What should chemotherapy patients eat? This is a common concern for doctors, patients and families.
Gastrointestinal reactions are one of the most common adverse effects of chemotherapy, with 75% of patients experiencing nausea and vomiting, accompanied by peripheral discomfort. What should be eaten during chemotherapy is at the same time a common concern for patients and their families.
Focus on three goals
Patients’ requirements for diet focus on three main points: (1) What kind of diet can strengthen the patient’s body? (2) Can the diet counteract the various adverse effects of chemotherapy? (3) What should patients with severe gastrointestinal reactions eat?
However, food is not a “stimulant” after all, and it is not possible to improve the physical condition of patients overnight, and food cannot replace drugs to counter the toxic side effects of chemotherapy drugs. However, we should try to improve the nutritional status and mental state of patients through a reasonable diet.
Focus on the overall principle
Chemotherapy patients are very different from each other, so it is difficult to have a suitable diet plan for all patients. However, the overall principle should be clean, light, non-greasy, with a variety of recipes rich in protein, vitamins and trace elements to achieve a comprehensive nutritional standard. In addition, during chemotherapy, patients should drink moderate amounts of water, should not consume spicy and stimulating foods, should not eat raw and cold foods, and should abstain from alcohol.
In addition to the individual quality of the patient’s gastrointestinal response, adjuvant chemotherapy and palliative chemotherapy are tolerated differently by patients, and some concomitant conditions also affect the patient’s gastrointestinal response, such as oral mucositis, constipation, and undergoing gastrointestinal surgery. There are also special conditions that require special diets, such as anemia and electrolyte disturbances. Different dietary regimens should be used for patients with different conditions.
WHO nausea and vomiting grading criteria
Patients with varying degrees of nausea and vomiting will be able to eat differently. According to the WHO standard grading criteria, nausea and vomiting grading criteria are roughly as follows.
Grade 0: no nausea and vomiting; Grade I: only nausea, able to eat suitable food; Grade II: transient vomiting with nausea, eating significantly less, but able to eat; Grade III: vomiting needs treatment; Grade IV: persistent vomiting, difficult to control.
According to the above, the patient’s eating situation is divided into several categories.
① For patients without gastrointestinal reactions or those who do not have heavy reactions, the diet should be based on strengthening nutrition, but the food should also be easy to digest, avoid greasy, and not eat spicy and stimulating food. Eat less food prepared by cooking methods such as deep-frying, barbecue and frying. Eat a varied diet with balanced nutrition and sufficient calories.
② For patients whose appetite is affected but without obvious nausea or vomiting, the patient’s appetite should be stimulated and the patient’s favorite food should be chosen. Patients can drink more porridge and soup, and more nutritious foods can be added to the liquid diet, for example, sea cucumber, meat and abalone grated into the porridge, and electrolytes such as salt can be added. Eat less and eat more. Early morning is often the time when patients have the least reaction to nausea and vomiting, so richer foods should be prepared for patients in the early morning.
③Patients with severe vomiting can consider water fasting for 4-8 hours, which can be extended to 24 hours if necessary, and gradually transition from a liquid diet to a regular diet after the fast is over.
④Patients with anemia can use iron-rich foods, such as pig liver, fungus, spinach, yam, red dates, cinnamon, lotus root powder, etc.
⑤ Patients with electrolyte disorders can have more mangoes, apples, citrus, potatoes, etc.
(6) Patients who undergo gastrointestinal surgery often have more severe gastrointestinal reactions, while their nutritional status is affected due to absorption dysfunction, so extra attention should be paid to food nutrition. Lotus root powder contains raw materials necessary for hematopoiesis, such as vitamin B12 and iron, and is easy to digest, making it one of the ideal foods for gastrointestinal surgery patients. Patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery eat smaller and more frequent meals.
4 directions into the diet of chemotherapy patients
It should be emphasized that one should not rely solely on a particular food. After all, the capacity of the gastrointestinal tract is limited, and a single food may not only lead to nutritional deficiency, but may also affect the patient’s appetite. And chemotherapy may make patients anorexic, therefore, during chemotherapy, it is most important to increase patients’ appetite.
The following are some foods suitable for chemotherapy patients to eat.
①Fruits.
Apple: It is one of the most comprehensive fruits in terms of nutrients, rich in carbohydrates, vitamins and trace elements (rich in potassium and iron), and rich in dietary fiber, malic acid, tartaric acid and carotene. Apples can also calm the mind. If the patient eats little, juice can be quoted.
Mango: high in calories and comprehensive in nutrients, containing sugar, protein, crude fiber, vitamins, fat, etc. Mango has a soft texture and is a more ideal food for chemotherapy patients. Can laxative, has a certain antiemetic function. Allergic to mangoes are prohibited.
Peach: contains protein, fat, carbohydrates, crude fiber, minerals (potassium, iron), vitamin B1, malic acid, citric acid), glucose, fructose, sucrose, etc.
Citrus: rich in vitamin C, carotene, potassium, calcium, iron, with antioxidant function, edible in all seasons, can be juiced and quoted.
②Vegetables.
Potatoes: potatoes contain a more comprehensive range of nutrients, including: starch, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. Potatoes contain 18 kinds of amino acids, including essential amino acids that cannot be synthesized by the human body. Potatoes contain the highest amount of potassium of almost any vegetable. They can be cooked in a variety of ways and can be served as a staple food or as a dish.
Tomatoes: Rich in many vitamins and minerals, they also contain protein, sugar, and fiber. Should not be eaten raw. Should not be cooked at high temperature for a long time and should not be eaten with cucumber. Simple and nutritious cooking methods include scrambled eggs with tomatoes and tomato-egg soup.
Broccoli: It is nutritious, rich in protein, sugar, fat, vitamins, carotene and minerals, and has anti-cancer effects.
Carrot: rich in carotene, and contains protein, fat, a variety of vitamins and minerals, etc. It has anti-aging and anti-cancer effects, and can improve the body’s immunity. It is recommended to eat them after chopping and stir-frying with oil, which is conducive to the full absorption of nutrients.
Cauliflower: rich in many kinds of vitamins and crude fiber, but low in calories, it can also be used as one of the foods for chemotherapy patients.
③Foods rich in protein.
Sea urchin: rich in 17 amino acid composition, the protein content of equal mass of sea urchin yolk is twice that of chicken and fish, etc. In addition, sea urchin yolk contains unsaturated fatty acids, phospholipids, sugar, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin A and vitamin D. Among them, calcium and phosphorus content are higher than milk. The recommended practice is sea urchin and egg soup, which is simple to process, fragrant and non-greasy, and more suitable for chemotherapy patients.
Sea cucumber: It has a very high protein content and contains 18 kinds of amino acids, taurine, chondroitin sulfate, many minerals and vitamins. However, the safety of consumption is currently controversial due to the farming method and other issues. Short-term consumption is recommended for chemotherapy patients.
Abalone is extremely rich in nutritional value, containing 20 kinds of amino acids, in addition to fat, vitamins and trace elements. Chemotherapy patients can choose to cook porridge with crushed abalone.
Other protein-rich foods include fish, shrimp, meat, eggs, milk and beans, which can be processed according to the patient’s preferred taste. Meat can be processed with pressure to make it fluffy and easy to digest. Steamed cakes can be used as a food option for chemotherapy patients. Krill, which is rich in protein, omega-3, DHA, and choline, is also a better choice. In addition, tofu is rich in protein and is a good choice for chemotherapy patients.
④Other.
Peanut: It contains protein, fat, sugar, many vitamins and many minerals, and contains 8 kinds of amino acids and unsaturated fatty acids, lecithin, choline, carotene and crude fiber that are needed by human body. It has the effect of cancer prevention. Chemotherapy patients can choose brine peanuts.
Shiitake mushroom: rich in vitamin B, iron , potassium, vitamin D original, etc. It is recommended to dry, dice and cook soup, you can add diced carrot, tofu and green onion to cook soup.
Bamboo shoots: rich in protein, amino acids, vitamins, fat, sugar, minerals, carotene, etc. It is also one of the better choices for chemotherapy patients.
Pumpkin: contains polysaccharides, carotenoids, minerals, amino acids, starch, vitamins, has anti-cancer and laxative effects, can be made into soup and porridge, also one of the good foods.
There are also some foods that are not suitable for chemotherapy patients, mainly foods containing 5-hydroxytryptamine, common foods include bananas, walnuts and eggplants. Foods containing tryptophan should also be eaten sparingly. Common foods include millet, bean curd, tofu skin, shrimp, nori and black sesame, but they are not contraindicated and can be given in small amounts if the patient is willing to eat them.