Nutrition Tips for People with Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that impacts the heart, lungs and the lining in your chest and abdomen. When you have this disease it is important that you monitor your diet carefully. You need to select foods that will help boost your immune system and you will want to avoid foods that may impede the progress made by your treatments.
Nutrition Tip #1 – Eat Organic
The first nutrition tip for people with mesothelioma is to eat primarily organic foods. This will limit the number of chemicals and pesticides that your body has to process and filter out. This will, in turn, lower the stress that your body is put under.
Nutrition Tip #2 – Monitor Antioxidants That You Consume
While antioxidants are healthy for you and generally a positive thing to eat, if you are undergoing radiation or chemotherapy you need to keep your antioxidant consumption down. This is because antioxidants are used by the body to repair cell damage. If you consume too many antioxidants during radiation and chemotherapy treatments they may undo the damage to the cancerous cells that these treatments are designed to do.
Nutrition Tip #3 – Eat Clean Food
Infection is a big concern when you are undergoing cancer treatments. It is because of this that you will want to make sure that both your food and your food preparation area are both clean. You will want to use food sanitizer sprays and anti-bacterial cleansers. You will also want to avoid eating foods that are easy to contaminate and you will want to make sure that meat products are fully cooked.
Nutrition Tip #4 – Eat Whole Foods
The best way to stay healthy and strong is to provide your body with complete nutrition. The best way to get complete nutrition is to eat foods that have not been processed. Whole foods are foods that have not been processed beyond their natural form and include things like whole grains, fresh produce and lean protein.
Nutrition Tip #5 – Stay Hydrated
Cancer treatments take a lot out of you. To stay healthy you will want to replenish fluids and electrolytes that were lost during radiation and chemotherapy treatments. You can replenish your fluids by drinking low sugar sports drinks and by sucking on popsicles. You can also talk to your doctor about other forms of fluids that will be beneficial for you during your treatments. They may have samples that you can try for free or they may have recipes that you can use to mix up a supplement drink at home.