The Cancer Diet Cookbook: Comforting Recipes for Treatment and Recovery

CHAPTER 1

Eating Right to Fight Cancer

It’s impossible to overstate the importance of making the right dietary choices during this extremely challenging time in your life. In this chapter, I explore the relationship between cancer and nutrition, and the crucial roles that compassion and self-care play in the lives of cancer patients and their caregivers.

How Cancer Affects the Body

Cancer starts in the cells of the body. Normal cells grow and divide, and they know when to stop. They die when they’re supposed to and they reproduce when more cells are needed. Cancer cells, on the other hand, do not behave like normal cells. They continue to grow and divide uncontrollably. They can avoid the immune system and ignore signals that tell them to die or stop growing.

It often takes many years for these cancer cells to grow large enough to form a tumor. A growing tumor can destroy the normal cells around it and begin to damage the body’s healthy tissues. Depending on where the tumor is located, it can impact the body in many ways. Sometimes, cancer cells break away from the original tumor and travel to other areas of the body, where they continue to grow and divide and eventually form new tumors at new locations.

Cancer can start almost anywhere in the body. There are more than 100 different types of cancer, and they are generally named for the organs or tissues where they started. Many end up forming solid tumors, but some types, like leukemia or lymphoma, do not. These cancers start in the blood or lymphatic system.

Treatment options depend on the type of cancer that is diagnosed, whether the cancer has spread, and the general health of the patient. The goal of treatment is to kill as many cancerous cells as possible while reducing the damage to normal cells that are nearby.

The most common treatments for cancer include surgery, which directly removes the tumor; chemotherapy, which uses chemicals to kill cancer cells; and radiation, which uses X-rays to kill cancer cells. There are also some cancers that can be treated with immunotherapy, which stimulates the immune system to help the body kill cancer; or hormonal therapy, which slows or stops cancer cells that are stimulated by hormones.

Regardless of your type of cancer or what treatment you are receiving, the healing process can be supported by eating certain foods and avoiding others.

The Importance of Nutrition During Cancer

Your diet can help you heal in two ways: the foods you eat can help support the treatment while minimizing the side effects, and they can provide you with the energy and strength you need to fuel your recovery. By choosing the right foods, you can have a positive impact on your healing journey. There is no one right diet for everyone, but throughout your cancer journey it’s important to make sure you’re eating enough calories and protein to maintain your weight, energy, and strength. You should also make sure you’re consuming enough micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, and other phytonutrients) to keep your immune system strong and to support the healing process.

Cancer-Fighting Foods

Adequate protein intake is essential to support energy production, maintain muscle mass, bolster the immune system, and help the body heal and repair. Patients often underestimate how much protein their body needs during cancer treatment. To help you reach your protein goals each day, I suggest including a high-protein food at every meal and every snack. Pasture-raised meats, wild-caught fish, organic dairy products, beans, nuts, seeds, and tofu are all great sources of protein.

Healthy, anti-inflammatory fats—such as oily fish, avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oils, and butter from grass-fed cows—are excellent sources of calories that also nourish the immune system, the nervous system, and all your cellular membranes. Make it a goal to include at least one healthy fat at every meal.

All vegetables can be part of a cancer-healing diet, but when you need to get the most benefit from each bite, I suggest starting with leafy greens, such as kale, spinach, chard, cabbage, or escarole. The wide variety of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients in leafy greens support all the necessary systems for healing. Make it a goal to include at least two servings of leafy greens every day; to make this easier, consider that one serving equals 1 cup raw greens or ½ cup cooked.

Alliums—the group of flowering plants that includes garlic, onions, shallots, leeks, and chives—contain compounds that have incredible powers to support detoxification, build immunity, and help the body fight cancer. These vegetables also contain antimicrobial compounds that help fight bacteria, viruses, and other infections when your immune system may be compromised from treatment. Make it a goal to include alliums in at least one meal every day.

And when it comes to fruit, none pack as much healing benefit as berries, which offer an assortment of phytonutrients that can boost the immune system, assist with healing and repair, and help the body fight cancer. Make it a goal to vary your choice of berries and include at least one serving of berries every day.

Foods to Avoid

Perhaps you have been told to eat whatever you want, because now is not the time to worry about your diet or just eat whatever sounds good, because the most important thing is to keep your weight on. I’m here to tell you that this advice couldn’t be further from the truth. If there was ever a time to care about the food you put in your body, now is it.

Some foods are not safe to consume during treatment if your immune system is compromised and you are therefore at a high risk for infections. Be mindful to avoid raw fish, meat, or eggs; unpasteurized dairy products; undercooked meats; and unpasteurized juices (unless you’re making them yourself from fresh fruits and veggies). There are also some foods that will be harder to digest during treatment and can cause uncomfortable digestive symptoms, such as fried, greasy, or really spicy foods. And finally, and most important, there are some foods that may actually promote cancer growth, lower your immune response, and work against your healing efforts. These foods include sugar, refined carbohydrates (commonly found in white flour bread, cereal, and pasta), inflammatory fats, processed meats, and meats cooked at really high temperatures (broiling or grilling).

When eating is a challenge and you need to make every bite count, don’t waste those bites on food that is not going to be helpful to you.

THE IMPORTANCE OF TALKING ABOUT SYMPTOMS

As you move through treatment, it’s important that you keep your caregivers and care providers in the loop about how you’re feeling. If the symptoms are changing or seem to be getting worse, or new ones are appearing, let your care team know about this, as it’s possible that different foods or strategies, or even medications, can be introduced to help you feel better. When I work with clients one-on-one, we start every appointment with a review of their symptoms—that’s how important it is.

To help you monitor how your symptoms are changing, you might want to consider using a tracking system. Keep a list of important markers, like energy level, digestion, sleep, nausea, pain, or anything else that seems to bother you. At the end of each day, rank the symptoms on a scale from 0 to 5, where 0 means it’s not a problem at all and 5 means it’s a debilitating problem. As you try different strategies or foods or medications, you can track how each is helping you. Then on the day of your appointment, you can more easily update your providers without needing to rely solely on your memory.

Taking Control of Your Symptoms Through Diet

In addition to supporting your healing process, certain foods can help improve any symptoms and dramatically impact your overall well-being during your cancer journey. Everyone’s experience will be different, owing to the different types of cancer and treatment involved, but here is a guide to some of the more common symptoms people experience and some specific strategies that help minimize these side effects.

NAUSEA

Nausea is a common side effect of most forms of chemotherapy, as well as radiation that is directed toward the brain, stomach, or abdomen. Thankfully, most people can control their nausea quite well simply by taking the prescribed anti-nausea medications as directed. If this is not enough, however, or if you are not tolerating the medications, starting your morning with a cup of warm ginger tea can be helpful. Many people also find that tart or tangy foods are better tolerated. Eating smaller, more frequent meals also helps, as does avoiding rich, greasy, fried, spicy, or overly sweet foods. Room-temperature foods may be better tolerated than hot or cold ones. And you might even find that not drinking on an empty stomach can be helpful; consider eating a few crackers or a slice of toast before you drink to absorb the extra stomach acid.

Recipes to help with nausea: Morning Tonic; Stomach-Soothing Juice; Cinnamon-Spiced Apple Compote with Nut Butter; Roasted Sweet Potato Fries.

FATIGUE

Fatigue, or having very low energy, is another common side effect of almost all types of treatment. In addition to allowing adequate time for sleep and rest, make sure you include a high-protein food at every meal or snack. Also make sure you’re eating enough calories, as well as sufficient micronutrients like the B vitamins, iron, or magnesium. I suggest that every meal include at least three parts: protein + fat + colorful plants. Also, avoid skipping meals and make a commitment to eat something every three to four hours; doing so will help ensure you’re receiving a continuous supply of energy-supporting nutrients. Hydration also plays a role in maintaining energy levels, so be sure to include something to drink.

Recipes to help with fatigue: Dark Chocolate Brownie Bites; Veggie Breakfast Burritos; Balanced Green Smoothie; Tuna Pesto Pasta with Broccoli.

TROUBLE SWALLOWING

Difficulty in swallowing, also known as dysphagia, is a common side effect for people with mouth or esophageal cancers. Radiation treatment or surgery to this area can also make it painful and difficult to swallow. To help keep both your weight and your nutrition status up, stick with soft and moist foods like smoothies, fresh juices, vegetable purees, scrambled eggs, hummus, bean dips, hot cereals, yogurt, kefir, blended soups, and avocado. You may also need to experiment a bit with the thickness of what you’re eating: some foods may be easier to swallow when they are thinned out a bit, like hot cereals, smoothies, scrambled eggs, or purees, while others may need to be thickened a little, like soups, broths, or juices. What’s most important when swallowing becomes a challenge is to make every bite count—be mindful of your protein, fat, and nutrient intake. Focusing on smaller, more frequent meals will also make this easier.

Recipes to help with trouble swallowing: Power-Packed Hot Cereal; Lemon and Rosemary Bean Dip; Savory Sweet Potato Puree; Roasted Butternut Squash, Apple, and Sage Soup.

ANEMIA

Anemia, a condition that can result from chemotherapy or radiation, occurs when the number of red blood cells drops too low. These are the cells responsible for carrying oxygen throughout the body, and when there are fewer of them, the body has to work harder to get oxygen to all your tissues. This leads to extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, and lightheadedness. If you are experiencing anemia, consuming protein is essential, so every time you eat, even if it’s just a snack, be sure to include some protein. Foods rich in iron and the B vitamins will also help; these include meats, poultry, eggs, fish, dark leafy greens, beans, and lentils. Adding foods rich in vitamin C, like berries, citrus, tomatoes, bell pepper, or broccoli, can also help increase the absorption of iron. Try to include foods from these