Nutrition Therapy as a Complement to Cancer Treatment
My current series of posts has been about cancer patient Maria Claudia White and her experiences with integrative therapies. The information is taken from an article in Natural Solutions magazine by Erin Quinn.
Maria was already holding to a disciplined, low-glycemic diet when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. High sugar and processed foods invite inflammation and promote growth of cancer cells. A low-glycemic diet of fresh, natural foods including lots of vegetables provide powerful antioxidants and immune enhancers which do not make for a good environment for cancer cells. Although she was eating healthy, Maria’s dietitian tweaked her menus to add specific cancer-fighting foods including brown rice, quinoa, and sweet potatoes. Green tea was also assigned as a daily routine.
Supplements were added to the nutrition plan including Co-Q10 for the heart; milk thistle to detox the liver; Melatonin to promote rest, inhibit cancer cell growth, and reduce toxicity from radiation therapy; L-carintine to protect the body from chemotherapy; Vitamin D and mushrooms to boost immunity; Vitamins E and C to protect healthy cells; and Flax-seeds to decrease inflammation.
Maria was able to keep a good appetite through the chemotherapy and radiation and ate good balanced meals, something essential to beating cancer. This nutritional program with the continuous coaching of a registered dietitian was an important part of her overall therapy along with the mind-body therapy discussed in the previous post. Both complementary therapies were very instrumental in the success of Maria Claudia’s whole treatment program. Integrative oncologists are insistent that their patients receive all of the complementary therapies that they need to fight the disease.