What you eat matters. Good Choices = Good Health

Sometimes making the right choices for your body is difficult. It can be easy to get into a rut of eating comfort foods, not exercising, and smoking. Good health and staying cancer free takes some discipline. What you eat, drink, and do with your body directly impacts your risk.

A healthy diet, plenty of water, adequate rest, and regular exercise, quitting smoking, limiting alcohol, and (in general) treating your body as well as you’d like your body to treat you are the front line defense against all disease – especially cancer.

Your body is the only home you have to live in so treat it well.The choices you make every day can raise or lower your personal cancer risk. You can fight cancer from the inside out!

Obesity

Research has confirmed that obesity increases your risk of cancer as well as every other major disease or condition. It can also affect your chances of survival should you be diagnosed.

Benefits of good nutrition during cancer treatment

Good nutrition is especially important if you have cancer because both the illness and its treatments can change the way you eat. Cancer and cancer treatments can also affect the way your body tolerates certain foods and uses nutrients.

The nutrient needs of people with cancer vary from person to person. Eating well while you’re being treated for cancer might help you:

• Feel better.
• Keep up your strength and energy.
• Maintain your weight and your body’s store of nutrients.
• Better tolerate treatment-related side effects.
• Lower your risk of infection.
• Heal and recover faster.

Eating well means eating a variety of foods to get the nutrients your body needs to fight cancer. These nutrients include protein, carbohydrates, fat, water, vitamins, and minerals. See our Diet page for more information.

How to cope with common eating problems

Cancer and cancer treatments can cause many problems that affect how well you can eat and drink. Here are some of the more common problems and tips on how to deal with them. Always tell your cancer care team about any problems you have. There are often things that can be done to treat the problem or keep it from getting worse.

Common eating problems include:

• Appetite changes
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Fatigue
• Mouth dryness or thick saliva
• Mouth or throat pain or sores
• Nausea
• Swallowing problems
• Taste and smell changes
• Weight gain

http://www.cancer.org/ssLINK/nutrition-during-treatment-poor-appetite

–>Last Medical Review: 07/15/2015 Last Revised: 07/15/2015