Nutrition for Chemotherapy

Preparing for chemotherapy can be daunting and confusing. In addition to coming to terms with the physical and emotional effects of the treatment, you must also make sure your body is prepared for it. By eating the right foods and getting the right nutrition, you can increase your ability to effectively recover from chemotherapy treatments.

Meals

• Avoid foods that are fatty. When preparing for chemotherapy, your diet should be focused on items such as fresh fruits and steamed vegetables. Light grains also are good for you, as well as proteins. Nuts, meats, peanut butter, crackers and dairy products all are good sources of protein. In order to eat a diet as healthy as possible, choose low-fat options if you plan to consume a lot of dairy products.

  The meals you eat should be smaller than those you would normally eat. You also should eat more frequently than you are accustomed to. Try eating about five snack-sized meals throughout the day. Eating foods in this manner will reduce the stress placed on the digestive tract. The more easily-digestible foods you eat, the better. This is why drinks such as smoothies---which can include several fruits---are good for you. They include many of the nutrients you need and are easy to digest.

Drinks

• Drinks that include ginger or peppermint contain nutrients that aid in preventing nausea. You can drink hot or cold peppermint or ginger tea. Both of these teas are caffeine free. Fresh-squeezed vegetable and fruit juices have high nutrient levels. Clear broths also are good for you when preparing for chemotherapy.

  You should try to consume these drinks throughout the day, but not during meal time. By avoiding drinking at meals, the digestive juices remain able to operate at full strength and are able to promote digestion and decrease the likelihood of indigestion.

  Try to avoid sodas and other drinks that have sugar in them. Sugar can increase the risk of developing intestinal candida, which is an infection that commonly occurs in chemotherapy patients.

Vitamins

• Certain vitamins are able to decrease the toxicity of chemotherapy medications. For example, if you are taking vincristine as part of the chemotherapy process, vitamin C can make the drug less toxic to your body. Likewise, by taking vitamin A supplements, you can increase the effectiveness of the drug.