“Doctor, what kind of food should tumor patients eat more of when they are undergoing comprehensive treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy? What kind of things should be avoided?” As an oncologist, we have to answer these questions, which are of great concern to tumor patients and their families, almost every day. Especially in spring, when everything is in bloom, is it more necessary to avoid food? Avoidance and appropriateness Malignant tumor is a consumptive disease, because of the disease itself or the reason of treatment as well as the influence of some traditional concepts, it is not uncommon for tumor patients to suffer from malnutrition and affect the treatment. Strengthening nutrition and balanced diet are important for the recovery of tumor patients. Generally speaking, foods such as tobacco, alcohol, spicy, smoky and deep-fried, moldy and pickled foods have been proved to be related to the occurrence of certain tumors, so try not to eat them. In daily life, we should pay attention to reasonable nutrition, eat more fresh food with high protein, high calorie, high nutritional value and easy to digest, diversify food as much as possible, eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, do not eat old and spoiled or overly stimulating things to ensure enough calories and protein to make up for the damage caused by the tumor itself and the treatment. Spring is in full bloom and everything is recovering. According to the theory of Chinese medicine, “Heaven and man correspond to each other” – that is to say, climatic conditions and changes in nature have certain influence on the physiological activities and pathology of human body. Spring is the season of Yang Qi rising, and Yang Qi in human body is gradually exuberant and vibrant after a winter of concealment. However, many patients often have insufficient yang qi after repeated anti-cancer treatments, and they are unable to rise and develop. At this time, the accumulation of chiropractic problems in the human body will take advantage of the deficiency to make changes in the condition, but usually it is not the change of the tumor itself, but the emergence of complications, especially the inflammatory complications. For example, cough and asthma, gastrointestinal dysfunction, or allergic diseases. Therefore, tumor patients in spring should be appropriate flat tonic, should not be big tonic, in order to nourish the liver and strengthen the spleen, not to cause liver depression and spleen difficulties, diet should eat more sweet food, such as jujube, peanut, yam, lily, wolfberry, etc., to assist the Yang qi to rise, and promote the recovery of the body. Dietary taboos vary from person to person. Some patients have been clinically treated because they are too demanding on dietary taboos, resulting in malnutrition, which cannot be treated normally; however, there is no confirmation of tumor recurrence due to eating a certain kind of food. The dietary taboos cannot be generalized, but should be determined according to the specific conditions of the tumor patients. Chinese medicine does have the saying of “avoiding food”, but it is not like the folklore that one can not eat chicken, fish, shrimp, seafood, eggs, etc. Instead, it emphasizes on dialectical food selection and avoidance of food because of the evidence – that is, for the evidence of different individuals, choosing the food that is suitable for themselves, rather than the food that may affect their own health. The emphasis is rather on dialectical food selection and avoidance of food according to the evidence – that is, selecting food that is suitable for oneself rather than food that may affect one’s yin and yang, qi and blood harmony. For example, if you have fever and like to be cool, thirsty and drink cold, red face and ears, irritability, short and red urine, dry stools, red tongue with yellow fur, etc., you should not eat hot foods that are easy to catch fire. Do not eat hot foods that are easy to catch fire, such as cinnamon, lychee, red dates, beef, sheep and dog meat, red ginseng, ginger, pepper, etc.; patients who are cold and afraid of cold, fatigue, lack of breath and lazy speech, tiredness, sleepiness, weak pulse or thirst, sputum, sparse and sticky, clear and loose urine, white face or urine, swelling, and tongue fat and light, etc., should try to eat as little as possible, such as watermelon, pears, mussels, snappers, and other cold foods, so as not to aggravate the discomfort. Modern medicine also has a lot to say about the diet of tumor patients, such as chemotherapy during the patient’s gastrointestinal function is impaired, poor appetite, should be light, high protein, easy to digest food, do not eat meat and greasy food, aggravate gastrointestinal discomforts; radiotherapy during the diet should be fine and soft, appropriate diet of lilies, pears, silver fungus, sea cucumber and so on. For example, the incidence rate of intestinal cancer is positively correlated with high-fat and low-fiber diet and high content of nitrosamine and its derivatives in food; breast cancer patients should reduce the intake of fat appropriately, such as eating less red meat, fat meat, cheese, cream, etc.; gastric cancer is related to the large amount of salted food, especially salted fish and salted meat, etc.; after the operation of esophageal cancer, the patient should avoid consuming food that is too cold, too hot and too rough to stimulate and should not overeat. After surgery of esophageal cancer, one should avoid eating cold, hot, rough and irritating food, and should not overeat, food should be warm and soft, eat less and more meals, from flowing juice, half-flow to general food gradually, so as not to damage the mucosa of esophagus and so on. Correctly view the “hairy things” folk used to call the old goose, rooster, pork, shrimp, dog meat, mutton and other foods for hairy things. Medically speaking, the actual so-called “hairy things” are mainly related to the occurrence and development of allergic diseases or sores, ulcers, swellings and poisons, etc., and there is no evidence to prove that there is a definite relationship with the recurrence and metastasis of tumors, on the contrary, some “hairy things” can stimulate the body to produce stimulation reaction, so that the immunity of the body is stimulated. On the contrary, certain “hair products” can stimulate the organism to produce stimulating reaction, awaken the immunity of the organism, and promote the recovery and improvement of physiological function. And it is beneficial to the prevention and treatment of tumor. Such as sea cucumber, seaweed, kombu, squid fish, etc., both food, but also anti-cancer treatment of commonly used drugs; such as loach containing protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, iron, a variety of vitamins, etc., is the liver liver good; eel, bean curd, etc., are rich in protein, is to promote the recovery of the organism is beneficial to the food. Therefore, tumor patients should not listen to the “hairy food”, because “hair” waste food, resulting in malnutrition, decreased immune function, but is not conducive to post-disease recovery. Dietary freshness and balance: Tumor patients should mix and match meat and vegetables, mix coarse and fine food, diversify varieties, pay attention to the color and flavor of food, and consume fresh food in order to improve patients’ appetite. The choice of contraindications should be applied flexibly according to the location and nature of the tumor and the patient’s physical condition. It is not advisable to be overly concerned about avoidance of food, thinking that nothing can be eaten; and overly nourishing and tonic. In conclusion, although dietary modification can not be used as a separate means of treatment for tumor, it has a close connection with the generation, development, treatment and regression of tumor, as well as the recovery of patients. For different physique and different diseases, using the holistic view of Chinese medicine combined with modern medical theories, correctly adjusting diet and paying attention to dietary taboos can help positive qi and enhance the ability to resist diseases, thus making the balance of yin and yang, the harmonization of qi and blood and eliminating the diseases and preserving the well-being of the patients.