Cancer Nutrition Services

There is no significant evidence that eating organic foods will lower your cancer risk. There is also no clear evidence that organic foods are more nutritious than conventionally grown foods. What we do know through an abundance of research is that a diet high in fruits and vegetables can lower your cancer risk. It is recommended that you consume between five and nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily, and regularly choosing a variety of fruits and vegetables will maximize your intake of the different antioxidants, vitamins and minerals found in these foods.

If you are concerned about pesticides on your produce, you could purchase organic options or just thoroughly wash your produce before consumption. Whether you choose organic or non-organic produce, increasing your fruit and vegetable intake is what will ultimately help reduce your cancer risk.

It is important that you consume enough calories, protein and fluids while going through cancer treatment. However, some side effects of your cancer or treatments may impact your appetite or make it harder to eat.

Try to eat high protein foods, such as beans, eggs, nuts, meats, cheese, yogurt and cottage cheese. Fruits and vegetables are healthy foods you should try to eat too, but they may be difficult for you to tolerate depending on the side effects of your treatment. Try to include these foods in your diet as much as possible, but know that the most important thing to focus on is eating whatever you can tolerate.

Eating a diet that is rich in plant foods – fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices – may help protect your body and keep you healthy during and after your cancer treatment. Research shows that the fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients in these foods can also help prevent many diseases, including cancer. However, getting the benefit of a plant-based diet does not require you to completely eliminate animal products from your meals. Instead, make plants the majority of your diet.

Also keep in mind that during cancer treatment, the most important thing is consuming an adequate amount of protein and calories. It is not the time to make any drastic changes to your diet, but making gradual and positive changes that you can sustain for a lifetime is always a good idea. Some recommendations include adding fruit to your cereal, putting veggies on your pizza and planning a meatless dinner that includes beans or tofu. The more plants you include in your meals, the better!

Many people will take supplements (like vitamins or herbal products) in the form of tablets, capsules, teas, powders or liquids to maintain or improve their overall health and immunity. However, supplements are not monitored by the Food and Drug Administration for safety, which means there could be false claims about their benefits. They could also be made with excess amounts of ingredients or potentially harmful ones.

If you are receiving treatment for cancer, you should be very careful when taking any type of supplement. Some supplements can interfere with chemotherapy or radiation treatments, reducing their effectiveness. Others can cause unwanted side effects, such as nausea, abdominal pain or rashes. There are also some supplements that can increase your risk for bleeding, which is not ideal if surgery is part of your treatment plan.

Before starting treatment, talk to your doctors about any vitamin, mineral or herbal supplements that you are taking. If you plan to start any new supplements throughout your treatment journey, consult your care team as well.

When undergoing this type of cancer treatment, your immune system can become weakened, which can cause your neutrophils (white blood cells) to decrease. These neutrophils destroy germs and bacteria, so when your counts are low, it leaves you susceptible to infections.

The neutropenic diet was developed to help immunocompromised individuals avoid eating potentially harmful bacteria. It recommends restricting certain foods, including raw fruits and vegetables. Research on the neutropenic diet and its guidance on limiting fresh fruit and vegetable consumption is limited. Therefore, during treatment, we recommend that you focus on general food safety guidelines to ensure proper preparation and storage of foods. Some recommendations you should keep in mind are:

• Avoiding raw or undercooked meats, seafood and eggs.
• Avoiding unpasteurized products such as milk, honey or cider.
• Washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before handling food.
• Washing and scrubbing fresh fruits and vegetables under warm running water. Even thick-skinned fruits, such as melons and oranges, should be washed prior to being cut to avoid introducing bacteria into the fruit.
• Refrigerating or freezing leftover food within two hours of eating it.
• Consuming leftovers within 48 hours and reheating them only once.
• Defrosting foods in a refrigerator, cold water or microwave (not on a counter).
• Avoiding salad bars, buffets and potlucks.

If you are facing diabetes and cancer, it can be difficult juggling your different dietary needs.

You should continue to eat a diabetes-recommended diet with a balance of carbohydrates. Higher fiber carbohydrates, such as whole fruit, whole grains and oatmeal, will not raise your blood sugar as quickly.

It’s important to know that your cancer treatment may lessen your appetite or make it hard for you to eat. If you find yourself facing both diabetes and cancer, it is best to see a registered dietitian who can make recommendations for your individual needs.

Glucose, the simplest form of sugar, is the fuel source for every cell in the body. That includes both healthy and cancerous cells. Carbohydrates are broken down by the body into glucose.

The idea that glucose feeds cancer cells should not cause you to avoid all carbohydrate-containing foods. Complex carbohydrates, from whole grains and fruits, are an important part of a healthy diet.

Simple sugars, like the ones found in cakes, cookies and ice cream, are nonnutritive sources of calories, and studies have shown that added calories from these types of foods can lead to obesity (which is associated with increased cancer risk). There is also evidence that diets high in added sugars can affect your levels of insulin and other hormones that may increase your risk for certain types of cancer.

Because of this, we recommend that you limit your intake of refined and processed sugar or foods containing them while continuing to eat healthy and complex carbohydrates and fruits.

There used to be a thought that eating soy-containing foods increased your risk for breast cancer. However, research has shown that eating a moderate amount of whole soy foods (one or two servings per day) does not increase your risk for breast or any other type of cancer.

The confusion occurs because whole soy foods, like tofu, edamame and soy milk, contain phytoestrogens ("plant" estrogens), a nutrient that has a chemical structure that is similar to human estrogen. But phytoestrogens are not the same as human estrogens, and soy foods do not contain any human estrogen or turn into human estrogen in our bodies. In fact, whole soy foods can actually be a great source of plant-based protein to incorporate into your diet.

However, there are other sources of soy, such as soy protein supplements and soy-based condiments. Research is less clear about these types of soy, so it is best that you eat less of these products. Soy protein supplements might come as a powder you use in a smoothie or could be an ingredient in protein bars, veggie burgers or meat substitutes. Soy-based condiments, like soy sauce, soybean oil and soy lecithin, are examples of soy products that do not contain any significant amounts of phytoestrogens (although you want to limit them for other reasons, like their salt and fat content).

The bottom line is, if you want to use some tofu in your stir fry or snack on some edamame before dinner, go for it. Just stick with whole soy foods rather than soy powders and processed soy foods. If you don't enjoy these foods, then you should skip them altogether.