【Healthy Diet】Dietary Guidelines for Breast Cancer Patients

"Is there anything I should avoid eating if I have breast cancer?" "I take all kinds of supplements and nutritional supplements every day. Are they good for my disease?" Many breast cancer patients have these questions. So, what can and cannot breast cancer patients eat? Lin Yi, the first national famous Chinese medicine doctor, the instructor of the national academic experience inheritance work of senior Chinese medicine experts, and the academic leader of breast science at Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said that except for the restrictions on a few exogenous estrogen foods, breast cancer patients do not need to be too cautious in their daily diet, and they do not need to go too far and take too many supplements.

Lin Yi introduced that on April 26, the Chinese Nutrition Society officially released the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)", which extracted eight principles for a balanced diet: 1. Diverse foods and reasonable combinations; 2. Balance eating and moving, and maintain a healthy weight; 3. Eat more fruits and vegetables, milk, whole grains, and soybeans; 4. Eat fish, poultry, eggs, and lean meat in moderation; 5. Less salt and oil, control sugar and limit alcohol; 6. Eat regularly and drink enough water; 7. Know how to cook, choose, and read labels; 8. Use serving chopsticks to share meals and eliminate waste. In combination with the clinical situation of breast cancer patients, Lin Yi reminded patients and friends that in the process of complying with these eight principles, they should pay special attention to the following points.

Regular meals should be taken without excessive nutritional supplements. Healthy people should eat regularly every day. It is recommended to eat breakfast between 7 and 9 o'clock, lunch between 11 and 13 o'clock, and dinner between 17 and 19 o'clock. Since breast cancer patients need to take a variety of drugs such as Chinese medicine, endocrine drugs, and calcium supplements, and each drug is taken at a different time, Lin Yi recommends that breast cancer patients eat breakfast at 7 o'clock, lunch at 12 o'clock, and dinner at 18 o'clock every day.

Adult women should drink 1500ml of water every day, but do not drink a large amount of water at one time, as it can easily put a burden on the heart and kidneys. Drink it in small amounts multiple times.

In addition, patients in the outpatient clinic often ask: "I feel very weak. I have taken a lot of supplements but I feel worse. Is it because I am too weak to be supplemented?" Regarding the question of whether tonic should be taken, Lin Yi introduced that the occurrence and development of breast cancer are inseparable from two factors. The first is the existence of "cancer seeds", and the second is the "soil" on which the seeds depend for survival. The "soil" here can be regarded as the imbalance of the functions of the human organs, meridians, and qi and blood, which leads to the reduction of the body's own repair ability and anti-tumor ability, and then creates conditions for the occurrence and development of breast cancer. Therefore, it is particularly important to maintain and repair the balance of the body's environment, which Chinese medicine calls supporting positive energy.

It should be emphasized that strengthening the body's health refers to improving the body's ability to resist disease. It is not just about replenishing the body's deficiency and strengthening the body's foundation, but also includes removing pathological products in the body, such as qi stagnation, phlegm coagulation, blood stasis, dampness, food stagnation and other endogenous evils. Therefore, when there are pathological products in the body, attention should be paid to timely regulating qi, resolving phlegm, removing dampness, removing blood stasis, and digesting food. If you blindly take supplements without considering your own physical constitution and condition, it is likely to have a negative impact on your condition, so you must choose supplements and nutritional products under the guidance of a doctor.

Fresh fruits and vegetables, cereals and potatoes are indispensable. Animal foods should be consumed with caution. Vegetables and fruits are two types of food that are encouraged to be consumed more in the dietary guidelines. Adults should consume at least 300g of vegetables and 200-350g of fruits every day, and the types should be varied. Lin Yi introduced that vegetables such as carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, celery, snow peas, asparagus, spinach, onions, cabbage, etc., and fruits such as apples, pomegranates, grapes, cherries, kiwis, citrus, etc. are rich in nutrients and are recommended for consumption.

It should be noted that it is not recommended to replace fresh fruits and vegetables with fruit and vegetable juice. In addition, breast cancer patients are not recommended to eat cold fruits. Fruits that have been kept fresh in the refrigerator should be brought to room temperature before eating.

Cereal foods mainly include wheat, rice, corn, buckwheat, sorghum, etc. and their products, such as rice, steamed bread, bread, oatmeal, etc. It is recommended to eat 200-300g of cereal foods per day, including 50-150g of whole grains and beans. In addition, 50-100g of potatoes can be eaten every day, including sweet potatoes, potatoes, yams, taro, etc.

The dietary guidelines recommend a total daily intake of 120-200g of fish, poultry, meat and eggs, which can be broken down into 40-75g of livestock and poultry meat; 40-75g of fish, shrimp, crab and shellfish; and one egg, about 50g.

Hormone receptor-positive breast cancer patients should pay special attention to reducing the intake of beef and mutton, and be cautious about eating shrimp and crab seafood. They can eat fish, pork, chicken, duck, pigeon, etc. In addition, patients with hepatobiliary diseases should follow the doctor's advice when eating such foods.

Paying attention to calcium supplementation is the key. Less oil, less salt, and less sweetness should not be forgotten. Lin Yi suggested that breast cancer patients should pay attention to calcium supplementation, especially those with hormone receptor positive, those taking aromatase inhibitors (such as letrozole, anastrozole, exemestane), and those with ovarian cancer who have ovarian function suppression. In addition to taking conventional prescription calcium supplements, these patients should also increase calcium intake in their daily diet.

Milk, soybeans and nuts are good sources of protein and calcium. Soybeans include yellow beans, black beans, red beans, green beans, and soy products such as tofu, soy milk, dried tofu, etc. Nuts include walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, cashews, etc. The recommended daily intake of soybeans and nuts is 25-35g, and milk is 300g.

Soybeans mainly contain phytoestrogens, and some patients are skeptical about whether they can consume beans and their products. In fact, Asian women who consume soy in moderation every day will not have a negative impact. Taking soy milk as an example, it is safe to drink no more than 1000ml a day, and there is no need to worry too much.

Lin Yi suggested that breast cancer patients should eat less greasy fried foods and sweet foods. The dietary guidelines also pointed out that the salt consumption of Chinese residents is generally high, and limiting salt intake is a long-term action goal for my country. It is recommended that the average daily intake of cooking oil for adults should not exceed 25-30g, salt should not exceed 5g, and sugar should not exceed 50g, preferably less than 25g. Patients with hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases should control their diet reasonably under the guidance of a doctor.

Reprinted from: China Traditional Chinese Medicine News