Nutrition for Children with Cancer

Nutrition plays an important role in the health of all children, but it is regarded as highly essential for children who are receiving cancer treatment.

Nutrition for the Person with Cancer during Treatment

Good nutrition is regarded as essential and extremely vital if you have cancer because both the illness and its treatment can have an affect your appetite. Cancer and its treatments can also affect your body's ability to tolerate certain foods and use certain nutrients.

A few pointers and health guidelines for cancer patients can be followed in order to have a healthy and maintained body.

1. Achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
2. Avoid weight gain during cancer treatment, whether you are at a healthy weight or overweight
3. Weight loss after recovery from treatment may benefit survivors who are overweight or obese.
4. Be physically active.
5. Research shows that exercise is considered safe during cancer treatment, and it can also improve many aspects of health, including muscle strength, balance, fatigue, and depression.
6. Physical activity after diagnosis is connected to living longer and having a reduced risk of the cancer returning among people living with cancer. This may include breast, colorectal, prostate, and ovarian cancer.
7. Eat a healthy diet, with an emphasis on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

Doctors lay high emphasis on diets which include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, poultry, and fish, and low in refined grains, red meat and processed meat (such as hot dogs), desserts, high-fat dairy products and French fries.

Doctors and researchers, however also claim that by consuming more vitamins, herbs and other nutritional supplements, one cannot help cancer patients live longer, and it may even shorten life. It is advised to ask your doctor before taking any supplement since many medicines can have serious side effects.
The recommendations are also for those people who have been diagnosed with breast, colon, endometrial, ovarian, lung, prostate, head and neck, and blood cancers.

Diet for cancer patients:

Many meats, poultry and fish are great sources of protein. But some people cannot tolerate them during cancer treatment. This is why they should consume some easy to digest foods like:

1. Eggs
2. Dairy products such as milk, cheese, cottage cheese, and yogurt
3. Beans, soy, and nuts -- including peanut butter or almond butter

As with nutrients, dietitians and doctors recommend getting protein from natural food sources.  If that doesn’t work for you, you can add protein powders -- like whey or soy -- or powdered milk to your diet.  Also, if you have trouble while chewing or swallowing due to your treatment, you can try to mix them in with soft foods such as mashed potatoes or fruit smoothies.