Get your diet on track Even though cancer treatment takes a lot out of your body, you still have control over what goes in. Now is the time to boost your fresh food intake, hit the wholegrains and focus on maintaining a healthy weight.
The well-balanced diet As long as you’re maintaining your weight, a simple menu packed with fresh fruits and vegetables will give your body what it needs to be as healthy as possible when treatment begins.
Eat less fat, more fibre Make some simple swaps to reduce the fat and boost the fibre in your diet. Choose fish and chicken instead of red meats, skim milk instead of full-cream milk, and use reduced-fat spreads, yoghurt and cheese. Try grilling, steaming and poaching instead of frying or roasting. To get more fibre, replace your white bread with wholemeal bread, your white rice with brown rice and so on. Eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, too.
Colour code your vegies Some vegetables are particularly rich in vitamins and minerals and, luckily, nature has colour-coded them for us. Dark green vegetables, such as spinach and broccoli, and orange vegies including sweet potato and carrots are very beneficial.
Cut back on sugar and salt Sugar gives you energy but that’s about all. If you have a good diet you’ll already be getting all the energy you need from other healthier sources. Try to stay away from cakes and lollies and eat fruit as a sweet treat instead. To reduce the salt in your diet, stop eating prepared and packaged foods, especially snack foods – they’re loaded with salt.
Be sensible with alcohol Certain medications react with alcohol. Check to see if you should give up alcohol for the period of your treatment.
The weight-gain diet It’s not unusual for people with cancer to lose a lot of weight because of nausea, diarrhoea or simply loss of appetite. Being underweight can weaken your immune system. To be ready for treatment, it’s important you boost the energy and protein in your diet.
Super soup Add lentils, beans or noodles to any soup you’re making or stir in an extra spoonful of cream. You can add these ingredients to canned soup, too.
High-quality nibbles Keep dried fruit and nuts on hand as healthy between-meal snacks. If dry foods don’t suit you, try small pots of yoghurt.
Smart supplements If you’re really struggling to eat, ask your care team to recommend some nutritional supplements. These may be prescribed by a doctor or sold over the counter at the chemist, and usually come as a powder or tablet. Stir them into casseroles, soups or even mashed potato.
Fatten up your vegies Ordinarily you’d be moderate with your intake of dairy fats, but when you’re trying to offset weight loss, they can be a big help. Don’t be shy about topping vegetables with melted butter or grated cheese.
Indulge in sandwiches Again, adjust your thinking on dairy fats and confidently spread a good layer of butter on your sandwiches. Tuna mixed with a spoonful of shop-bought mayonnaise (not homemade) is an ideal filling.
If your immunity is low Some foods contain harmful bacteria. When your immune system is weak it’s best to stay away from soft-cooked eggs, homemade mayonnaise (which contains raw eggs), pâté and soft cheeses.
If you need some advice If you need to radically revise your eating habits, or if you’re having particular trouble with eating, or if you have special dietary requirements, you could benefit from some professional help. Ask your care team to put you in touch with a dietitian or nutritionist.
Expert's insight: Kathy Chapman Nutritionist Kathy Chapman, the divisional director of health strategies at Cancer Council NSW, says getting a good mix of fruit and vegetables into your diet can really help prepare your body for treatment.
“When you have a diagnosis of cancer and you’re going through that whole whirlwind of treatment, there aren’t a lot of things that feel like they’re in your control. What you’re doing with your diet and your eating can be one of those things where you do get to take control and that can be an empowering thing.
“If you haven’t been losing weight, then just focus on healthy eating. It’s important to eat a lot more fruits and vegetables so that you get all of those protective nutrients and antioxidants. Boost your intake overall and make sure you have a good variety, because the nutrients you get in one type of vegetable are different from what you get in another type.
“If you’ve started losing weight and you’re about to have chemotherapy or radiotherapy or surgery, then you need to try and regain some of that weight.
“Concentrate on really building up your strength. Don’t start thinking about trying to do all sorts of ultra-healthy things. Just do what you can to lay down some reserves to hold you in good stead while you’re having treatment.
“Having chemo or recovering from surgery is a bit like doing a marathon. If you’ve run a marathon, you expect to eat a lot to replace all that lost energy. That’s what you’ve got to be thinking about in terms of the effect that cancer has on your body.”
Words to know
Antioxidants dietary substances that can prevent damage to your normal cells and help to repair damage already done
Dairy fats any fats found in foods produced from cow’s milk including milk, butter, cream and cheese; most dairy products contain high levels of saturated fats
Nutrients substances that provide nourishment and enable an organism to grow
More help
Go for 2&5 www.gofor2and5.com.au This initiative of the Australian government offers information on the benefits of eating fresh fruit and vegetables plus ideas for increasing your daily intake and recipes for healthy meals.
FOODcents www.foodcentsprogram.com.au A website that shows how you can save money by buying, growing and eating fresh food, with recipes.
MICHELLE RICHMOND Ten years ago, Michelle Richmond was diagnosed with what turned out to be a benign breast tumour. She chose to avoid surgery and adjusted her diet instead.
Michelle is director of maxAwareness.com, an online resource for holistic cancer treatment.
“When you’re preparing for any type of treatment, it’s important you detox your body and rebuild your immune system so that, no matter what treatment you’re doing, your body is as healthy as possible. If you were cleansing your body for a cancer treatment, the mung bean soup would be the staple of your diet. You could have it three times a day for up to five weeks, just to completely cleanse your body and rebuild. The thing that most people say about it is it just feels really good when you eat it. Your body goes ‘Oh! This is really good.’”
Michelle Richmond’s mung bean soup (serves six)
1–2 cups dry green mung beans 1–2 tablespoons ghee or olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 knob fresh ginger, finely chopped 4 bay leaves or a bunch of curry leaves 1 cup chopped parsley 1 cup fresh coriander pinch asafoetida (hing) from Indian food stores 1 tablespoon each of: ground turmeric, cumin, ground coriander seeds, curry powder, garam masala, chilli paste, black mustard seeds, yellow mustard seeds, fennel seeds
2 litres water pinch of salt 1–2 large vegetable stock cubes (optional) black pepper to taste
Rinse mung beans, then soak for 30 minutes or until sprouted. Drain and re-rinse. Heat ghee, add onion, garlic, ginger, herbs and spices and sauté lightly. Add mung beans and stir to coat. Add water and salt or stock cubes (if using). Bring to the boil and cook until the mung beans are completely soft. Add black pepper to taste.
To make a hearty soup: After the water boils, add beetroot, potato, zucchini, carrot, spinach, cauliflower or any vegies that suit your diet.