The Chemotherapy Diet: How do you get Nutrients when you don’t feel like Eating?
(This chemotherapy recovery diet was constructed after consulting a team of dietitians, oncologists, nutritionists, and former cancer patients based on what they recommended and had seen to work. Please consult your dietitian or oncologist for your specific case.)
Nausea is an extremely common side-effect of chemotherapy where patients often don’t feel like eating anything. This results in massive weight loss during chemotherapy and further loss in energy which complicates the recovery process.
After hours of research, speaking to several cancer survivors, their caretakers, doctors, and several nutritionists, this is the diet which was compiled. Over time, this diet was given to three of our family members who had stayed with my parents during their cancer treatment and chemotherapy. My aunt had throat cancer, uncle had mouth cancer, and my grandmother had lung cancer where 75% of one of her lungs had been removed. All 3 have since recovered and are healthy individuals today.
The key insight was:
While cancer patients don’t feel like eating anything, drinking fluids is often not a problem.
This is how all the nutrients that are essential for cancer and chemotherapy recovery can be administered.
I’ve provided the most recent and updated diet that my grandmother was on during her recovery. She was one of the few patients who didn’t lose weight during her treatment as a result of this diet.
Diet for 4–5 months during Surgery and Chemotherapy
All Juices should be freshly made as possible. No salt, sugar or other additives to be added to the juices.
All salt in foods should be Rock Salt. Avoid white salt.
The diet followed was a vegetarian diet (simply because all patients were already vegetarian). Please consult your dietitian for fish, meat or other animal products.
6:00am: On an empty stomach consume 2 cloves Kashmiri Garlic
Kashmiri Garlic is different from regular garlic. Chew and swallow with water.
Key Benefit — Great for heart health, lowers cholesterol
6:30am: Wheatgrass juice (shot)
Fresh wheatgrass, tulsi (holy basil), 4–5 Neem leaves, and Giloy (optional) needs to be churned in a blender with a little water and strained. Wheatgrass may not suit everyone, and so this needs to be started slow with a little bit each day, gradually increasing to a full shot over 2 weeks to make sure that the body gets used to it.
Key Benefit — Superfood, Anti-oxidant, Anti-inflammatory, Anti-microbial. Rich in vitamins & minerals
7:30am: Fresh White Pumpkin (aka Ash Gourd) Juice
Chop up the pumpkin pulp and blend to get a cup of white pumpkin juice.
Key Benefit — This is very cooling for the stomach to give it a relief from all the medications.
8:00am: Barley Water
2 tablespoons barley soaked overnight in 2 glasses of water. Boiled in the morning. Optional: Add a dash of lemon juice. Consume one glass in the morning and the other in the evening.
Key Benefit — Cleanses and detoxes the body
8:20am: Raw Turmeric & Ginger Shot
1 inch fresh, raw turmeric and 1 inch fresh ginger grated and squeezed to extract the shot. Dilute with a little water.
Key Benefit — Anti-inflammatory, prevents heartburn / acidity, anti-bacterial, anti-viral
8:30am: BREAKFAST
1 Date,
1 Dried Apricot,
Overnight soaked 5 almonds,
Overnight soaked 2 walnuts
1 serving of fruit (Avoid fruits high in sugar)
Have with regular Breakfast (as much as can be eaten)
Key Benefit — Protein, Energy, Minerals, Immunity Booster
9:30am: Coconut Water
Key Benefit: Hydration and Minerals
11:00am: Fresh Pomegranate Juice
Key Benefit: Potent Anti-oxidant, Blood purifier, Helps fight various forms of cancer
12 noon: Gluten-Free LUNCH.
NO Raw Salads, and NO Raw vegetables. Everything must be cooked or steamed
12:30 pm: Home made Plain Buttermilk
Plain yogurt with rock salt, black salt, cumin powder, and crushed mint leaves. Blend with water.
Key Benefit — Helps in digestion and cooling for the stomach
3:00pm: Fresh ABC Juice
Apple, Beetroot, Carrot Juice — For all 3, peel the outer skin: 1 part Apple, 1 part Beetroot, 2 parts carrots. Chop, blend, and squeeze. No salt, No sweeteners and No other additives.
Key Benefit — Iron, Increases Hemoglobin, Anti-aging, Anti-oxidant, Immunity Booster
4:30pm: Barley Water
Consume the second glass of Barley Water
Key Benefit — Cleanses and detoxes the body
6:30pm: Green Vegetable Soup with Gluten-Free DINNER
NO Raw Salads, and NO Raw vegetables, Everything must be cooked or steamed.
8:00pm: Spiced A2 Milk
Make and keep a ground spice mix of black pepper, turmeric, dried ginger powder, saffron, green cardamom, cinnamon. Refrigerate the spice mix.
A1 and A2 are types of proteins found in cow’s milk. A1 protein is common in most milk and leads to digestive issues. A2 protein is very beneficial for human consumption. All milk administered should be A2 milk that is made from specific cows that produce milk without A1 proteins.
1 cup A2 Milk boiled with ¼ teaspoon of the spice mix.
Key Benefit — Protein, Calcium, Prevents heartburn, Prevents bloating, Anti-bacterial, Anti- Viral, Anti-Inflammatory.
What to Avoid:
NO White Sugar — Substitute Palm Jaggery instead of white sugar
NO Wheat Flour
NO Gluten
What to Avoid During the Treatment:
NO caffeine (Applicable to some cancers, though please consult your oncologist for a final verdict)
NO raw food (all food must be cooked or steamed) besides the Juices listed above to avoid ingesting potential contaminants when your body’s immunity is already low.
This diet focuses mainly on liquids to deliver the nutrients and hydration. The body goes through a lot during chemotherapy and surgery which is further complicated by the nausea which makes most cancer patients not want to eat much at a time when the body needs the essential nutrients the most.
All the best!
Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor and while this has been compiled based on a lot of independent research and what seemed to work, please consult your physician and dietitian for any issues or complications related to your specific case.
