In the life of a person who finds out that he is sick with lung cancer, everything changes - from the regime to the diet. Every patient who encounters oncology is obliged to monitor what he eats and drinks. His body needs a maximum of energy and strength to deal with a serious illness, and their sources are not only medications, but also food. What is a lung cancer diet?
Dietary principles
You should talk about them first. A critical moment in any oncological disease is a sharp weight loss. So nutrition should be aimed at maximizing the enrichment of the body with the necessary vitamins that can help in supporting human life.
Unfortunately, due to lung cancer, the patient disrupts lipid, carbohydrate and protein metabolism. The immune system is also strongly suppressed.
Here's what the diet for lung cancer is about:
- Prevention of exhaustion.
- Prevention of intoxication.
- Protection of bone marrow and liver from exhaustion.
- Maintaining homeostasis.
- Activation of cellular respiration.
- Metabolism recovery.
- Excretion of toxins of oncological origin from the body.
- Stimulation of anti-infection and anti-tumor immunity.
Some rules
It should be noted right away that the diet and menu determine the condition of the patient and the stage of the disease. If the tumor is only detected, and it has not yet had time to develop, then the diet is compiled on the basis of a complete diet.
Calorie content in such cases varies in the range of 3000-3200 kcal / day. The ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates is: 100, 100 and 450 g, respectively. There are no special restrictions, only indigestible and spicy foods are prohibited.
Be sure to use free fluid (about 2 liters per day). During the course of radiation or chemical therapy, calorie content should be 4000-4500 kcal / day, energy-intensive products should be consumed. You need to eat 6-7 times a day, and in between occasionally sometimes have a snack. The amount of fluid consumed increases to 3 liters.
Prohibited Products
Diet for lung cancer involves the rejection of the following products:
- Canned food of any origin.
- Strong coffee and tea, alcoholic and carbonated drinks.
- Products from flour.
- Nutritional supplements.
- Polished rice
- Sugar, as well as confectionery and sweets.
- Milk from preservatives.
- Starch products.
- Fried and fatty foods.
- Smoked meats and sausages.
- Butter, margarine and lard.
- Marinades, pickles. Including pickled vegetables, pickled tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.
- Preservatives, vinegar.
- Yeast.
- Broths of poultry, meat and fish.
- Shop sauces.
- Thermally processed and processed cheese.
- Semi-finished products, frozen meat and fish, minced meat.
- Beef.
As you can see, many will have to be abandoned. But the list of allowed products is also quite voluminous. The fact that the diet allows lung cancer, we will go further.
What can I drink?
Green tea is widely known for its anticancer properties. It contains epigallocatechin gallate, which effectively reduces the tumor growth rate. Therefore, you need to drink it. But abuse is not recommended. Enough 200 ml after each dinner.
It also quenches thirst and improves immunity infusion of marshmallow roots. To make it, in equal proportions you need to mix this plant, and also the leaves of strawberries, blueberries, thyme and plantain. Then 5 tbsp. l pour a liter of water of this composition and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, wrap the pan for 1 hour. After that you can drink.
Drink should be consumed throughout the day. It is prepared simply, so you can do it every day - itβs not more difficult to brew tea, but more benefits than water.
Also, the diet for chemotherapy for lung cancer permits the periodic use of freshly squeezed juices from vegetables, berries and fruits, which will be listed below.
Berries, Fruits and Vegetables
It is recommended to actively use apricots, grapefruits, peaches, plums, beets, apples, tangerines, pumpkin and lemons. They are rich sources of lubein, quercetin, ellagic acid, lycopene and beta-carotene. And these are excellent antioxidants that effectively protect the body during radio and chemotherapy for lung cancer.
On a diet, you also need to eat berries. Most useful are raspberries, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, cherries, mulberries, cranberries and currants. These berries neutralize exogenous toxins, as they contain antigenic inhibitor substances. Regularly using all of the above, you can reduce the likelihood of mutations in normal cells and increase the destruction of cancer.
The nutrition shown for cancer also involves the inclusion of cruciferous vegetables in the diet. These include turnip, broccoli, radish, as well as cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and white cabbage. These vegetables contain glucosinolate and indole. These substances improve liver function and also minimize intoxication of the body. They say they even inhibit the growth of cancer cells in the blood vessels.
Greens and herbs
Following a diet after radiation therapy for lung cancer, you need to use natural amino acids, minerals, vitamins and essential nutrients.
All these substances are found in lettuce, parsley, mustard, parsnip, alfalfa, caraway seeds, spinach, wheat germ, as well as in garlic, carrots and onions.
And leaves are a source of chlorophyll. It is from him that the human body receives natural iron. And it, in turn, reduces the amount of carcinogens contained in tissues and blood and improves the production of antibodies in the body.
By the way, it is better to season salad with linseed oil. Everyone knows that it also contributes to therapy.
Useful herbs and spices include turmeric, mint, caraway seeds, rosemary, basil, cinnamon, anise, cloves, marjoram and thyme. These additives reduce the growth rate of malignant neoplasms, as well as promote metabolism.
Seeds and nuts
Their use also implies a diet for lung cancer patients. Of particular benefit are walnuts, almonds, and also flaxseed, sunflower, sesame and pumpkin seeds. They are sources of lignans that increase the production of sex hormones. An excellent tool used for the prevention of cancer.
If there are not enough lignans in the body, then the cells will undergo mutations faster and more intensively. This means that in the blood there will be more extra enzymes and toxins. Seeds, in turn, contain proteins, carbohydrates, fats and trace elements useful for tissues and cells.
What else should be added to the diet?
Following a diet for lung cancer with metastases, it is recommended to diversify your diet with such products:
- Japanese and Chinese mushrooms. In particular, maytake, cordyceps, reishi and shiitake. They perfectly increase the immunity of a weakened body, and also reduce swelling and growth of malignant neoplasms. Mushrooms also reduce cancer intoxication and aggressiveness.
- Seaweed. Kombu, chlorella, wakama, dulce and spirulina contain powerful inhibitors that inhibit the rate of tumor development. They also interfere with the division of cancer cells. The greatest benefit is given to patients who have been diagnosed with a low-grade tumor.
- String beans. In particular, green beans, asparagus, peas, chickpeas, soy and lentils. They contain trypsin and chymotrypsin. These substances reduce the growth rate of aggressive cells.
- Pollen, royal jelly, bee bread, honey, propolis. The use of these natural products improves immunity, as well as a decrease in the rate of tumor growth.
Keto diet and lung cancer
This topic also cannot be ignored. The meaning of the ketogenic diet is that up to 90% of the calories in the diet are due to fats. Carbohydrates in the diet should be a minimum. Protein - the average amount. But the amount of fat consumed should be maximum.
Such a diet leads to glucose deficiency, which is the best "food" for cancer cells. As a result, fat becomes the main source of energy. The brain stops eating glucose, starting to consume ketone bodies.
It is difficult to say how effective this diet is for grade 4 lung cancer, but it helps fight malignant brain formations. This can be seen in numerous studies. True, you can stick to it for a limited amount of time. At the moment, the safety of its long-term use is in question.
Stage 4
If a person has developed cancer to the last degree, he needs to follow a completely different diet. Diet for stage 4 lung cancer involves eating 5-6 times a day. Fractional nutrition is important, as it allows you to saturate and at the same time not to overload the body.
Food should be taken in small portions, be sure to chew thoroughly. Vegetables to eat raw, preferably grated, and not hard. Often, patients in stage 4 cancer have difficulty swallowing. In this case, the output is vegetable and fruit purees.
The remaining products must be cooked either steamed or by cooking. The diet should include sea fish, vegetables and fruits, dairy products, as well as freshly squeezed juices and herbal teas.
Chemotherapy Diet
Before starting this specific treatment, the patient should adhere to a more dense diet. This is necessary to strengthen the body. But overeating is not recommended.
Chemotherapy diet involves balancing and consuming twice as many calories. Well, if immediately after completing the course of procedures the patient begins to recover.
Since the patient often suffers from nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy, sour-milk products and infusions from ginger root will be useful to him. To quickly remove radiation from the body, you need to use red caviar.
Sample menu
Diet for lung cancer stage 3, however, like any other, can be varied. Here is one of the approximate menu options:
- 1st breakfast: tomato juice and apple.
- 2nd breakfast: boiled buckwheat, a slice of black bread, coleslaw, a few slices of cheese and weak tea.
- Lunch: lean borsch, stewed rabbit, home-made noodles, weak tea.
- Dinner: broth from rose hips, steamed or braised rutabaga, a little dried apricots.
- 1-2 hours before bedtime: a glass of fat-free kefir.
Here is another diet option:
- 1st breakfast: applesauce, orange juice.
- 2nd breakfast: a piece of brown bread, 1-2 tomatoes, steam omelet, green tea.
- Lunch: brown bread, rosehip and apple compote, tomato and vegetable soup, stewed chicken, fresh salad.
- Dinner: steamed turnips, a handful of nuts, tea with lemon.
- 1-2 hours before bedtime: natural yogurt.
How to cook meals?
It must be remembered that cancer patients should not take too hot or solid food. When cooking, it is allowed to slightly sweeten or add salt to the dish. Such food is digested much faster and better.
In the event that at the time of preparation the products emit a sharp or unpleasant odor, the patient needs to leave the kitchen. Bad aroma easily provokes nausea, after which vomiting occurs, and this is an additional burden on the body.
By the way, about unpleasant odors. To avoid them, the products must be pre-soaked in water for several hours with regular replacement of the liquid. This applies to everything that has a pungent smell, as well as meat. By the way, since it is boiled, it is also recommended to change the water in the process at least twice.
And one more important point. The patient is urged to keep a so-called food diary. It is worth recording dishes that cause unpleasant sensations. Having noticed a negative reaction of an organism to this or that food, it is necessary to refuse it so as not to load itself once again. By trial and error, man will be able to create the perfect menu.