Nutrition During Cancer Treatments - Combating Nausea and Diverting Taste

Nutrition during cancer treatment is very important. This is because treatments like chemotherapy, radiotherapy and even surgery can have side effects. Most of the time, some patients can adapt. Some cannot.

You may find that cancer or cancer treatment has affected your sense of taste. Food may lack flavour or taste too sweet, salty or metallic. Usually these changes are temporary or will improve in time. However, there are some suggestions for this:-

Alternative Cancer Treatments

- Cleaning the tongue allows the taste buds to function better

- Try different sauces, marinades, seasonings, spices, herbs and flavourings and other ingredients in your cooking

- Experiment with different foods and different methods of preparation. This gives a wider choice of meals. What your or the patient may have disliked in the past could now well be a new found favourite meal. Keep trying and never stop experimenting

Cancer treatments can also alter the sense of smell in a patient. Strong scents during food preparation might induce nausea in the patient. These steps are therefore necessary and should be taken in avoiding the nausea:-

- Keep the patient or yourself in a room where it is farthest away from the kitchen (or which ever places where the food is usually prepared)

- For pungent or strong smelling foods, reduce the amount of ingredients that contribute to the smell and taste. This may make the food taste bland. But for your own health and good, do it. If a cancer patient cannot tolerate the scent or taste, avoid using the particular ingredient and experiment with every other alternatives possible

Nutrition During Cancer Treatments - Combating Nausea and Diverting Taste

Alternative Cancer Treatments