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Eating for health and recovery |
Safe and sufficient food intake is paramount for cancer patients in treatment |
| 20-03-2018 |
IT is normal for people to lose their appetite when they’re feeling poorly. Food becomes less appealing, and everything tastes bland and bitter. But that does not change the fact that they still need to eat to keep up their strength and get better.
DOWNLOAD PDF Meanwhile, cancer treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy can cause side effects including loss of appetite, nausea, soreness in the mouth and throat, constipation and fatigue. The medication may leave an unpleasant taste in the mouth, further putting patients off their food. But with treatment taking months or even years, it’s vital to maintain a regular diet that supplies all the nutrients needed for the body to function and recover “Food gives us energy, and cancer patients need a lot of energy to fight the disease,” says dietitian Nur Hayati Azmi from KPJ Ampang Puteri Hospital. “Our principal in dietetics for cancer patients is high calorie and high protein.” Both cancer and the drugs used to fight it can change the way the body normally absorbs nutrients. A high calorie diet helps the patient from losing weight and becoming malnourished. Meanwhile protein is needed for cell growth and repair. It is also the key nutrient for keeping the immune system healthy. Nur Hayati says: “A dietitian can calculate the patient’s daily calorie requirement based on their weight and other factors. Meanwhile, their protein requirement is roughly between 1.2 and 1.5g per kilogramme of their body weight, compared to a healthy person’s protein portion of 0.8g per kilogramme.” |
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