Therapeutic nutrition for cancer patients
Oncological diseases are accompanied by many changes in the human body. These changes may be the body’s reaction to the tumor and side effects of drug treatment. In addition, side effects of treatment, such as nausea and changes in taste, often lead to loss of appetite and inability to eat enough food. In this regard, oncological drugs must be carefully selected and, in some cases, prepared in a special way. Before buy therapeutic food for cancer patients you should familiarize yourself with its properties.
Contents of the article:
- Prevalence and causes of malnutrition (nutritional insufficiency) in cancer patients
- What are the benefits of therapeutic nutrition for cancer patients?
- How to avoid losing weight and promote weight gain in cancer patients with the help of therapeutic enteral nutrition?
- The benefits of nutritional support for cancer patients receiving specialized treatment
- Composition of nutritional support and types of necessary beneficial nutrients in therapeutic nutrition for cancer patients
- Non-protein therapeutic nutrition during chemotherapy and radiation therapy
Prevalence and causes of malnutrition (nutritional insufficiency) in cancer patients
In approximately one third of patients with established tumor disease, the initial weight is more than 5% of body weight. Doctors call this condition. In addition, weight loss occurs not only due to a decrease in fat deposits, but also primarily due to a decrease in muscle mass.
Approximately 70% of patients with stomach cancer, 80% of patients with lung cancer, and 90% of patients with liver and pancreatic cancer are at risk of failure (nutrient deficiency) and malignant transformation.
The problem of weight loss and nutrition in people fighting cancer is associated with abnormal energy consumption by tumor cells and cannot be compared with the overall impact on the body even of fasting. Indeed, during fasting, energy expenditure and protein metabolism decrease, and during oncology, they increase due to the predominance of weakening processes (catabolism).
What are the benefits of therapeutic nutrition for cancer patients?
Malnutrition and insufficient weight gain in cancer are associated with decreased survival, decreased benefit from surgery and medical treatment, increased postoperative mortality, decreased tumor response to radiotherapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy, and hospital readmissions.
In addition, there is a decrease in the quality of life, that is, the ability to maintain and have a normal level of cultural, intellectual and physical development, due to the qualitative satisfaction of performance, strength, power, social and spiritual needs. feel an appropriate degree of security and safety. This is, of course, mainly due to muscle fatigue and progressive muscle weakness.
How to avoid losing weight and promote weight gain in cancer patients with the help of therapeutic enteral nutrition?
In the fight against nutrition and cachexia in cancer patients, the full attention of the physician is paid to dietary interventions. However, very often, patients with tumors have decreased appetite and may experience undesirable effects of treatment, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and inflammatory lesions of the mucous membranes (mucous membranes). Patients cannot get the calories, proteins, fats and vitamins they need from regular food. Therefore, oncology requires therapeutic nutrition of the intestines – obtaining the necessary nutrients from specialized products.
The world’s leading clinical nutrition associations, including the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN), the American Dietetic Association, and the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, recommend its use. Cachexia and specialized nutrition for cancer patients in whom nutritional difficulties are expected.
Enteral nutrition most often comes in the form of a liquid drink to be sucked. This means foods with the consistency of yogurt or custard, intended to be eaten in small sips over a long period of time. Their use is relevant for cancer patients who have difficulty swallowing liquid food.
For nutritional support of weight gain, an individually selected and appropriate type of therapeutic intestinal nutrition is selected for each patient.
Therapeutic intestinal nutrition has a more pleasant taste, or rather a pleasant taste. Both contribute to therapeutic adherence, and the timely supply of the required amount of nutrients and maintenance of a stable emotional background depend on this. Nutritional choices can also be made in the form of liquid foods high in energy, protein and fat. For example, fresh cupcakes, such as caliportan (tropical fruit and cappuccino flavors) or yogurt and cream, also contain high amounts of protein and calories and come in a wider variety of flavors (strawberry, cappuccino, porin, chocolate, vanilla). More detailed information about the types of treatment included in the diet on the website
The benefits of nutritional support for cancer patients receiving specialized treatment
Therapeutic enteral nutrition in oncology Nutrition Nutrition helps you obtain the optimal amount of nutrients and calories daily and helps fill deficiencies that can occur as a result of increased tissue destruction in the disease and symptoms of side effects of treatment (chemotherapy, radiotherapy). Anorexia, severe weakness or developmental depression.
Nutritional support (mainly protein) can help avoid weight loss and improve many aspects of quality of life in patients undergoing aggressive treatment. It improves overall quality of life, improves emotional functioning, corrects anorexia, reduces respiration and promotes weight gain. In short, it generally promotes participation in normal life despite treatment, maintains energy for social life, survival and disease control, and energy.
In addition to a normal diet, protein enteral nutrition helps maintain normal body weight and protects against its gain and loss, as well as from decay and malignant degeneration. This increases the effectiveness and reduces the number of complications after surgical treatment, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. On the contrary, nutrition not only reduces the effectiveness of antitumor therapy, but can also interrupt special treatment (for example, increase the duration of chemotherapy courses, delay surgical treatment, etc.).
Composition of nutritional support and types of necessary beneficial nutrients in therapeutic nutrition for cancer patients
Enteral nutrition products with a high protein content (20 g in one bottle), which is part of healthy polyunsaturated fats (omega-3), show many benefits for tumor patients in clinical studies. It also makes sense to choose multi-nutrient, balanced foods, as nutritionists suggest that combining multiple nutrients has more benefits in supporting the body in the fight against cancer.
Thus, the combination of high protein (27% energy value), high healthy fat content (40% energy value) and low carbohydrate content (31% energy value) helps in the Slip-on Drink. prevent muscle loss and take into account the metabolic characteristics of the patient’s cancer profile. Therapeutic preparations include a wide profile of vitamins and microelements, as well as dietary (prebiotic) fiber.
When providing nutritional therapy to cancer patients, it is important that nutritionists focus primarily on adding essential nutrients rather than counting calories. So one of the benefits of drink supports is that they reduce the amount of sugar. This means that the required amount of calories enters the body in the form of proteins and fats.
A diet high in lung (protein) may help promote muscle tissue repair in cancer patients. According to clinical recommendations, the daily protein intake should be at least 1 g/kg body weight and, if possible, should be increased to 1. 5 g/kg body weight.
The benefits of omega-3 PNSCs in cancer patients have been described in studies. Daily doses of 1. 5 g or more improve appetite and quality of life, prevent weight loss and improve the patient’s condition after surgical treatment. Supplementation of omega-3 PUFAs to the diet of patients undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy also has many beneficial effects, mainly in preventing the development of cancer cachexia.
Non-protein therapeutic nutrition during chemotherapy and radiation therapy
In some cases, especially due to the occurrence of mucositis, doctors recommend the use of glutamine supplements to improve the recovery of mucosal cells. Glutamine is an amino acid (essential for protein synthesis in the body) and is considered conditionally essential during periods of stress. These include oncological diseases and their aggressive treatment (radiation and chemotherapy). Glutamine is an important source of fuel for rapidly dividing cells such as gastrointestinal epithelial cells and cells of the immune system. Glutamine is thought to promote healing of the gastrointestinal lining following radiotherapy or chemotherapy. There is little glutamine in ready-to-use liquid protein enteral nutrition products, which contain many important components, but you can supplement the diet using powders or mixtures to prepare liquid suspensions for oral administration Glutamin Plus. Glutamin Plus is a special nutrition for the treatment of diabetes. The Glutamin Plus mixture contains, in addition to glutamine, a complex of vitamins and microelements.
Therefore, the use of nutritional support, that is, liquid protein enteral nutrition in cancer patients, when added to the daily diet, helps solve many of the most important problems in fighting the disease and improving the quality of life.
