What are the best things I can eat before chemotherapy?

Every Tuesday, Britain's leading nutritionist explains how to eat your way to health. This week Jane offers detailed advice on a good diet for breast cancer patients...

I have just been diagnosed with breast cancer. What foods should I aim to eat while I have chemotherapy to boost my immune system and to help me through this difficult time? I have been told to expect a sore mouth, sickness, diarrhoea and heightened sense of smell, to name but a few. Ann Jones, Cheshire.

Jane says...

Focusing on your diet is important as it will give your body the valuable nutrients you need during this tough period. I also know, from treating many cancer patients, that taking charge in this way can be a very positive thing, especially when you're having to give up so much control as you undergo treatment.

breast cancer

It worries me when people say they've heard or read that some foods should be completely off the menu when you're having chemotherapy. While some foods will be more nourishing, nothing is going to harm you, or jeopardise the chemotherapy.

So if you fancy chocolate cake, have it and enjoy it — after all, your body is going to be exposed to such strong medication that you may be put off eating healthier foods, such as fruits and vegetables, because they're literally too much to stomach.

The high fat and sugar content of cake might make you feel a little heavy, but patients have told me that if they're going to feel rough anyway, at least they get to enjoy the divine taste.

This said, there are certain foods and ways of eating that are better for you.

Research has shown that foods with high levels of antioxidants — vitamins C and E, beta-carotene and selenium — have a positive effect on the immune system. So try to incorporate plenty of salads, steamed veggies and soup.

Don't assume your food has to be raw and juiced — raw fruit and vegetables are certainly richer in valuable vitamin C, but cooking carrots, squash and other orange, red and yellow fruits and vegetables actually increases the amount of betacarotene your body absorbs.

Chemotherapy can really affect your digestive system. This is because the drugs work by targeting rapidly dividing cells — so as well as attacking cancer cells, it affects other cells that divide rapidly, namely those in the stomach and mouth..

This is why you get unpleasant side-effects such as a sore mouth and nausea.

If your mouth is sore you might find a bowl of vegetable soup more appetising than raw or juiced produce. Something bland, like sweet potato soup, may take the edge off the nausea, too.

Small meals, with snacks in between, work better than larger meals. Smaller meals may be easier on your sore mouth and, by keeping your blood sugar stable, can take the edge off nausea.

Eating every two hours will help soak up the acid feeling in the gut, which is a common side-effect of the drugs.

Good options include rice cakes, corn cakes (available from health food shops and supermarkets), crackers, slices of bread, or toast, with a little olive oil-based spread, or plain biscuits such as Nice.

Cooking can sometimes be a struggle — strong smells can exacerbate the nausea. There isn't anything 'wrong' with some of the better ready meals and readymade sauces. Look at the ingredients — a simple rule of thumb is that the fewer the additives, the better it is likely to be for you.

All the supermarkets have good ranges that are worth stocking up on so you have some quick and easy options.

Foods likely to upset your gut are those with creamy sauces, and fried foods — the odour can be particularly off-putting, as the drugs can enhance the sense of smell.

Many patients find fat doesn't sit well — use olive oil where you can. White meat and fish are better than fatty steak and sausages. A simple pasta or rice dish with a little olive oil and freshly grated Parmesan is preferable to a complicated, rich, winesauced pasta.

Reducing fat intake has been shown in studies to improve your chances of remission once you're past this hurdle. This is probably hormone-related. But you don't want to cut out fat completely as this can have a big impact on your body weight and energy levels.

So if your appetite is poor and you're not eating a lot, add a little bit of olive, hemp, rapeseed or nut oil to naturally lower-calorie foods like vegetables.

This is important for two reasons: first, you need enough calories to give you energy; a diet that's light in calories will leave you feeling exhausted. Second, patients often lose weight while having chemo treatment which isn't a good thing as weight loss can affect your blood count and make you vulnerable to infections.

For this reason, some doctors make an enormous deal about eating lots to keep your weight up, but I don't think this is such a good idea. When your body is being loaded up with strong drugs it can make you become more puffy; which seldom makes a woman feel good about herself.

It's about achieving a balance, that is eating enough to keep your weight up.

Some doctors don't seem very keen on the idea that nutrition has a valuable role during chemotherapy. I think they've been put off by the views of a few extreme nutritionists advocating vegan diets for cancer patients.

These nutritionists say that eating alfalfa sprouts, drinking wheatgrass juice, avoiding dairy, etc, will 'fight off' the cancer. This is dangerous and not scientifically backed up.

Nutrition should be complementary to conventional medical treatment. As for wheatgrass juice, although it contains valuable nutrients such as vitamin C, selenium, Vitamin A, and iron, so does a fresh fruit smoothie and I know which one I'd rather drink!

Other advice I'd suggest is to avoid alcohol — it will make you feel lousy, and you probably won't want it anyway as the taste can be unpleasant when you're undergoing treatment. Instead, drink plenty of water.

Add a dash of cordial, such as lime or elderflower, to add some taste and a little sugar — a useful dose of energy. As for tea or coffee, most patients undergoing chemotherapy hate the taste, but if you don't, the odd cup is fine.

Some patients suffer from a constant taste of metal in their mouth during chemotherapy — this can be relieved by sucking lozenges and by keeping the tongue and mouth moist with sips of water or cordial.


We are no longer accepting comments on this article.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now