Gastric cancer patients, because their whole stomach or most of the stomach has been surgically removed or the tumor has infiltrated and grown, will certainly affect the digestive function of their gastrointestinal tract, resulting in symptoms such as loss of appetite, abdominal distension and abdominal pain after eating. In addition, patients with gastric cancer usually have to go through a period of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which will not only affect their appetite, but also cause serious damage to their immune system, making them extremely weak.
How should gastric cancer patients regulate their diet
1. Adjustment of dietary pattern.
1) Eat less and more meals: Patients may not need to eat according to the habit of three meals a day, but should decide the daily eating quantity and eating time according to their specific body conditions. Generally, patients can eat 5-8 times a day or even more, and pay attention to individualized adjustment of eating according to their own conditions. After several months (5-8 months), postoperative patients with gastric cancer can gradually transition to three meals a day.
2) Less dry and more thin: Patients should eat mainly thin and soft food, and try not to eat dry, hard, greasy and other indigestible food. Gradually transition to a normal diet.
3) Chew slowly: It should be reminded that no matter what patients with stomach cancer eat, they should chew patiently and stir more with tongue and saliva, so that the oral cavity can replace part of the stomach’s digestive function, which can help nutrient absorption and utilization.
2.Adjustment of diet structure.
1) Variety of diet should be diversified: when patients eat, try to take in a variety of nutrients, to drink more milk, soy milk, fish, eggs, animal liver, lean meat and other nutrient-rich and easy to digest food. It is advisable to choose butter, cream, vegetable oil and other fats that are easy to digest and absorb.
2) Be scientific in vitamin supplementation: Some patients feel uncomfortable in the stomach immediately after ingesting fruits and vegetables. Such patients can extract juice from fruits or vegetables with a juicer and then drink the juice or vegetable juice in several times a day after heating it properly. If after doing this the patient still feels stomach discomfort, can be changed to multivitamin tablets, such as 21 gold vitamins.
3.Adjustment of rest mode.
Rest in semi-recumbent position: After eating, resting immediately after gastric cancer surgery will cause food reflux into esophagus to form gastric-esophageal reflux, causing post-sternal burning discomfort or choking and coughing caused by reflux into the mouth. This is because after the gastroesophageal sphincter is removed, the gastroesophageal junction cannot effectively contract to block the food reflux. In this case, food reflux can be prevented by gravitational factors by elevating the upper body with a padded back and resting in a semi-recumbent position. Of course, if the food has been emptied into the intestine after 1-2 hours of eating, rest in a flat position is sufficient.
4.Control the occurrence of dumping syndrome.
After the surgery of gastric cancer patients, the volume of stomach is reduced, especially for patients who have lost the normal function of pylorus and its sphincter. When eating food, especially sweet liquid meal, food can enter into jejunum rapidly, and a series of symptoms such as discomfort in upper abdominal area, abdominal distension, panic, dizziness, pale or flushed face, sweating, nausea, vomiting, intestinal rumbling, diarrhea, general weakness and even deficiency can appear within 10-30 minutes after eating, which is called “dumping syndrome”. syndrome”, which usually lasts 30-60 minutes. When dumping syndrome occurs, the patient should immediately lie down for 30 minutes, the symptoms will be reduced and gradually return to normal. If this syndrome occurs, it can be controlled by dietary modification. First of all, avoid eating foods containing too much sugar, milk and dairy products, to do a small number of meals, chew slowly, dry and thin with, after the meal the patient should preferably be half-lying or lying down for 30 minutes, 30-60 minutes after the meal and then eat liquid food or drink a small amount of sugar-free liquid. Try to avoid eating too sweet and salty food.
Can help patients eat better during the recovery period?
1.It varies from person to person
After surgery, the volume of stomach is obviously reduced, so semi-liquid or common food is generally about 50 grams per meal, while liquid is about 100 ml.
Of course, it also varies from person to person, as patients of different weight have different dietary needs. Patients in different areas need to make appropriate adjustments to their food intake according to their own conditions.
Generally speaking, it is good to eat eight minutes full. Patients should judge by their own feeling, preferably without discomfort such as fullness after eating.
If there are uncomfortable symptoms such as bloating or even nausea after eating, you should remind yourself to reduce or stop eating. When the symptoms disappear, eat again.
2.Eat less and eat more
According to the condition, it is important to eat gradually.
For some patients with most or total gastrectomy, because the stomach volume becomes smaller, which affects the stomach’s food intake and digestion function, the eating capacity is obviously reduced compared with the original one, so only increasing the number of meals can make up for the lack of food quantity and meet the body’s demand for nutrients. After gastric cancer surgery, the patient’s weight generally decreases to different degrees compared with that before surgery, so there is no need to eat too much to recover the original weight quickly.
Otherwise, it will lead to dysfunction of gastrointestinal power sensory system, which will cause acute gastroenteritis and even gastric bleeding in serious cases.
3.Timing and quantification
Stomach cancer patients should develop good eating habits after surgery, eat according to a regular schedule, eat regularly and quantitatively, and it is better to eat more than six meals a day.
If you eat once every 2 hours, it can prevent the occurrence of hypoglycemic syndrome. This is an important diet system for gastric cancer patients after surgery. Stomach is an organ that secretes gastric juice on time, that is to say, there is a certain physiological cycle. If it is time to eat without food, the gastric acid secreted by the stomach will digest the gastric mucosa itself and cause damage to the gastric mucosa.
In addition, be careful not to eat an hour before bedtime, otherwise it will increase the gastrointestinal burden, affecting sleep, but also cause other organ dysfunction.
4.Chew and swallow slowly
After gastric cancer surgery, the grinding function of stomach is weakened, so the chewing function of teeth must play a more important role.
When eating, remember to chew slowly and eat at the speed most suitable for you. If eating too much causes gastrointestinal discomfort, you can gently massage your stomach after the meal.