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Diet for Esophageal Cancer

Fortunately, cancer of the esophagus is a relatively rare form of this disease, affecting fewer than 5 in 100,000. If you have been diagnosed with esophageal cancer, understand that adhering to a proper diet can help stack the odds in your favor by providing your body with sufficient nutrients to endure the treatment. However, as esophageal cancer presents some unique issues in regards to food consumption, here are some guidelines and tips for the best ways to confront this beast.

  1. Esophageal Cancer

    • Cancer is a condition whereby the cells of your body mutate, repeating dividing to form a tumor--a mass of diseased cells that spread throughout the body. If left untreated, cancer is sure to be fatal. Esophageal cancer is cancer that first forms in the esophagus, the path by which food travels from your mouth to your stomach. Symptoms include vomiting blood, regurgitation and difficulty swallowing.

    Esophageal Cancer and Diet

    • Because it directly affects the route by which food reaches your stomach, dieting with esophageal cancer is not like dieting with other forms of cancer. To ensure proper nutrition, reliance on liquid meals might be required, along with preparing food in easily consumable form--blended or pureed food are two necessary evils. Additionally, reliance on "mushier" foods might be needed to ensure adequate caloric consumption.

    Sample Esophageal Cancer Diet

    • Making smoothies with ice cream or puddings with added protein powder and frozen fruits can be a quick and easy way to increase your caloric intake while fighting esophageal cancer. While your diet should consist of mainly lean protein, fruits, vegetables and whole grains, do not be afraid to add in "off-diet" foods if that is what it takes to get you to eat. Hardboiled or scrambled eggs are often easy to swallow, making them a snacking staple.

    Additional Tips

    • Pad your daily calories with calorie-containing beverages--prepare a large jug of protein powder, condensed milk and water in the morning and aim to finish it by the evening--slow and steady wins the race when it comes to getting enough calories to fight cancer. Additionally, tablespoons of olive or coconut oil can help add extra calories (and healthy unsaturated fat) to meals without straining your pain tolerance for swallowing.

    Health Monitoring

    • Your body must remain healthy to fight against cancer. Sharlene Bidini, RD, says that the best way to gauge health from your own home is to use scale weight as a measure. To ensure that your health is remaining fairly constant, use a combination of a food journal (listing the foods consumed and their caloric content) with the bathroom scale. If you find yourself losing weight, increase calories by any means necessary to regain the lost pounds.

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