Reasonable nutrition promotes tumor recovery

Nutrition is the material basis of our body structure and physiological functions. When a disease occurs, adequate and reasonable nutrition is the logistical support for our immune system and plays an important role in the overall treatment of tumors.

1. Nutritional support plays an important role in cancer treatment. It can promote the effect of cancer treatment in the following ways:

Preventing malnutrition

The occurrence and development of tumors are accompanied by abnormal metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates, fats and energy, which is why cancer patients are prone to malnutrition. Subsequently, at different stages of tumor treatment, there are different requirements for nutrients. Without reasonable nutritional management, the nutritional status of patients will further decline. For example, radiotherapy and chemotherapy can also harm healthy cells. Ensuring adequate nutrient supply, especially protein intake, can well guarantee the metabolism of these healthy cells and smoothly complete the process of radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Relieve side effects of treatment

Reasonable diet matching, such as adjusting the color and aroma of food and adding special nutrients, can reduce side effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, indigestion, etc., improve the patient's comfort and relieve the patient's pain.

Promote therapeutic effect

Nutritional support can improve the patient's physical condition and immunity, making it easier for the patient to tolerate the treatment process and improving the effectiveness of the treatment.

Reduce tumor recurrence rate

After entering the tumor recovery period, the risk of tumor recurrence can be reduced through a reasonable diet structure and balanced nutrition intake, such as reducing the intake of fat and red meat and increasing the intake of dietary fiber, fruits and vegetables.

Improve patients' quality of life

Cancer treatment has a great impact on the patient's physical and mental state, and reasonable nutritional support can greatly avoid the occurrence of cachexia in patients, bring the pleasure of eating to patients, and improve their quality of life.

2. Common manifestations of malnutrition in cancer patients

Weight loss

For patients, "weight is life". Traumatic treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy often seriously damage the patient's body functions, causing adverse gastrointestinal reactions such as decreased appetite, nausea, and vomiting. These make it difficult for patients in the recovery period to digest and absorb nutrients, inducing the risk of weight loss.

Muscle loss

Sarcopenia "revolves" around tumors. Patients in the recovery period will develop secondary sarcopenia due to the malignant consumption of the tumor itself in the early stage, reduced activity, malnutrition and loss of appetite after the illness, which will lead to a decrease in the patient's muscle strength and physical activity ability, causing weakness, and easy falls and fractures, which will seriously affect the patient's quality of life.

Reduced immunity

Immunity represents the body's defense system, like an army that maintains the normal functioning of the human body. Immunity is very important to the human body. If the immunity is too low, the barrier will be damaged, which will increase the risk of infection, such as bacterial, viral and other infections, and the mortality rate of tumors will increase significantly.

Cachexia

The term cachexia is a relatively professional term. Many people first heard of it from doctors after their family members or friends were diagnosed with malignant tumors. Due to the disease and the side effects of chemotherapy, many cancer patients experience loss of appetite during the fight against cancer, which leads to severe weight loss and insufficient nutrition. In the end, they lose to cancer due to malnutrition.

3. Which cancer patients need nutritional support therapy?

Nutritional risk screening is routinely performed using the Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS 2002) in clinical practice. If the reader is a patient or a primary care physician, the components of the NRS 2002 need to be introduced.

If the total NRS score is ≥3 points, it means that the patient is at nutritional risk and an individualized nutrition plan and nutritional intervention need to be developed based on the patient's clinical condition.

Nutritional support is necessary if the following conditions occur: (1) weight loss >10% in the past 6 months; (2) NRS total score ≥5 points; BMI <18.5kg/m2 and poor general condition; (4) serum albumin concentration <30g/L. Nutritional screening and assessment, nutritional education and dietary guidance should be carried out throughout the entire process of diagnosis and treatment of malignant tumors.

IV. Methods of nutritional support therapy for cancer patients

First of all, how to eat

When oral food intake is insufficient to meet the body's needs, oral nutritional supplements are the first choice to drink the nutrients directly. Oral nutritional supplements are nutritional liquids, semi-solids or powders that can provide multiple nutrients and are added to drinks or food for oral administration. If cancer patients have lost weight or their dietary intake is insufficient, nutritional supplements should be started as soon as possible until dietary intake can meet daily nutritional needs and maintain a stable weight.

For patients who are unable to eat but have a functioning gastrointestinal tract, a method of nutritional support is to provide nutrients through an indwelling catheter through a nasogastric or nasoenteric or jejunal opening.

When oral intake and enteral nutrition still cannot meet the nutritional needs, it is recommended to add intravenous parenteral nutrition;

If gastrointestinal intolerance occurs, the basic nutrients required by the patient are all administered intravenously, i.e. total parenteral nutrition.

5. Common nutritional misunderstandings of cancer patients

Can eating less starve a tumor to death?

The answer is definitely no. Many cancer patients are worried that a nutritious diet will promote the growth of cancer cells. There is currently no evidence that nutritional support will promote tumor growth. Not only that, dieting or eating less will worsen the nutritional status of patients. Tumors will plunder the nutrients of normal cells and even break down the protein in human muscles.

Do cancer patients need to avoid certain foods?

"Avoidance" is a synonym for "irritating foods" in traditional Chinese medicine theory. In the traditional Chinese medicine system, patients with different diseases and taking different Chinese medicines may have different lists of "irritating foods" to avoid. However, foods rich in nutrients, especially high-protein foods such as shrimp, beef, mutton, chicken, fish, eggs, milk, etc., as well as irritating foods such as onions, ginger and garlic are often on the list of "irritating foods". Blindly abstaining from food can easily lead to an unbalanced diet and insufficient nutrient intake. It is not recommended for patients who are undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy to eat a lot of coarse grains. Because the drugs and treatments themselves can affect the gastrointestinal function, consuming a lot of coarse grains at this time will increase the intestinal burden of the patient, especially for patients with gastrointestinal tumors. At this time, you can choose some oral nutritional supplements to provide higher energy while reducing the production of feces. Good nutritional supplements are conducive to improving immunity and can help patients better resist diseases.

Is soup the most nutritious?

This is a wrong view. The nutrition of soup is only 1-5% of the raw material, and most of it is fat, some vitamins and minerals. Most of the nutrition (especially protein) is left in the meat residue. It is recommended that if you want to supplement more nutrition, you should eat the soup and the residue together.

Do “irritating foods” promote tumor growth?

This is a wrong view. This type of food is rich in high-quality protein. Cancer patients need protein very much during treatment to promote cell tissue repair, so they can be eaten and are encouraged to eat it. The so-called "irritating food" is a folk saying in ancient China, referring to foods that can cause recurrence of old diseases or aggravation of new diseases. For example, it is recorded that bean sprouts, leeks, goose meat, chicken, dog meat, beef, seafood, etc. are irritating foods. Clinical nutrition and Western medicine do not have the concept of "irritating food". This type of animal food is rich in protein and other macro- and micronutrients, which are very beneficial to patients in the treatment and early recovery period.

Will nutritional therapy increase the cost of treatment?

The answer is absolutely no. Nutritional therapy not only does not increase the cost of treatment, but also reduces the cost of treatment. It is the most economical and effective measure.

6. After cancer treatment is completed, do we no longer need to worry about nutrition?

During the recovery period of tumors, a considerable number of patients still have nutritional risks and malnutrition. Studies have shown that about 40%-80% of tumor patients in my country will experience nutritional risks and malnutrition, and a considerable number of them are in the recovery period. Malnutrition during the recovery period can cause patients to have decreased immunity, weight loss, and even cachexia, which can further lead to slow wound healing, increased risk of infection, intolerance to radiotherapy and chemotherapy during the recovery period, and shortened survival time. Therefore, for patients with tumors in the recovery period, regular nutritional screening should be performed to determine whether there are nutritional risks. For patients with nutritional risks and malnutrition, standardized nutritional management should be given in a timely manner to reduce the risk of nutrition-related complications, reduce the rate of readmission, reduce medical expenses, improve the quality of life and survival rate, and improve clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness.