Here’s what not to eat while undergoing cancer treatments and why those foods can be really bad for you!

They say foods can heal, but they can also harm. Here’s the list of foods to eat and to avoid if you’re ailing from cancer and the reasons behind this selection…
Eating right can help when you’re battling cancer
Eating right can help when you’re battling cancer

Cancer is a big term and people suffering from this disease can feel the pain of undergoing conventional treatment. Many people go through the disease and treatment without even knowing about the possible side effects of these treatments which further deteriorates their health. Digestion issues, mouth ulcers, dry mouth, secondary infection, low blood count, weight loss, hair loss, etc all of these are very common side effects of  treatments like chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy and hormonal therapy. Let’s understand these side effects in a better way.

Firstly, when one has cancer, the body starts producing cytokines; these are small protein substances that are very crucial in controlling the growth and activity of our body’s immune and blood cells. They also send a signal to the body to destroy abnormal cells and during this process cytokines can lead to appetite suppression, muscle loss, weight loss, or tissue breakdown.

Secondly, when any individual is undergoing chemo treatment; it causes oxidative stress in the body to kill cancer cells. But in this genuine attempt of killing cancer cells, it also kills healthy body cells as the drug cannot differentiate between the two. The drug targets all rapidly growing cells like active cancer cells, immune cells, stomach cells, hair cells, etc. Hence we have observed that many people undergoing chemotherapy face lose of hair, digestion issues and so on.

Now further to this, as a consequence of our healthy cells being killed, one starts losing weight and in some cases muscle mass as well. Plus when the digestion is affected, a person isn’t eating well, if our appetite goes down we are not able to fuel our body or add in the required nutrition that’s needed for keeping the body in optimum health. For that very reason your healthcare professional may suggest a high protein meal to build muscle mass and to build more muscle and tissue in the body. They are right in their perspective but we also need to look into the internal system which has been totally affected due to conventional treatment. In such scenarios, adding too much milk, milk products, sugar and non-veg foods will make the body acidic and at the same time will be very heavy on digestion — adding more pressure on the stomach when it is already so comprised isn’t a good idea.

● Coming to milk or milk products, nowadays we do not get organic milk easily and cows are injected with oxytocin hormone to produce more milk, these hormones are released in the milk, and when consumed by anyone in the long run can cause a hormonal imbalance. So, in cancer patients where the immunity is already compromised, it can cause a further hormonal imbalance, bloating, belching and many more problems. Also, milk produces mucus, and cancer cells thrive on mucus.

● Processed white sugar (not natural options like jaggery and fruit sugar) is bleached to get the white colour, and we would certainly not want to use bleach to clean our system. So let’s try and avoid it. Sugar, too, creates an acidic environment in the body. It is the only thing that feeds glucose to the cancer cells. The composition of natural sugars is completely different from this harmful white sugar; hence we can use natural sugars.

● Non-veg foods are high in protein. However, when the appetite is low, eating too much of non-veg protein, will lead to a further loss of appetite as these foods are heavy to digest. Red meat, especially, is highly acidic in nature so it will create an acidic medium in the body and further delay healing. So, let’s be aware about your own body in case you are going through any conventional treatment. Stick to homemade well-balanced meals that include dal, sabji, cooked salad, roti or rice and feel better gradually.

indulge@newindianexpress.com
@indulgexpress

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