Trouble Eating Enough After Surgery
Sometimes it is difficult to eat after surgery because of a lack of appetite. Reduced appetite typically passes a few days after surgery, but it is important to continue eating nutritious foods during this part of your recovery.
If you struggle with your appetite after surgery, consider making the most of your meals by eating calorie-dense foods. That means eating foods that contain more calories per bite than others.
Any you might find it easier to drink rather than eat, especially if your neck or throat is sore after intubation or after having surgery on your neck.
For example:
- Smoothies: This type of food is a great option, as it can contain dairy, fruit, and even protein powder as necessary.
- Higher-fat options: For example, a cup of green salad would be a food low in calories per cup, while avocado would be very high in calories per cup.
- Eliminate low-calorie foods: If consuming enough calories is an issue, you may want to eliminate low-calorie and calorie-free items from your diet until you can eat adequately. For example, use regular salad dressing, replace diet soda with juice or full-calorie soda, and avoid foods that say “lite,” “sugar-free,” “calorie-free,” “diet,” “low-fat,” or “low-calorie” on the label.
Even if you have weight-loss goals, skipping meals after surgery is not the way to do it. Not eating and drinking enough after surgery can slow your healing. Your body needs protein and other nutrients to build healthy new tissue.
Garlic: Stinky Breath But Super Healthy
Whoever thought garlic breath would be good for you? The same sulfur compounds causing that odor may also stop cancer-causing substances from forming in your body, speed DNA repair, and kill cancer cells.
Want more? Garlic battles bacteria, including H. pylori , and research suggests it reduces the risk of developing stomach, colon, esophageal, pancreatic and breast cancers. To get the most benefit, peel and chop the cloves and let them sit 15 to 20 minutes before cooking. That activates enzymes and releases the sulfur-containing compounds that have the most protective effect, says Colleen Doyle, MS, RD, managing director of nutrition and physical activity at the American Cancer Society.
The World Health Organization recommends that adults consume approximately one clove of garlic daily to promote good health.
Garlic is the powerhouse of the allium family, but onions, leeks, chives, and scallions might also protect against stomach cancer, some research suggests.
What To Eat After Surgery And What To Avoid
If you’ve had surgery, the foods you eat in the days, weeks, and months after your procedure can significantly impact your healing and recovery. Eating the right foods can also help prevent post-surgical complications, such as constipation and high blood glucose.
The type of surgery you have had, as well as any underlying health conditions, can also affect which foods you can haveand which foods are more likely to cause complications.
This article explains which foods to eat and which ones to avoid after surgery. It also offers tips for eating when you don’t have an appetite.
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Is Garlic A Vegetable
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You may cook with this ingredient at home, taste it in sauces, and eat it in dishes like pasta, stir-fries, and baked vegetables.
However, because its primarily used as a spice, garlic can be hard to classify.
This article explains whether garlic is a vegetable.
Botanically, garlic is considered a vegetable.
It belongs to the onion family, alongside shallots, leeks, and chives .
Strictly speaking, a vegetable is any edible part of an herbaceous plant, such as the roots, leaves, stems, and bulbs.
The garlic plant itself has a bulb, tall stem, and long leaves.
Although the leaves and flowers of the plant are also edible, the bulb comprised of 1020 cloves is most frequently eaten. Its covered in a paper-like husk thats typically removed before consumption.
Summary
Garlic comes from an edible plant with a bulb, stem, and leaves. Therefore, its botanically considered a vegetable.
How To Consume Garlic
Like onions, garlic must be cut, minced, or crushed and left to sit for about 10 minutes in order for the enzymes contained within their cell walls to work their chemical magic and turn your garlic from an aromatic treat into a cancer preventative.
Ideally, the crushed garlic should be consumed raw for maximum benefits, but as long as the garlic is left to sit after being chopped or minced, you can add the garlic and its juices to a dish and cook it for a brief period of time.
The key is to rupture the cells within the garlic clove and leave the garlic for a certain amount on timeafter that, you can eat it raw in a salad, dip, or pesto or add it to a pan of stir-fry toward the end of its cooking time.
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Carrots: Best Eaten Cooked
One of the easiest vegetables to love, carrots are packed with disease-fighting nutrients. They contain beta-carotene, an antioxidant scientists believe may protect cell membranes from toxin damage and slow the growth of cancer cells. And carrots deliver other vitamins and phytochemicals that might guard against cancers of the breast, mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, and stomach.
Some studies suggest carrots protect against cervical cancer, perhaps because they supply antioxidants that could battle HPV , the major cause of cervical cancer. Plus, carrots contain falcarinol, a natural pesticide that may have anti-inflammatory effects.
Scientists in England found that rats given falcarinol were less likely to develop cancerous tumors.
Cooked carrots supply more antioxidants than raw, according to a report in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry. If you’re cooking carrots, leave them whole while steaming or boiling, and cut them after they’re done. That reduces the loss of nutrients, including falcarinol, and gives them a sweeter taste as well.
Give A Meaningful Gift
Go out of your way to show someone you care. If someone close to you is struggling with cancer, offer to get their groceries, cook them a dish, take them to a doctors appointment, or just be there for them when they need it. A gift doesnt have to involve money or the purchase of a material item. A sentimental trinket is nice, but having compassion and showing care for someone going through something really difficult is worth so much more. Compassion from my husband, family and friends was my motivation to fight this cancer. Support is the best gift to someone dealing with cancer. Consider raising money for a good cause, attending a local event, or starting your own fundraiser during the month of October. Plan a breast health workshop or class in your school, organization, or community. Get involved and make a difference.
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Recommended Food Labels For Garlic
On the basis of this review, the researchers recommend the following wording for food labels touting a health benefit of garlic in regard to cancer prevention.
- Six studies do not show that the intake of garlic reduces the risk of colon cancer but 3 weaker and more limited studies suggest that garlic intake may reduce this risk. On the basis of these studies, it is highly unlikely that garlic intake reduces the risk of colon cancer.
- Three studies do not show that intake of garlic reduces the risk of prostate cancer, but one weaker, more limited study suggests that intake of garlic may reduce this risk. On the basis of these studies, it is highly uncertain whether garlic intake reduces the risk of prostate cancer.
- One small study suggests that garlic intake may reduce the risk of esophageal, larynx, oral, ovary and renal cell cancers. However, the existence of such a relation between garlic intake and these cancers is highly uncertain.
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How Does Calcium Prevent Cancer
Calcium may also act directly to reduce cell proliferation in the lining of the colon or cause proliferating colon cells to undergo differentiation, which, in turn, leads to a reduction in cell proliferation. Calcium also may improve signaling within cells and cause cancer cells to differentiate and/or die .
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Garlic Can Help Prevent Breast Cancer Scientist Says
Eating regular doses of garlic can help prevent and treat breast cancer, an Irvine scientist says.
Dr. Robert I. Lin said his findings were consistent with earlier studies which discovered that high garlic-consuming populations have drastically lower cancer rates than populations that consume small amounts of garlic. Animal studies with garlic and garlic compounds have also demonstrated cancer prevention effects.
Lins study, however, marked the first time the odoriferous herb has been beneficially linked to breast cancer, one of the most deadly forms of cancers with increasing incidence worldwide.
Combining all the evidence, it is beyond any doubt that adequate garlic consumption can help fight against cancers, including breast cancer, said Lin, who works for Irvine-based Nutrition International.
Lin presented the results of his study last week at the fourth International Conference on the Prevention of Human Cancer at the University of Arizona.
According to Lin, who worked with two other scientists, garlic, especially an aged garlic extract, inhibited the growth of human breast cancer cells cultured in test tubes.
The other two members of Lins research team were Dr. John Pinto of the Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York and UC Irvine professor Dr. Fillmore Freeman.
Freeman said that all forms of garlic seemed to have beneficial health effects, but certain forms worked better than others.
Lin said that garlics health benefits are not just limited to cancer.
Onions And Garlic May Protect Against Breast Cancer
New research examines the consumption of onion and garlic among women in Puerto Rico and suggests that the vegetables can significantly reduce the risk of breast cancer.
Onions and garlic are part of the allium genus, along with leeks, chives, and hundreds of other species.
Rich in flavor, with a strong, pungent kick, these feisty vegetables may also be able to fight off diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, according to emerging evidence.
In regards to cancer, several studies have specifically explored the links between onion and garlic consumption and the risk of colorectal, stomach, and prostate cancers.
Overall, these studies have found that the more of these vegetables that people consume, the lower their risk of developing these cancers.
However, less extensive research has gone into the link with breast cancer, say researchers led by Gauri Desai, a doctoral candidate in epidemiology at the University at Buffalo , part of The State University of New York.
So, Desai and the team set out to investigate this topic further, looking at a population of women in Puerto Rico. The reasons for choosing this population were twofold. Firstly, Puerto Rico has lower breast cancer rates, compared to the mainland , which makes it an important population to study, explains Desai.
Secondly, a condiment called sofrito, which consists largely of garlic and onion, is a traditional Puerto Rican sauce that is widely consumed across the island.
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Why The Link With Meat And Milk
When looking at the relationship between diet and breast cancer in 40 different countries, researchers found a link between meat, milk and cheese and breast cancer. Meat was most closely associated, followed by cows milk and cheese. In contrast, cereals and pulses were shown to protect against breast cancer.
These researchers concluded that meat, and in particular, dairy foods could increase the development of hormone-dependent cancers such as breast cancer.
The reason scientists are concerned about dairy products is because the levels of hormones in milk have increased hugely over the last 100 years as modern dairy farming methods have intensified. The milk produced now is quite different to that produced many years ago with modern dairy cows frequently impregnated while still producing milk. In fact, two-thirds of milk in the UK is taken from pregnant cows with the remainder coming from cows that have recently given birth. This means that the hormones, such as oestrogen, are very high in milk.
Onion Garlic Can Cut Breast Cancer Risk: Study
The vegetables are rich in flavonols and organosulfar compounds and also contain anticarcinogenic properties
By DTE Staff
Eating a diet rich in onion and garlic everyday can prevent risk of developing breast cancer, according to a new study.
Women who ate sofrito a popular garlic- and onion-based condiment in Puerto Rican cuisine more than once per day showed a 67 per cent decrease in risk compared to those who never ate it, showed the study by a team of researchers from the University at Buffalo and University of Puerto Rico.
Both garlic and onions contain anticarcinogenic properties: Garlic contains compunds such as S-allylcysteine, diallyl sulfide and diallyl disulfide, while onion contains alkyl cysteine sulphoxides.
Besides humans, these compounds were also effective on animals, said researchers.
Onions and garlic are rich in flavonols and organosulfar compounds, said Gauri Desai, lead author and epidemiology student in UBs School of Public Health and Health Professions.
The results are published in the journal Nutrition and Cancer.
For the study, the team included 314 women with breast cancer and 346 control subjects from Puerto Rico.
While sofrito alone showed no benefits, combined intake of onions and garlic prevented breast cancer risk, the researchers said.
Previous studies have showed onion and garlic are beneficial for reducing the risk of cancers of the lung, prostate, and stomach.
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Garlic And Skin Cancer Risk
There arent many observational or clinical studies which evaluated the effect of garlic intake on skin cancer. Some studies in mice have suggested that Garlic consumption as part of the diet may help delay the onset of skin papilloma formation which can subsequently reduce the number and size of the skin papilloma.
It Improves Antioxidant Defenses
Oxidative stress or imbalance between prooxidants and antioxidants fuels the progression of cancer.
There is still a debate on the idea of whether antioxidant supplementation as a part of cancer therapy will result in clinical improvement or no.
Curcumin and other curcuminoids are antioxidants. Their antioxidant activity contributes to their anti-tumor effect.
A study in Molecules, 2010 states that dietary antioxidants like resveratrol and curcumin can help in preventing and treating blood-related cancer types.
A recent study in Nutrition and Cancer 2016 reported that curcumin supplementation in patients receiving radiation therapy for prostate cancer resulted in improvement in antioxidant capacity.
Supplementation of turmeric powder with imatinib, the anti-cancer drug, is found to improve antioxidant status in chronic myeloid leukemia.
What does this mean?Curcumin improves antioxidant status of cancer patients which contributes to its anti-cancer effect and also protects from toxicity of cancer treatment.
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It Can Regulate Immune Responses To Combat Cancer
The immune system plays a key role in cancer development. Naturally, immune system responses have the ability to initiate anti-tumor response but cancer cells evade such responses and suppress the immune response.
Curcumin has immunomodulatory property- it can regulate immune responses. It helps in reversing immune suppression and benefits in immunotherapy in cancer.
A study in Cell Division, 2015 states that curcumin helps to restore immune function in cancer.
It balances the population of immune cells and cytokines that help deliver an anti-tumor effect.
Curcumin is found to improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy and cancer vaccines.
What does this mean?Curcumins ability to regulate immune responses contributes to its anti-tumor effect and benefits in immunotherapy in cancer.
Brightly Colored Fruits And Vegetables Are Allies
When it comes to breast cancer prevention, think about eating more carrots, cantaloupe, and sweet potatoes foods rich in the compounds known as carotenoids. According to an article published in June 2015 in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, women who have higher levels of carotenoids in their bloodstream seem to be at lower risk for breast cancer.
Orange vegetables and fruits are most often held up as sources of this powerful nutrient, so if you want to amp up the carotenoids in your breast cancer diet, just make sure you get lots of orange, red, yellow, and even dark green foods.
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Berries Make Small But Mighty Cancer Foes
Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries add color, variety, and flavor to your anti-cancer nutrition plan. They’re power-packed with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds that could aid in breast cancer prevention, so make them part of your breast cancer diet. According to a study published in December 2016 in the journal Antioxidants, blueberries and blackberries in particular may play a role in reducing the growth of tumors and breast cancer cells.
Is Your Milk Bioactive
Milk contains many biologically active molecules, including enzymes, hormones and growth factors. A typical glass of cows milk contains 35 hormones and 11 growth factors! In fact cows milk and dairy products are loaded with gonadal, adrenal, pituitary, hypothalamic and other hormones.
The detrimental health effects of consuming cows milk and dairy products are more widely discussed in Health! Vivas referenced report White Lies. It describes how saturated animal fat, animal protein, cholesterol, hormones and growth factors in dairy products are linked to a wide range of illnesses and diseases including some of the UKs biggest killers such as heart disease, diabetes, prostate cancer as well as osteoporosis, eczema, asthma, Crohns disease, colic, constipation and even teenage acne. White Lies is available free online at www.vivahealth.org.uk or for £5.00 from Viva! Health.For more information on British dairy farming methods see Viva!s fully-referenced report The Dark Side of Dairy, at www.viva.org.uk or telephone 0117 944 1000 .
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