods; they might stimulate your sense of taste.
- Eat soft foods, including protein milkshakes, if you’re having trouble swallowing.
- If you’re gaining weight, eat lots of vegetables and low-fat foods.
- If you’re losing weight, eat lots of oatmeal, hummus, nut butters and yogurt.
- Take multivitamins if you are not able to eat enough food.
- For mouth sores, stick with soft foods and avoid citrus and tomato-based foods.
- For dry mouth, ask your doctor for an appropriate mouth rinse.
- Fight constipation with high-fiber foods and plenty of water.
- Fight diarrhea by avoiding caffeine, raw vegetables, sugary drinks and caffeine.
- Avoid alcohol — It interferes with chemo treatments and contributes to nausea.
- Avoid spicy, greasy and sugary foods.
- Don’t drink too much green tea; Its antioxidants may disrupt chemo treatments.
- Wash raw foods thoroughly to prevent infections.
- Don’t eat foods past their expiration date.
- Don’t eat food from bulk bins or salad bars.
- Consult your doctor about consumption of soy products.
- Consult your doctor or a registered dietician if you continue to have problems.
