Nutrition for bowel cancer: general rules, sample menu, recipes

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

At the moment, cancer of the intestinal mucosa is considered one of the most common oncological diseases from which a person can suffer. Its treatment involves several types of intervention at once, including adherence to special nutrition for bowel cancer, both before and after surgery. This allows you to facilitate the passage of food and prevent mucous membranes from injury, which protects against the occurrence of possible complications or exacerbation of symptoms. In this article, you will learn what you can eat with bowel cancer in order to improve the condition of the body and reduce the possible side effects of chemotherapy or surgery. We will tell you how to eat to significantly improve the quality of life of the patient.

The essence of the diet

As mentioned earlier, bowel cancer treatment is always complex, as it includes surgery as well as radiation chemotherapy. Properly selected nutrition for bowel cancer, in turn, helps to quickly restore normal functioning.digestive system.

It was noticed that with this disease, the intestines can calmly tolerate only food that will be easy for him to assimilate and digest. All other products that do not belong to this group can significantly complicate the clinical picture and disrupt the stool, which will exacerbate the disease and worsen the condition of the body.

Nutritional Goals

A few years ago, at the next international convention in California, nutritional goals for bowel cancer were formed. Among them, the following stand out:

• malnutrition prevention;
• improvement of the protective functions of a weakened organism;
• prevention of further development of cancer metastases;
• protecting the body from the side effects of radiation and chemotherapy;
• reduce symptoms of cancer and improve the quality of life of the patient.

It has been proven that if you follow the rules of nutrition, which will be announced below, you can easily achieve all of the above goals by eating permitted foods. A simple meal can significantly alleviate an existing disease and even prevent possible complications and relapses.

Eating rules before surgery

Nutrition for bowel cancer should be built individually by a doctor, depending on the stage of the disease. For example, before surgery, it should include as many nutrients and vitamins as possible in order to prevent further development of cancer cells and improve the body's natural defenses. Doctors recommend focusing on the followingrules:

• the diet should contain only high-quality, fresh foods that are easily digested by the intestines;
• completely abandon the consumption of any animal fats, oils, and in general foods that have a high rate of fat;
• sugar and any other sugary foods like baked goods should also not be present in the diet;
• when buying products, be sure to read the composition, since the food should not contain preservatives, dyes and any other chemical additives.

Products for bowel cancer during this period must contain selenium, as it activates the cells in the human body that allow the body to fight cancer. Therefore, it is best to eat seafood, cereals, nuts, dried fruits and beef liver.

Meals must be fractional, and all products are subjected to gentle thermal and mechanical processing, that is, they will need to be finely chopped or chopped with a blender.

Nutrition after surgery

After surgery, the body is very weakened, so proper nutrition during this period will help prevent the possible development of a relapse, and also strengthen the immune system. Such nutrition for bowel cancer should be built as follows:

1. The first day after surgery should be a day of fasting. This will help the digestive system get some rest and also prevent the bowel movement.
2. On the second and subsequent days, the diet can be gradually expanded. Howeverany foods that a person should consume during this period should not cause gas or constipation. It is recommended to eat cereals, crackers, sour-milk products, first courses like soup with meatballs or mashed potatoes, steamed lean meats and seafood.

Before serving, any food should be pre-boiled or stewed. You should also limit the use of seasonings, replacing them with dried herbs. The amount of s alt is recommended to be significantly reduced. However, in general, despite the fact that the diet will be quite scarce, the patient does not experience a lack of food, and therefore it will be quite simple to maintain the diet.

Diet during chemotherapy for bowel cancer

Chemotherapy, like radiation therapy, has a very negative effect on the body, and therefore the patient may begin to experience a number of negative side effects such as fatigue, frequent vomiting or nausea, aversion to food, and even the fact that food will have completely different taste. However, despite all this, it is very important to prevent weight loss, and therefore you need to return your appetite. High-calorie foods can help with this - first of all, they include nuts and dried fruits: raisins, dried apricots and prunes. Berries and fruits, mushrooms and various vegetables will also help. From meat products, special attention should be paid to chicken, turkey, rabbit and lamb, seasoning them with aromatic herbs.

Any food should be prepared exclusively from fresh ingredients. Dry food should be completely abandoned - sandwiches, biscuits and crackers will be veryharmful to the intestines. Also, cooked food should not overload the kidneys and liver to prevent the retention of chemical drugs or carcinogens in the body.

Drinking mode

First of all, it is worth remembering that with stomach cancer, any alcoholic or alcohol-containing drinks must be excluded from the diet. The amount of clean drinking water should also be limited. It is not recommended to drink more than 6 glasses per day. In addition, not surprisingly, juices are allowed for bowel cancer. You can drink both fruit and vegetables, as well as fruit drinks, jelly and compotes. Various herbal infusions and teas also show excellent results, which, having a rich vitamin composition, help nourish the body with useful substances and strengthen it.

It is also allowed to drink fermented milk products, but milk should be completely abandoned. You also do not need to drink store-bought juices, strong tea and coffee, carbonated drinks and kvass.

Forbidden foods

If you have bowel cancer, you should completely avoid the following foods:

• fatty meats and fish, sausages;
• canned foods, as well as smoked, pickled and pickled foods;
• representatives of legumes;
• a range of vegetables like cabbages and cucumbers;
• sweets and pastries.

Allowed Foods

The list of products allowed at any stage of the disease for stomach cancer includes:

• Fruits and berries - raspberries, apricots, apples and strawberries.
• Various nuts.
• Low-fat dairy products such as cottage cheese, fermented baked milk and kefir.
• Lean meats and fish.
• Various dishes of boiled vegetables (beets, cauliflower, zucchini, carrots).
• Any greens except spinach.
• Porridge.

If you are interested in the question of what kind of bread is the most useful in the development of stomach cancer, then the answer is simple - yesterday's white bread. But fresh rye or whole grains are best avoided.

Creating a menu

Diet for bowel cancer is one of the drugs that must be maintained for a long time. Therefore, it is prescribed based on the individual characteristics of the patient's body, depending on the stage of the disease and medical intervention. Below is a sample daily menu, consisting of dishes that will not cause any harm to the intestines and even help it get better. If desired, they can be used to create your own menu.

Breakfast

Breakfast, that is, the first meal of the day, should be he althy enough to give the body the maximum of the nutrients it needs. It is best to prepare a he althy smoothie consisting of kefir with banana, oatmeal and blueberries. An oven baked apple is perfect for it. Also a good option would be a serving of cereal flakes seasoned with natural yogurt and dates. ATthe best drink for breakfast would be a cup of green tea.

Snacks

Eating with bowel cancer must be fractional, and therefore you need to make at least a couple of light snacks that will prevent hunger. If you wish, you can choose any of the following products for a snack - a serving of chopped fruit, nuts, a glass of fermented milk products, dried fruits pre-steamed in boiling water, as well as a cottage cheese dessert.

Lunch

Meals during illness should be nutritious and satisfying, yet light enough for the intestines to digest easily. The best option would be to cook diet broccoli soup. For the second, you should eat a pollock fillet steamed with herbs and a side dish of buckwheat porridge with vegetables. As a drink for this meal, a cup of chicory is best.

In addition, you can also serve soup with meatballs, baked chicken fillet in a pot with potatoes and carrots, accompanied by a glass of fresh tomato juice.

Dinner

Dinner will be the very last meal of the day, but it should be light enough that all the food has time to be absorbed by the body. For this meal, you should prepare vegetable stew with red rice, seaweed salad and a cup of tea. Also a good option would be pilaf with soy goulash and cranberry juice. Orange jelly can be served as a dessert for this dish.

Broccoli soup

It is known that broccoli is a very he althy vegetable that contains a hugeamount of nutrients. That is why the diet puree soup prepared from it is so useful for the body weakened by cancer. For soup, you should take about 250 grams of chicken fillet, then wash it and put it in a saucepan. Pour everything with water, and then prepare the broth. When the water boils, you need to drain all the broth, and then pour the chicken again with water. After boiling, you need to cook for about half an hour, then add a small amount of s alt.

While the broth is cooking, prepare the vegetables. To do this, wash one carrot, potato and celery root. All vegetables are peeled and then cut into small cubes. Everything is added to the already prepared broth, and then boiled for about 15-20 minutes. Broccoli is placed last - you need to take about 400 grams. Everything is cooked for another five minutes, until the cabbage becomes soft, after which the pan is removed from the heat. You need to wait until the soup cools down a bit, and then chop everything with a blender. Garnish the soup with herbs before serving.

Dried fruit compote

The recipe for making dried fruit compote for bowel cancer is very simple. First of all, they must first be placed in water at room temperature for about 25 minutes. During this time, dried fruits will get soaked well, as well as be cleaned of food colors and other chemicals that were used for them during drying. After soaking, they must also be thoroughly rinsed in running water.

Despite the fact that we are used to preparing compotes by boiling dried fruits and adding sugar to the drink, for cancer patients, the most useful thing is simplypour them with boiling water, and then tightly cover the container with a lid and let them brew for about 20 minutes. This is how the compote will retain a greater number of useful properties, and also does not take much time to prepare.

Conclusion

Intestinal cancer is a very dangerous disease that dramatically changes a person's life. Therefore, it is worth preparing for the fact that you will have to follow clear rules in the field of nutrition, since food can significantly affect your he alth. You should adhere to all the rules and diet that will be prescribed by the doctor, as this will prevent a possible relapse and improve he alth.