Appetite changes are often unwelcome side effects of cancer treatment. Favorite foods may not taste the same. Patients may feel nauseous or they may simply not feel like eating.
But proper nutrition during chemotherapy is essential to maintaining your strength.
“When a patient is having radiation treatment or chemotherapy, the body is being assaulted,” explains Fran Bachmeyer, a registered dietician with St. Elizabeth Physicians. “The body goes into overdrive as a response and uses a tremendous amount of calories because of this battle.”
Your body needs proper nutrition and ample calories to fight back. That means protein-rich foods to help the body build new cells and carbohydrates for energy, Bachmeyer says.
Bachmeyer encourages cancer patients to eat when they are feeling well, and to try these tips from the National Cancer Institute to help them when they’re not feeling hungry:
- Schedule mealtimes. If you never feel hungry, follow a schedule rather than your appetite. When you do feel hungry, eat a little extra.
- Eat a little, even if you’re not hungry.
- Try eating six small meals each day, instead of three large meals.
- Try new foods to keep up your interest in eating.
- Eat with family or friends, or watch television while you eat.
- Choose foods that are high in calories or protein.
- If food tastes like metal, eat with plastic forks or spoons.
- Stay active: it may help you feel hungry.
- Drink plenty of liquids, but limit them during meals as they can make you feel full.
- Drink milkshakes or soups that are easy to swallow.
Chemotherapy and radiation can change your sense of taste. If foods suddenly taste unappealingly sweet, try mixing in just a small pinch of salt, Bachmeyer says. If they taste too salty, try sprinkling on a tiny bit of sugar and avoid foods with strong odors that may make you feel nauseous.
Bachmeyer encourages patients to remember that food and calories are necessary to fortify their bodies while they are undergoing treatment. While a nutritious diet is always the best option, “Sometimes, someone may be feeling so nauseous, they may tell me the only thing they can keep down is ice cream. I tell them eat ice cream.”
