Nutrition During Chemotherapy

During chemotherapy, patients may experience taste and appetite changes and a heightened sensitivity to odors. They usually complain of a "metallic taste" during treatment. Cancer and its treatments can cause changes in your senses of taste and smell. That is why while they are under treatment, we usually give them "tips" to make sure that they still get their daily nutrition.

Tips:

1. Try sugar-free lemon drops, gum, or mints.
2. Try fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables instead of canned.
3. Try flavoring foods with new tastes or spices - with chili powder, basil, oregano, rosemary, barbecue sauce, mustard or catsup.
4. Rinse your mouth with baking soda mouthwash before eating to help improve the tastes of foods. (Mix 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon baking soda in 1 quart water. Shake well before swishing and spitting.)
5. Keep your mouth clean and brush your teeth with a soft bristled toothbrush and non-mint-flavored toothpaste to help ease bad tastes.
6. Serve foods cold or at room temperature. This can decrease the foods’ tastes and smells, making them easier to tolerate. (We always encourage ice cream!)
7. Freeze fruits such as cantaloupe, grapes, oranges, and watermelon, and eat them as frozen treats.
8. If red meats taste strange, try other protein-rich foods such as chicken, fish, eggs, or cheese.
9. Blend fresh fruits into shakes, ice cream, or yogurt.
10. You might find eating fresh pineapple helps keep your mouth fresh and moist.
11. Keep your mouth and food moist. Add gravies and sauces to your food to make swallowing easier.
12. Try marinating food, or using strongly flavoured sauces to go with food.

Cold food is better than warm hot ones mainly because hot foods usually have a strong smell and can make the patient nauseous. At the place I work, we usually make smoothies for them. We also found out that ginger, either as ginger biscuits, ginger tea or ginger beer can reduce feelings of sickness.

Bottom line is eat what appeals to you during this time. There is a Hippocratic principle that states: "Let your medicine be your food and your food be your medicine." In other words, eating right will keep your body in good fighting condition.