A Colon Cancer Treatment Diet

Aftercolon cancer diagnosisand treatment, you may be surprised to hear that there is still time to change your diet for the better. At first you may not have much of an appetite, either when you’re recovering fromsurgeryor when dealing with the effects of chemotherapy. But eating right will not only help with healing — it can also go a long way toward helping prevent a recurrence of your colon cancer.

Colon Cancer Treatment Diet: Ground-Breaking Research

A first-of-its-kind research study, conducted by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, followed just over 1,000 patients with stage III colon cancer treated with surgery andchemotherapy. Two groups of patients were followed: those who continued to eat the Western diet popular in developed countries, and those who were more inclined to eat a diet based on fruit, vegetables, and low-fat protein. The Western diet patients were 3 1/2 times more likely to experience a recurrence of their colon cancer than those whose diet was at the other end of the scale, demonstrating that patients can improve their survival chances by making changes in their diet. Here are the specifics:

What to avoid.The foods favored by the group with highest colon cancer recurrence included:

• Red and processed meats
• Desserts and other sweets
• Refined grains like white bread
• French fries

While the research didn’t explain why this diet leads to more recurrence, the results could be linked to higher insulin levels and related conditions that may cause tumors to form and develop.

What to eat.The foods favored by the group with less colon cancer recurrence included:

• Fruits and vegetables
• Poultry
• Fish

Colon Cancer Treatment Diet: Putting it All Together

As you start to rebuild your diet, here’s how to fill your plate. When your appetite is low, make these choices first.

• Fruits and vegetables.Fill your plate with as many of these as you can — five to nine servings of fruits and veggies each day. Green leafy vegetables, mangos,berries, cantaloupes, and dried apricots may be some of your best bets. Make a special effort to eat foods rich in folate (folic acid), a B vitamin. "Diets low in folic acid may increase therisk of developing colon cancer, and also have accelerated growth in those who alreadyhavecolon cancer," says Roberta Anding, MS, RD, clinical dietitian at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. “Folic acid comes from many sources, including green leafy vegetables and fortified breakfast cereals.”
• Whole grains.Look for whole wheat or whole-grain pastas, breads, and rice. Whole-grain products are full of fiber and nutrients that may help fightcolorectal cancer.
• 乳制品。Calcium, working withvitamin D, may help keep colon cancer at bay. Add low-fat dairy foods and drinks that are rich in calcium to your menu, including milk, cheese, and yogurt. Try to get at least 1200 to 1500 milligrams of calcium per day, from either three or four servings of dairy or through a calcium supplement.

In addition, make these healthier lifestyle choices:

• Limit alcohol.If you drink at all, consume alcohol in moderate amounts — one drink (12 ounces of beer or 5 ounces of wine) each day for women and two or fewer drinks each day for men.
• If you smoke, quit now.“Smoking is a risk factor for colorectal cancer,” says Janice Rafferty, MD, a clinical professor of surgery and chief of the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery at the University of Cincinnati. To reduce yourrisk of colon cancerrecurrence and improve your overall health, you should kick the habit andstop smokingonce and for all.

Eating right is the key to good health and can help to ward off many different diseases. So put your food focus on cancer nutrition, and dedicate your diet to helping reduce your risk of colon cancer recurrence.