Cancer often comes from DNA harm (mutations) or from a tendency to develop tumors and is the uninhibited increase of cells in your body. Chemotherapy is known as a cancer treatment that uses drugs to prevent the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping the cells from separating. On the list of downfalls of chemotherapy is that because its focus is to get rid of rapidly separating cells, non cancerous cells which have this feature are attacked by the therapy also. These varieties of cells exist inside the mouth and digestive tract as well as the scalp, and when attacked with the treatment may cause short-term sickness and hair loss.
Cancer and cancer treatments can have negative impacts on nutrition along with psychologically in depression or nervousness. Side effects that interfere with eating and digestion might occur during chemotherapy. The following side effects are common: poor appetite, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation, inflammation and sores in the mouth, changes in the way food tastes, and infections [Wojtaszek et al, 2002].
Patients undergoing chemotherapy require 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of ideal body weight daily, in contrast to normal adults who require 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of actual body weight [Gelinas et al, 1990, Bell et al, 1996]. Hence for cancer patients, nutrition during chemotherapy is important. The main goal before, during, and after treatments is to keep up adequate calories for weight maintenance and adequate protein to optimize your immune system, strength, and tolerance to treatments. The side effects of chemotherapy might make it difficult for a patient to get the nutrients required to regain healthy blood counts between chemotherapy treatments. In cancer patients nutrition therapy is advantageous in treating uncomfortable side effects and providing the needed nutrients to help tolerate and get through treatment, inhibit weight-loss, and sustain general health. Taking supplements high in calories and protein, as well as tube feedings are all elements of nutrition therapy.
For cancer patients, diet and nutrition during chemotherapy must be based mostly on what is tolerated by managing the different symptoms. It is necessary to manage these symptoms while sustaining the goals for adequate calories and protein.
The most common secondary diagnosis in people diagnosed with cancer is protein-calorie malnutrition (PCM) which stems from inadequate intake of carbohydrate, protein, and fat to satisfy metabolic needs and/or the reduced absorption of macronutrients. [McMahon et al, 1998, Colasanto et al 2005]. Anorexia is an almost universal side effect in individuals with advanced cancer because the lack of appetite or desire to consume food is typically present in 15% to 25% of all cancer patients at diagnosis and may also occur as a side effect of treatments.
For cancer patients to retain their weight and their body's nutrition stores they need to be efficient in good nutrition tactics [American Cancer Society, 2002]. Habitually patients with poor nutrition practices wind up malnurished, with worse treatment negative effects, and amplified risk of an infection which reduces their odds of survival [Vigano et al, 1994].
Throughout and after chemotherapy, your body will need to repair. High protein foods are filled with amino acids that our body uses to assemble, repair, and preserve cells and muscle tissue to heal wounds also to support the immune system.
Proteins are used by the body to assist tissue grow and for repair. Throughout chemotherapy there's an increased protein loss. This causes malnutrition if untreated. Protein supplements like casein and whey help the body in supplying the increased demand for proteins. The unwanted effects of chemotherapy may interfere with the digesting abilities. Hence it is recommended that small, everyday meals of simple to digest foods may be given. Casein is ideal for this. It is a easy protein to digest and the clot forming ability of casein supplies a sustained slow discharge of amino acids into the blood stream. This will surely assist in meeting the demand of your body for an amplified supply of amino acids, for providing energy and promoting protein synthesis. Chemotherapy treatments decrease one’s immunity levels. In an attempt to enhance immunity one can take whey protein. In a normal person, GSH exists within the body, which prevents the formation of cancerous cells. Whey contains an ample supply of the amino acid cysteine, which is really a precursor of GSH. The concentration of necessary amino acids is higher in whey protein than it is in all the vegetable proteins. It is recommended that casein and whey proteins are used to support chemotherapy nutrition since the amino acids within whey are efficiently absorbed and used by the body.
References
1. American Cancer Society.: Nutrition for the Person with Cancer: A Guide for Patients and Families. Atlanta, Ga: American Cancer Society, Inc., 2000.
2. Bell SJ, Forse, RA. Positive Nutrition for HIV Infection and AIDS. ChroniMed: Minneapolis, 1996
3. Colasanto JM, Prasad P, Nash MA, Decker RH, Wilson LD.: Nutritional support of patients undergoing radiation therapy for head and neck cancer. Oncology (Huntingt). Mar;19(3):371-9, 2005
4. Counous, G: Whey protein concentrates (WPC) and glutathione modulation in cancer treatment. Anticancer Research, 20: 4785-4792, 2000.
5. Gelinas MD, Bell SJ, Akerman P, Blackburn GL. A practical guide to managing nutrition in cancer patients. In: Bloch AS (ed.). Nutritional Management of the Cancer Patient. Philadelphia: WB Saunders, 138-158, 1990.
6. Langstein HN, Norton JA: Mechanisms of cancer cachexia. Hematol Oncol Clin North Am 5 (1): 103-23, 1991.
7. McMahon K, Decker G, Ottery FD: Integrating proactive nutritional assessment in clinical practices to prevent complications and cost. Semin Oncol 25 (2 Suppl 6): 20-7, 1998.
9. Vigano A, Watanabe S, Bruera E: Anorexia and cachexia in advanced cancer patients. Cancer Surv 21: 99-115, 1994.
10. Walzem RL, Dillard CJ, German JB: Whey components: millennia of evolution create functionalities for mammalian nutrition: what we know and what we may be overlooking. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 42:353-375, 2002
11. Wojtaszek CA, Kochis LM, Cunningham RS: Nutrition impact symptoms in the oncology patient. Oncology Issues 17 (2): 15-7, 2002.
Author Resource:
About Protica Research
Founded in 2001, Protica Research (Protica, Inc.) is a nutritional research firm specializing in the development of capsulized foods (dense nutrition in compact liquid and food forms). Protica manufactures Profect (www.profect.com), IsoMetric, Pediagro, Fruitasia and more than 100 other brands in its GMP-certified, 250,000 square foot facility. One area of specialty is the manufacturing of Medicare-approved, whey protein liquid for bariatric surgery patients.
You can learn more about Protica at www.protica.com - Copyright - Protica Research
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/rss.jpg "XML Feed For RSS")