Maintaining the best diet during chemotherapy and cancer treatment

Proper nutrition plays a crucial role in supporting the body during chemotherapy. By fueling the body with essential nutrients, patients undergoing treatment can better tolerate side effects, maintain strength, and enhance their overall well-being. From managing nausea and dehydration to boosting the immune system and promoting healing, a well-balanced diet can significantly impact the cancer treatment journey. The key? Doing your best to stay ahead of the symptoms, having some tested strategies in your back pocket and being prepared—your Jasper counselor can help you with all of these. 

As always, speak to your doctor before starting a new diet—especially if you’re undergoing treatment.

Foods to nourish your body during chemotherapy

Navigating the side effects of chemotherapy can be challenging. While every patient's experience is unique, a well-balanced diet can sometimes significantly alleviate symptoms like nausea and fatigue. Let’s explore some practical strategies to help you nourish your body and optimize your well-being during treatment. 

Side note: going after the right nutrients takes work and patience—if you’re not feeling up to it, don’t beat yourself up. Do what you can and if the best you can do is eat bland foods, that’s okay too. Balance over perfection, always.

Go big on fresh produce

Fill your plate with choices that will help your body heal and fight back, like phytochemical-rich vegetables and fruits (confirm with your healthcare team that you don’t need to limit these for any reason). Fresh produce contains antioxidants, which can neutralize damaging unstable molecules known as free radicals—this is how fruits and vegetables can fight cancer and inflammation. You can take the below list to the grocery store for some easy shopping:

• Dark leafy greens: Spinach, kale, and collard greens
• Cruciferous vegetables: Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage
• Other veggies: carrots, sweet potatoes, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, squash
• Berries: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries
• Fruit: oranges, pineapple, mango, papaya, apples, grapes, pomegranates

Don’t worry, you don’t need a degree in nutrition science—just “eat the rainbow” by selecting vegetables and fruit in different colors (each of which contains different vitamin and nutrient profiles). As always, if you need help customizing a meal plan, reach out to a Jasper counselor today.

Pack your “safe foods” with nutrients

“Safe foods” are plain, easily digestible foods that you can reliably eat without too much aversion. When you’re experiencing side effects like nausea, these are great to have handy (and preferably cooked) so that you can easily make a nutritious meal. Consider foods like:

• Sweet or purple potatoes
• Quinoa or brown rice
• Clear broths like chicken, vegetable or beef
• Whole grain bread, preferably freshly made
• Sugar-free nut butters like almond or cashew
• Plain, low-fat yogurt or dairy-free, low sugar alternative
• Popsicles—extra points if you blend your own smoothie with some clean protein powder and freeze it in popsicle molds
• Easy to digest fruit like bananas

If these don’t sound good to you, work with your Jasper counselor to find healthful alternatives that suit your unique needs. Your goal is to identify 5-10 options, and rotate them to keep your nausea associations at bay. Everyone’s palate will differ, of course, but generally speaking, safe foods tend to be made of carbs and/or protein, and strong flavors (especially anything pungent or spicy) tend not to stay safe, even if you tolerate them well a few times. 

Fats are back

Fats used to have a bad rap, but as the science of nutrition has evolved, experts now agree that healthy fats are a vital part of a complete diet, necessary for hormone regulation, satiety cues, and proper nutrient absorption. And if you’re struggling to get enough calories in, as many people are during treatment, fats are the most efficient way to get calories in, because they have 9 calories per gram, while carbs and protein only have 4. So get in the bang-for-your-buck mindset, keep your pantry stocked with calorie-dense options like:

• Nut butters like almond, cashew and peanut
• Cheese
• Nuts or nut-based crackers
• Avocado
• High-quality, grass-fed butter or ghee
• Olive oil

Up your protein intake

Protein is key for rebuilding cells. It’s the building block for many parts of your body, from muscles and skin to blood and bones. Adequate protein intake—which many of us don’t adhere to without realizing it—is also important for hormone regulation, which in turn is vital for energy, stamina, and keeping hunger and satiety cues functioning properly. 

If you eat animal products, look for some of the following options:

• Wild fish like salmon, tuna, branzini, and others
• Pastured-raised meat like chicken, beef, and pork (opt for leaner cuts)
• Pasture-raised eggs
• Beans for a vegan option. Grab chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans or lentils of choice
• Try protein powder, but pick one that’s made of whole food ingredients like Vital Proteins or, for plant-based diets, Hemp Yeah!

Staying hydrated during treatment

Dehydration is problematic during chemo, because it can exacerbate nausea and make the cells and tissues of your body less resistant to damage, impacting your hunger and satiety cues as a result. Fun fact: signals for both hunger and thirst come from your hypothalamus, and when you’re dehydrated, the signals are less crisp, causing confusion between feeling full, feeling hungry, and feeling thirsty.

If you’re having trouble staying hydrated, consider the following options:

• Water, sipped slowly throughout the day, with flavors added in as needed (try fresh peppermint, lemon or cucumbers to soften the taste)
• Blend high water fruit like watermelon and freeze them into ice cubes—you can use these in your water cup later or eat them throughout the day 
• Try freshly grated ginger in a water pitcher—it helps with nausea and can create a fun flavor for your water
• Experiment with different brands of electrolytes but try to stick to clean ingredients

Making time for the right foods

Now that you know what foods to eat and have some strategies for how you might approach mealtimes, it’s important to find time to prioritize proper nutrition. Easier said than done when you might be feeling too ill to cook, may not have the right support at home, or have other responsibilities that are stretching you too thin. Aim for consistency over perfection—try different strategies and once you’ve found what works for you, try to prioritize your plan as often as you can. As always, reach out to your dedicated Jasper counselor to help you navigate this part of your treatment.

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