Contents
- 1 Suitable and unsuitable vegetable food for chemotherapy
- 1.1 WHICH VEGETARIAN FOOD TO TAKE DURING CHEMO
- 1.2 Digestable foods rich in vitamins and minerals advised for chemotherapy diet:
- 1.3 How to cook food during chemotherapy?
- 1.4 Is juice adequate during chemotherapy?
- 1.5 NON digestable foods rich in vitamins and minerals are discouraged in chemotherapy diet
Suitable and unsuitable vegetable food for chemotherapy
WHICH VEGETARIAN FOOD TO TAKE DURING CHEMO
Digestable foods rich in vitamins and minerals advised for chemotherapy diet:
Vegetables and fruits are foods rich in vitamins and minerals that help us meet the recommended daily requirements of these nutrients.
Depending on the ease of being digested, we will preferably recommend the following:
- Vegetables that have a higher digestion: Fir example, boiled green beans, carrots, zucchini, squash and onion baked or steamed (raw onion is not recommended).
- Fruits with a mild flavor and not acidic taste:. For example, apples and pears: In general, mild flavor foods and those that do not contain acids are those that are better tolerated.
How to cook food during chemotherapy?
Pure of cooked vegetables, as pure of zucchini, is digested easier than raw vegetables, so it is better for chemotherapy diet
The best tolerated cooking method with fruits and vegetables can be stewed, baked, boiled and microwaved.
You can also eat quinces, except in cases of severe constipation, which may be contraindicated because of their astringent action.
In these cases, to help alleviate constipation or diarrhea, you can make jelly (dessert type) made from seaweed agar-agar. It contains soluble fiber that will help normalize the intestinal transit.
Is juice adequate during chemotherapy?
Fruit juice is also recommended. It will provide many nutrients and calories that will help meet the increased needs of the patient. The better tolerated juice in these circumstances is apple juice.
You can make fruit and vegetables juices It is a way to bring these nutrients through food raw, but in an easier way to digest.
NON digestable foods rich in vitamins and minerals are discouraged in chemotherapy diet
Raw fruits, especial acidic ones, like citrus, strawberry or pineapple, are not recommended in chemotherapy diet
We should note that one of the effects of chemotherapy treatment is usually constipation, therefore, if we have such symptoms quince consumption will be discouraged.
Among the non suitable fruits for chemotherapy diet we have the following:
- Fruits with high acid content: Those fruits that have a high acid content are not suitable becase they are irritating to the gastrointestinal mucosa that it is usually altered by chemotherapy treatment, so they become unhelpful and counterproductive. Fruits that can cause these symptoms include citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, grapefruit, unmatured kiwis, etc.
The juice of these fruits is also contraindicated because it will generate the same mentioned effects. But we should also note that the textures of some juices are more pleasing than others, as some are thicker and dense, like peach juice and can be more difficult to ingest that more liquid and less dense juices, such as apple juice.
- Stomach irritating vegetables: In the case of vegetables, it happens the same. Tomato, for example, has a particular acidity that often creates digestive distress in patients with fragile digestive mucosa, so, it is also discouraged.
- Some other raw vegetables, such as raw onions, raw garlic or raw peppers, are not good since they generate bothersome symptoms and therefore can aggravate or even cause vomiting. During chemotherapy treatment, if we happen to suffer these unpleasant symptoms, we must delay raw consumption (which, on the other hand, is extremely beneficial and preventive), until those pesky symptoms disappear.
- As we can see, some foods that are not tolerated in their raw state, they are recommended by their high tolerance after having being subjected to any of the above cooking methods. This is because cooking is similar to the process of digestion, and therefore cooked foods easier to tolerate, because they require less work and effort to be broken up in the digestive tract.
For this reason, it is usually NOT RECOMMENDED the consumption of raw fruits and raw vegetables, in salad type dishes, or as fresh fruit, because digesting them is more difficult than digesting a plate of stewed or boiled vegetables or baked apples.
*Related information
– Carbohydrates for chemotherapy
– What to drink during chemotherapy
– Diet during and after chemotherapy
– How to overcome vomiting from chemotherapy
More information on cancer and food.
