Following A Large Group Of Survivors
Both studies are led by nutritional epidemiologist Maryam Farvid, PhD, and pulled data from about a quarter of a million women who were part of two large observational studies. These Nurses Health studies had started in 1976 and 1989. The women were cancer-free and ages 55 or below when they joined the study. Each participant regularly answered questions about her dietary habits, along with family history, activity and other relevant risk factors.
Diets For Other Medical Conditions
If youre already following a specific diet because you have a medical condition such as diabetes, Crohns disease or irritable bowel syndrome having breast cancer doesnt mean your diet has to change.
However, if youre concerned about how your breast cancer treatment may affect your diet or any existing condition, talk to your breast care nurse or treatment team. They can talk to a dietitian or other medical staff to ensure any existing condition remains under control during your treatment.
Diet And Breast Cancer Risk
Maintaining a healthy weight is linked to a lower risk of breast cancer after menopause .
However, only a few dietary factors appear to be related to breast cancer.
- Eating fruits and vegetables may be linked to a risk of breast cancer
- Drinking alcohol is linked to an increased risk of breast cancer
We also know some foods and beverages are not related to breast cancer risk. Others are under study for possible links to breast cancer.
This section gives a summary of the research on dietary factors and breast cancer risk.
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A Registered Dietitian Is An Important Part Of The Healthcare Team
A registered dietitian is a part of the team of health professionals that help with cancer treatment and recovery. A dietitian will work with patients, their families, and the rest of the medical team to manage the patients diet during and after cancer treatment.
Research has shown that including a registered dietitian in a patient’s cancer care can help the patient live longer.
Nutrition Guidelines For Patients With Breast Cancer
Top 15 Breast Cancer Nutrition Tips:
To Avoid Foods High in Pesticides:
Sugars & Insulin Bottom Line
To help control your insulin level:
- Eat a high-fiber diet with limited refined/processed foods
- Follow a low fat diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids
- Maintain a healthy body weight
Fat Bottom Line
- Limit animal fats.
- Avoid hydrogenated fats.
- Extra-virgin olive oil, canola oil, macadamia nut oil or almond oil is preferred for salads and cooking.
- Increase omega-3 fatty acids.
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Foods To Eat During Chemotherapy If Your Appetite Is Increased
Some of the drugs given alongside chemotherapy, such as steroids, can increase your appetite. If youre worried about gaining weight:
- Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables
- Choose low-fat foods and drinks
- Watch out for the sugar content of food including some diet foods
- Avoid sugary drinks
Lean Protein And Soy Too
For good protein sources, increase your intake of poultry, fish and legumes like beans and lentils. Minimize your intake of cured, pickled and smoked meats.
Regular intake of processed meats is associated with an increased risk for certain types of cancer. Processed meats are also high in sodium, which can elevate blood pressure in the short term as well.
Soy in moderate amounts, which means one to two servings per day of whole soy foods also can be included.
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Cancer Diet: Foods To Add And Avoid During Cancer Treatment
Cancer can affect every aspect of your health, including your appetite and diet. Selvi Rajagopal, M.D., a specialist in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine, explains why your diet is so important during cancer treatment, and provides tips on foods to add and avoid.
Whats The Best Diet For Weight Loss
Research shows that limiting the number of calories you eat is the best way to lose weight and keep it off. To lose weight or stay at a healthy weight, you may need to make lifestyle changes, and dieting alone may not work. Cutting out whole food groups, such as fats or carbohydrates, also isnt likely to work and is hard to keep doing for long periods of time.
If you exercise often, you can increase your lean muscle tissue. This will increase the rate at which your body burns calories. Exercise regularly to keep or increase your lean muscle mass and decrease your fat mass.
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Red And Orange Produce
Carotenoids are natural pigments that give tomatoes, carrots, and sweet potatoes their color. Your body converts them to vitamin A, which is important for your eyes. They also help keep your skin healthy. More research is needed, but some studies suggest there may be a link between carotenoids and a lower risk of some types of breast cancer.
Basic Facts About Breast Health:
UCSF Health medical specialists have reviewed this information. It is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or other health care provider. We encourage you to discuss any questions or concerns you may have with your provider.
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Cancer And Cancer Treatments May Cause Malnutrition
Cancer and cancer treatments may affect taste, smell, appetite, and the ability to eat enough food or absorb the nutrients from food. This can cause malnutrition, which is a condition caused by a lack of key nutrients. Alcohol abuse and obesity may increase the risk of malnutrition.
Malnutrition can cause the patient to be weak, tired, and unable to fight infection or finish cancer treatment. As a result, malnutrition can decrease the patient’s quality of life and become life-threatening. Malnutrition may be made worse if the cancer grows or spreads.
Eating the right amount of protein and calories is important for healing, fighting infection, and having enough energy.
What Is Healthy Eating
Healthy eating is about balancing your food intake to make sure you get plenty of healthy foods such as vegetables, fruit, wholegrain breads, and cereals. Its also about cutting back on the not-so-healthy foods like sugars, salt and saturated fats. With healthy eating, you can continue to enjoy treats in moderation.
In the long term, healthy eating combined with regular exercise can improve your overall health, quality of life and reduce your risk of developing other illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease.
You may hear about special diets for people diagnosed with cancer, however there is no scientific evidence that women diagnosed with breast cancer need to follow a special diet or eat particular foods to prevent the cancer returning. It is recommended that women with breast cancer follow the same dietary guidelines that are recommended for all Australian adults. These guidelines can be found in BCNAs Healthy eating and breast cancer booklet or at eatforhealth.gov.au.
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What Foods Are Good For A Person With Cancer
The best foods for any person are based on that persons specific needs and tolerances. These can be very different for everyone.
For example, someone whos trying to lose weight might be helped by eating fresh raw vegetables and high-fiber grains. But if someone has diarrhea while having chemotherapy or radiation therapy, those foods wouldnt be the best choices. Talk with your clinical dietitian nutritionist to determine what foods might be good to eat and what might be good to limit or avoid.
Breast Cancer Relation With Insulin Resistance Dietary Carbohydrate And Glycemic Index/glycemic Load
One meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies showed only a modest association between a dietary pattern with high GI or GL and the risk of breast cancer, even after adjustment for BMI, physical activity, and other lifestyle factors and for menopausal status and estrogen receptor status of the tumor . Another meta-analysis found that GL and carbohydrate intake were positively associated with breast cancer among postmenopausal women with estrogen-negative tumors , independent of BMI .
A study on Mexican women concluded that total carbohydrate intake was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer among premenopausal women with a positive association only among overweight women , but no association in women with BMI < 25 kg/m2 . On the contrary, a similar analysis in more than 4000 postmenopausal women with obesity or diabetes at high CVD risk enrolled in the PREDIMED study, and yielded no significant associations of dietary GI and GL with an increased risk for invasive breast cancer in women .
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Different Types Of Medicine May Be Used To Treat Loss Of Appetite And Weight Loss
Medicines that improve appetite and cause weight gain, such as prednisone and megestrol, may be used to treat loss of appetite and weight loss. Studies have shown that the effect of these medicines may not last long or there may be no effect. Treatment with a combination of medicines may work better than treatment with one medicine. Patients who are treated with a combination of medicines may have more side effects.
Focus On Nutrients And Get The Most Nutrients Per Calorie
Choose foods from the food groups like fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, nuts, seeds, meats/eggs and dairy products.
A balanced diet helps ensure youre getting the nutrients you need to keep your body strong.
A balanced diet supports a healthy immune system, balanced electrolytes and lean body mass, gives you energy and helps fight the fatigue so often associated with cancer treatment, says Taylor.
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Types Of Nutrition Support
- Nutrition support helps patients who cannot eat or digest food normally.
- Nutrition support can be given in different ways.
- Enteral Nutrition
- Enteral nutrition is also called tube feeding.
What Foods Should You Avoid During Cancer Treatment
Be aware of whats going into your body during cancer treatment. Read nutrition labels and prepare as much of your own food as you can. Its best to stay away from highly refined, processed food. You should also avoid fried foods that contain a lot of hydrogenated oils, which can increase inflammation.
Since people with cancer often have compromised immune systems, consider skipping foods that carry the risk of foodborne illnesses, including:
- Lightly cooked or raw fish, such as sushi
- Soft-cooked eggs or foods that contain raw eggs, such as homemade mayonnaise
- Unpasteurized cheeses and dairy products
- Unwashed fruits or vegetables
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Will Eating Sugar Make My Cancer Worse
All the cells in our bodies use glucose for growth and energy. Diets with too much sugar and too many calories overall can lead to increased levels of insulin and other hormones that may allow tumors to grow.
Its a good idea to limit sugars from foods and drinks and your total calories. Eating too much sugar, or too much of any food, can also cause you to have extra body weight in the form of fat. And its known that being overweight or obese can increase your risk of getting cancer.
Its important to note that you should eat an overall healthy diet and that having a cookie or treat sometimes wont cause cancer growth.
For more information, read the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics article about sugar and cancer at www.oncologynutrition.org/erfc/healthy-nutrition-now/sugar-and-cancer.
Sore Throat And Trouble Swallowing
The following may help cancer patients who have a sore throat or trouble swallowing:
- Eat soft foods that are easy to chew and swallow, such as milkshakes, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, or other cooked cereals.
- Eat foods and drinks that are high in protein and calories.
- Moisten food with gravy, sauces, broth, or yogurt.
- Stay away from the following foods and drinks that can burn or scratch your throat:
- Hot foods and drinks.
- Foods and juices that are high in acid.
- Sharp or crunchy foods.
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Will Radiotherapy Affect My Diet
Having radiotherapy should not cause any dietary problems but its still good to eat a balanced diet and drink plenty of fluids.
If you have to travel for your treatment, take a drink and snack with you and plan meals that are easy to prepare for when you get home. Read more about shopping and cooking during treatment.
Foods To Avoid If You Have Breast Cancer
If you have breast cancer, its advised that you avoid the following:
- Leftovers that are more than three to four days old.
- Food that has been left out at an unsafe temperature for four or more hours.
Limit caffeine and alcohol, as both are dehydrating, advises Taylor. Talk to your oncologist for exact recommendations. And if youre having diarrhea, consider avoiding completely, as both can worsen symptoms.
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Healthy Eating During Chemotherapy If Your Appetite Is Small
If your appetite is small, or taste changes are affecting your diet, eating little and often can be better than facing a large meal. It may help to:
- Eat five to six small meals or snacks each day instead of three bigger meals
- Drink milkshakes, smoothies, juice or soup if you dont feel like eating solid food
- Do something active, if you feel able to, as exercise can help increase your appetite for instance, you might have more of an appetite if you take a short walk before lunch
- Be careful not to reduce your appetite by drinking too much liquid before or during meals
How To Add Exercise To Your Daily Routine
Its important to find physical activities you enjoy. This way, youre more likely to do them regularly. Remember that any small increases in activity will help. Set small exercise or activity goals for yourself and slowly work your way up to doing more.
Exercise can be broken up into 2 or 3 sessions. For example, if you dont have 1 whole hour to exercise, try walking for 30 minutes twice per day. Try the following ideas to increase your physical activity:
The table below will help you determine how much exercise you need each week, depending on your goals.
| Goal | Type and Amount of Exercise |
|---|---|
| To gain important health benefits | 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise , 75 minutes of vigorous exercise , or an equal combination of both |
| For added health benefits | More than 300 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise, 150 minutes per week of vigorous exercise, or an equal combination of both |
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Maintaining A Healthy Weight
Being overweight or obese affects breast cancer risk differently before and after menopause.
- Before menopause, women who are overweight or obese have a modestly decreased risk of breast cancer .
- After menopause, women who are overweight or obese have an increased risk of breast cancer .
Although women who are overweight or obese may have a lower risk of breast cancer before menopause, weight gain should be avoided. Women who gain weight in adulthood have an increased risk of breast cancer before and after menopause .
Most breast cancers occur after menopause. Any weight you gain before menopause may be carried into your postmenopausal years, so its important to maintain a healthy weight throughout your life.
Eating For Breast Cancer Reduced Risk And Improved Survival
These studies are observational and both have limitations, such as recurrence or another disease may have affected what the women ate. The majority of the participants were also white, so the findings may not be applicable to other racial/ethnic groups.
Taken together, the research suggests that women diagnosed with breast cancer may benefit from eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables and eating less rapidly-digested foods sources, such as whole grains and non-starchy vegetables, says Brockton. This advice is consistent with AICRs 10 Cancer Prevention Recommendations that apply to cancer survivors too.
AICRs Breast Cancer Survivorship CUP Report also found indications that being physically active after a breast cancer diagnosis improved survival. The 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee report found evidence that physical activity both before and after a cancer diagnosis improved survival among people diagnosed with breast and several other cancers.
To lower risk of developing breast cancer, AICR research shows that avoiding alcohol, staying a healthy weight and being physically active can all lower risk. Although research is unclear if these habits prevent recurrence. These lifestyle habits also lower the risk of heart disease.
Here is where you can read more about the research on breast cancer survival.
AICR Impact
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