To Cancer : Complementary and Integrative Therapies of Cancer.

Cancer is a disease process in which cells grow beyond normal limits and at a faster rate. Cancer cells grow and invade surrounding tissues, lymph nodes and organs, depending on location. Through this process, cancer uses the body’s metabolism and nutrients. This disease compromises the immune system, causes weight loss and fatigue in most cases. Adhering to a balanced diet is very important if you have cancer. A nutritionist should be consulted if diagnosed with cancer.

Increased Calories and Nutrients

Good nutrition is imperative for cancer patients. Cancer causes nutritional deficiencies because it is exhausting the vitamin and mineral supply. The USDA food pyramid is a simple nutritional guideline to start following every day. Because cancer starves the body of calories and nutrients, it is advised by the National Institutes of Health to increase caloric intake. Cancer patients need to follow the food pyramid and increase serving sizes to receive more calories and nutrients.

Low-Fat Diet

A low-fat diet may help cancer patients who have developed a strong opposition to fatty foods. Also, in cases of breast cancer, a low-fat diet may decrease the risk of recurrence. A low-fat diet requires you to reduce saturated and trans fats in your diet. This includes butter, margarine and shortening. In addition, all fat needs to be trimmed from meat and you must choose lean meat with less than 10 percent fat. If you need to use oil, choose monounsaturated fats such as olive oil or canola oil. When purchasing dairy, pick skim milk and low-fat yogurt and cheeses over the full-fat varieties.

Protein-Rich Foods

Muscle-wasting can occur with cancer. This is because cancer has increased metabolic needs. Cancer will burn the energy from fat and muscle, resulting in a thinner appearance and muscle atrophy. For these reasons, protein intake is needed every day because it rebuilds muscle and tissue. Protein can be achieved from a variety of foods such as yogurt, lean meats and cottage cheese. A good way to increase calories and protein, is to include a protein shake in your diet every day. Protein shakes can be purchased from specialty vitamin stores.

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