When Food Just Doesn’t Taste the Same
by Laura McLaughlin, RN, PhD, and Suzanne Mahon, RN, DNSc, AOCN, APNG
Taste helps identify food preferences and stimulates appetite. Food has the power to comfort, as pleasant-tasting foods stimulate the pleasure centers of the brain. Taste also helps identify whether food is safe to consume, because foods that taste abnormal, bitter, or sour may be spoiled or tainted.
Food for Thought
by Maria Petzel, RD, CSO, LD, CNSC
When so many things seem out of control, making good nutrition choices can help you play a more active role in your treatment and recovery. Making the right food choices can help manage symptoms, improve treatment tolerance, and improve quality of life after therapy. A healthy lifestyle may also decrease the chances of recurrence for some cancers.
by Barbara L. Grant, MS, RD, CSO, LD, Abby S. Bloch, PhD, RD, Kathryn K. Hamilton, MA, RD, SCO, CDN, and Cynthia A. Thompson, PhD, RD, CSO
Things like the feeling of fullness or changes in taste and smell can cause changes in appetite. Having a decreased appetite can make getting the calories and nutrients you need a challenge. Do not be afraid to break the rules, try new things, and eat what you want, when you want to eat it.
American Cancer Society Nutrition Guidelines Stress Need for Supportive Environment
Updated guidelines on nutrition and physical activity for cancer prevention from the American Cancer Society stress the importance of creating social and physical environments that support healthy behaviors. The report includes updated recommendations for individual choices regarding diet and physical activity patterns, but emphasizes that those choices occur within a community context that can either help or hinder healthy behaviors.
Nutrition and Breast Cancer
by Jessica Iannotta, MS, RD, CSO, CDN
Women facing a new diagnosis of breast cancer, as well as breast cancer survivors, often seek to make healthy changes in order to help prevent recurrence. Other women who have a family history of breast cancer may also seek to maintain a healthy preventative diet and lifestyle. Healthy diet, healthy body weight, and regular exercise all work together to help reduce breast cancer risk.
Eat Well. Be Well.
by Anita Ratterman, RD, CSO, LDN
Eating right is important for feeling healthy and strong. It becomes even more important when being treated for cancer. Cancer itself can affect appetite and the body’s ability to tolerate certain foods. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy can affect your desire to eat and can create side effects that hamper the ability to eat. Management of nutrition-related side effects throughout the course of treatment may help keep you eating well.
“Herbal” and “All Natural”
by Stanley Brosman, MD
Whenever we discuss the management of a person’s cancer, the conversation also involves diet and exercise. There are many things in life we can’t control, but we certainly can take steps to modify these conditions and improve our lives.
Take Charge of Your Diet After Cancer
by Linda Goldsmith, MA, RD
Diet and exercise are an integral part of good health, and emerging research suggests that embracing a healthy lifestyle may reduce the risk of cancer recurrence. When it comes to diet, my two favorite words are “variety” and “moderation.”