Diet against cancer: what foods are useful for the prevention of cancer

• oncology

Cancer patients tend to lose weight even with a normal diet. This is due to the fact that tumor processes in the body themselves take a lot of energy from it. Subsequent surgical intervention and treatment affect appetite, absorption of incoming food, and a decrease in essential vitamins and microelements involved in the metabolic process. All these factors require you to adjust your diet and diet in order to neutralize the effect of the disease on the body. Enteral nutrition using special nutritional formulas such as Nutrien® may be prescribed. They are distinguished by a completely balanced composition and high energy value.

General rules

Cancer of the intestinal mucosa is a widespread type of cancer, especially in the age group after 55 years. The main morphological variant of oncological tumors are adenocarcinomas . Most often, malignant neoplasms are formed in the tissues of the rectum/colon ( colorectal cancer ), which is characterized by early metastasis through lymphogenous/hematogenous routes to the lymph nodes, liver, peritoneum, bones, as well as germination into the pelvic organs.
The high incidence of this type of cancer is due to the specific function of this part of the intestine, in which there is prolonged contact of feces ( toxins , products of metabolic reactions) with the intestinal mucosa, diseases ( sigmoiditis , ulcerative colitis , polyps, Crohn's disease ) and the nature of the diet, which is dominated by animal fats, proteins and refined foods with insufficient intake of plant fiber into the body. With this type of nutrition, putrefactive processes predominate in the intestines, and the products of protein putrefaction and bile acids produced by the intestinal microflora have a carcinogenic effect.

The main clinical symptoms of colorectal cancer are:

• weight loss, lack of appetite;
• aversion to meat products;
• long-term bowel disorders (constipation/diarrhea);
• the presence of blood in the stool (even black);
• feeling of heaviness, abdominal pain;
• and also, in later stages, weakness, increased fatigue, anemia.

Treatment of colorectal cancer is surgical followed by (preliminary) radiation / chemotherapy . Diet for bowel cancer is an integral method of maintenance therapy, allowing to improve treatment results, reduce the side effects of radiation/chemotherapy and improve the quality of life of patients. Nutrition for intestinal cancer is based on a number of factors, namely the presence/severity of nutritional deficiency, especially during radiation/chemotherapy, the presence and type of metabolic disorders, the period of the disease (pre/postoperative), the physical and psychological state of the patient .

Nutrition in the preoperative period in the absence of tumor-induced weight loss is based on the principles of rational nutrition with an energy balance at the level of 2400-2600 kcal/day. The diet provides for a reduction in fat consumption by 20-25% of the total daily calorie content due to refractory animal fats, limiting the content of refined (easily digestible) carbohydrates, foods containing food additives, fast food, sausages, semi-finished products, carbonated drinks, chips, confectionery products, salt/salty foods and food, fatty red meat, especially fried and smoked, increasing the proportion of fruits, vegetables and grains in the diet.

The diet for intestinal oncology should be balanced in terms of basic food nutrients, include all food groups with a predominance of dairy and plant products (at least 600 g of vegetables/fruits, whole grains and fermented milk products).

In cases of anorexia-cachexia and even with normal body weight, patients with a high risk of its development need to receive enhanced nutrition 10-14 days before surgery, since surgery for intestinal cancer causes nitrogen losses and increases the need for energy even in the absence of correction nutrition can lead to the development of a negative nitrogen balance and various water and electrolyte disorders. Therefore, timely transition of the patient to enhanced nutrition helps protect against weight loss in the postoperative period and during radiation/chemotherapy.

The energy component of the diet during this period should be 3500-4000 kcal/female. According to the recommendations, the daily protein requirement should be 1.2-1.5 g/kg, and the energy requirement should be 25-35 kcal/kg, which is achieved by including high-calorie foods in the diet: sprats, red caviar, creams, chocolate, pates, eggs, honey, cream, nuts, cream, cheeses, which are recommended to be consumed both as main products on the menu and used for snacks.

In the postoperative period, dietary nutrition should be as gentle as possible. After resection of an intestinal tumor, a surgical Diet 0A - fasting for 1-2 days, then the diet is gradually expanded, starting with rice water, weak broth, and berry jelly. In the following days, slimy soups, well-mashed porridge cooked in water (oatmeal, buckwheat), a protein omelet/soft-boiled egg, and later a steamed soufflé/puree of fish and meat are added.

From the second week, the diet includes rice soup with pureed vegetables, milk/semolina and pureed buckwheat porridge, mashed potatoes, cottage cheese diluted with cream, steamed meat cutlets, sour cream, baked apple puree, yogurt, jelly. This diet provides maximum rest for the intestines, forms little feces, and does not cause flatulence . If constipation occurs, from the 7th day onwards, the diet includes boiled beets, dried apricot/prune puree, and kefir.

After removal of an intestinal tumor in the first 4-6 months, Table No. 4B :

• Food should be well pureed, fresh and easily digestible.
• You need to eat food in small portions 5-6 times a day, chewing thoroughly.
• Soups (cereals/vegetables) are prepared in a weak broth with the addition of meatballs and minced meat.
• Cereals are pureed, vegetables (zucchini, carrots, potatoes) are finely chopped.
• It is important to drink enough fluids to prevent constipation.
• Meat consumption is limited; it is preferable to eat lean fish. It is important to have yogurt and “live” kefir in the diet, which help normalize the intestinal microflora.
• Bread - only dried wheat bread in small quantities.
• Vegetables are boiled and well pureed.
• Porridges are prepared in water, excluding corn, barley, millet, and pearl barley.
• Whole milk, cream/sour cream are added to dishes, fermented milk products are allowed to be consumed without restrictions.
• Recommended drinks include juices diluted with water, rosehip infusion, weak tea, and still mineral water.

Excluded from the diet are fatty broths, fatty varieties of red meat, wholemeal bread, coarse and irritating vegetables (radish, garlic, radishes, spinach, onions, celery), canned meat/fish, any fresh bread, legumes, hot sauces, margarine, natural milk, smoked meats, cooking fat, butter dough, coarse cereals, pepper, pork and beef fat, mustard, cakes, ice cream, chocolate, carbonated drinks.

In the later stages, the diet should contain an increased amount of dietary fiber and vitamins (in the absence of diarrhea) due to the inclusion of cereals, whole grain bread, vegetables and fruits. Meat should be consumed with caution, giving preference to sea/river fish and seafood.

Animal fats and products containing trans fats should be completely excluded from the diet, giving preference to vegetable oils containing large quantities of antioxidants. It is still prohibited to consume foods that promote rotting/fermentation and stimulate the secretion of digestive juices (celery, sorrel, mushrooms, horseradish, radish, mustard, radishes, turnips). Gradually, pureed foods are reduced in the diet and well-cooked, not pureed food is introduced. Good tolerability indicates normalization of intestinal secretory/motor function.

When do the most powerful anti-cancer products fail?

Do not underestimate the insidiousness of carcinogens - potentially dangerous agents that cause irreversible changes in the genetic apparatus of cells, provoking their uncontrolled division and the appearance of malignant neoplasms. After all, they surround us at every step, and the harm they cause tends to accumulate.

If the human body is daily exposed to the negative influence of industrial waste, car exhaust gases, tobacco smoke, ultraviolet rays and other factors, then it is quite difficult to neutralize their effects and the effectiveness of any anti-cancer diet will not be enough. In this case, a kind of “race to get ahead” will begin, in which healthy food products are unlikely to win.

Do not forget that products that destroy cancer cells can also be potentially dangerous. After all, along with useful substances, they may also contain carcinogens - cadmium, nitrates, nitrites, pesticides, food additives and other harmful components. For example, a person eats tomatoes with pleasure, counting on their anti-cancer effect, but in fact they are grown using dangerous agricultural chemicals and are harmful to the body.

Eating foods that cause cancer is another problem that each of us faces. After all, eating only avocados, eggplants, grapes, pomegranate juice, walnuts and other anti-cancer foods is expensive and unreasonable. The average Russian cannot exclude from his diet sugar, animal fats, red meat, confectionery and other products that can provoke carcinogenesis.

So, following an anti-cancer diet is pointless? Yes and no! On the one hand, eating anti-cancer foods does not provide a 100% guarantee of not getting sick throughout your life, and on the other hand, following a diet reduces the risk of developing cancer pathologies. Moreover, it reduces significantly – by 40% in men and by 60% in women. The main thing is a reasonable approach to organizing your diet and lifestyle.

Authorized Products

Dietary nutrition for intestinal cancer includes the following products in the diet:

• Dried wheat bread.
• Soups cooked in weak meat broth/vegetable broth with well-cooked vegetables and cereals. You can add meatballs to the soup.
• Dietary varieties of poultry (chicken and turkey), steamed, boiled or cooked in the form of cutlets.
• Low-fat fish in the form of cutlets/quenelles or in pieces.
• Crumbly porridges (except pearl barley, wheat), chopped pasta, vermicelli, noodles, cooked in water or with the addition of milk (cream), you can make casseroles, make pancakes, puddings.
• One or two steamed/soft-boiled eggs per day.
• Low-fat fermented milk products/freshly prepared cottage cheese are allowed to be consumed daily; sour cream, cream and milk can only be added to ready-made dishes. Butter up to 10 g per serving per dish.
• Vegetables (carrots, potatoes, zucchini, cauliflower - finely chopped, boiled). If tolerated well, you can add green peas, beets and green beans to soup.
• Garden greens are allowed.
• Homemade sauces with meat/fish broth and milk.
• Sweet and ripe fruits without peel, at least 200 g per day.
• Desserts - marshmallows, marmalade, caramel, marshmallows, jam.
• Drinks include coffee/tea with milk, cocoa with water/milk, juices diluted with water (except grape and cabbage), still mineral water, compotes, jelly, rosehip decoction.

Table of permitted products

Why do you lose your appetite during chemotherapy?

Loss of appetite during chemotherapy is a multifactorial problem. On the one hand, there is a toxic effect on the body of cytostatic drugs and ionizing radiation. This changes the perception of taste, causes aversion to smells and debilitating nausea.

On the other hand, chemotherapy drugs provoke the death of rapidly renewing epithelial cells of the gastrointestinal tract, which leads to stomatitis, dry mouth, abdominal pain, diarrhea or constipation. In this situation, some patients refuse to eat due to pain.

Fully or partially limited products

The diet for intestinal cancer includes the exclusion of the following foods:

• Any fresh bread, pastries, muffins, products made from refined flour.
• Animal/cooking fats, smoked meats, fatty meat/fish, poultry meat, any canned food, mayonnaise, margarine, sausages, marinades, pickles.
• Concentrated broths.
• Fried food.
• Products containing stabilizers, dyes, emulsifiers, preservatives, sweeteners, which are highly oncogenic substances.
• Legumes and foods that irritate the intestinal mucosa (onions, garlic, radishes, radishes).
• Strong coffee, chocolate drinks with carbonation.

Table of prohibited products

What foods should you avoid during chemotherapy?

All food products can be divided into two categories: those that help maintain health and those that weaken health.

During chemotherapy, it is important to avoid the following foods:

• alcoholic drinks (50 ml of dry wine between courses is acceptable);
• fried and fatty foods;
• sweets (cakes, pastries, pastries, sweets);
• smoked meats;
• low quality products (cheap fats, processed meat products, canned food);
• spoiled products and those that have expired;
• spicy foods (vinegar, ketchup, mayonnaise);
• carbonated drinks and sweet store-bought juices;
• strong tea, coffee;
• fast food (hot dogs, shawarma, burgers, fries).

It is worth reducing your sugar intake and, if you are not allergic, replacing it with honey. And also reduce the amount of salt so as not to unnecessarily burden the kidneys and liver.

Reviews and results

According to patients, therapeutic nutrition for intestinal cancer does not cause much psychological discomfort and promotes the rapid restoration of intestinal function.

• “... She underwent surgery for sigmoid colon cancer, and then radiation therapy. At first I felt terrible - constant nausea and vomiting, I had to force myself to eat. Then, after 2 weeks, my appetite began to recover. I'm on a diet. Everything is stewed, finely ground, no spices. I practically don’t eat fresh vegetables, as I get bloating and flatulence. The doctor says that over time, intestinal function will be restored, but you will have to follow a more or less strict diet for the rest of your life.”
• “... They removed the intestinal tumor along with part of the intestine. I walked with a colostomy for 2 months, and then everything was “returned” to its place. I adhere to a strict diet and cook everything in a double boiler, which makes the process of preparing dietary dishes much easier. For the first six months, the diet included only steamed dishes. Now I’m introducing baked and little by little raw vegetables and fruits into my diet. I introduce new foods little by little and look at the intestinal reaction, trying to create the right diet.”

Goals of proper nutrition in cancer

A balanced diet after oncology surgery means a balanced menu and adherence to a strict regimen. Food should not only replace spent energy, but also not provoke accompanying exacerbations and partially prevent them. Products of inadequate quality or with inappropriate energy content can harm the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, which will only worsen nutritional status. Therefore, the goals of proper nutrition in oncology are:

• providing energy that meets the patient’s needs, but without excess to avoid the formation of fatty deposits;
• supporting the structural composition of bone tissue and teeth with calcium, since its non-food form may be poorly absorbed;
• reducing the risk of developing chronic diseases (if any);
• maintaining the required minimum level of cholesterol, preventing its excessive increase;
• detoxification of the body;
• inactivation and removal of carcinotoxins;
• activation of cellular respiration;
• stimulation of antitumor and anti-infective immunity;
• maintaining homeostasis.

Diet stages

After surgery, you need to eat little and often.

The recovery period after surgery on the intestines consists of going through several stages.

This will allow you to fully restore the functionality of the digestive system. Depending on the stage of recovery, products and methods of their preparation are selected.

In the first few days after surgery, the patient is recommended to eat 8 times a day. One meal should be no more than 300 grams.

The patient is allowed to consume only liquid and jelly-like foods. The temperature of food eaten should be no more than 45 degrees. The amount of salt taken is limited to one gram per day.

If the patient has normal food tolerance at the first stage and the condition returns to normal, then he is transferred to a different diet. At the second stage of the recovery period, the patient is allowed to eat 6 times a day.