Can eating nutriments improve immunity during chemotherapy? There are 100 kinds of nutrients during chemotherapy, and glutamine, fish oil and vitamins are the most commonly heard. But in fact, these formulas increase nutrition and cannot "fight cancer"; Just after eating and drinking enough, the immunity will naturally improve, so it seems to be very effective, but it is not.
Su, director of the Nutrition Department of the Affiliated Hospital of Taipei Medical College, said that many people regard glutamine as a cancer care product, as if people with cancer must eat it. However, glutamine is actually effective for people with chemotherapy, oral mucosal injury, diarrhea, or people who need to repair mucosa after gastrointestinal surgery. If you take it as a nutritional supplement, you may be disappointed with the effect.
Other nutrients are not needed by everyone. Su also suggested that you should let your body "digest" food and get more complete nutrition, unless you are already very weak, malnourished or unable to eat at all, and you need to supplement such nutrition.
Improving immunity can be improved through these six menus. The most important thing is to increase the number of white blood cells. Therefore, we must eat enough and a lot of protein to provide bone marrow with substances that make white blood cells; At the same time, when eaten with other foods, immunoglobulin can also be made from bone marrow to enhance the body's immunity.
The Chinese Medicine Department and Hematology Oncology Department of Chimei Hospital provide several foods suitable for post-chemotherapy consumption. In addition to supplementing high-calorie nutrition, they also directly "supplement immunity" to make the whole course of treatment more effective.
First, stir-fry mushrooms/black fungus.
Mushrooms, auricularia auricula or Flammulina velutipes are rich in polysaccharides, such as lentinan and double-stranded ribonucleic acid, which can release interferon and inhibit the growth of cancer cells, while auricularia auricula can prevent macrophages from being killed by tumor cells.
Therefore, adding a small amount of mushrooms or black fungus to food, whether it is cooking, cooking soup or cold salad, is a good food choice. Such as mushroom chicken soup, cold fungus and so on. Even mushroom rice, mushrooms and fungus can be scalded and added to the main course to eat together. The boiled soup can also be used for cooking and making soup to absorb nutrients to the maximum extent.
Second, tremella lotus seed soup
Tremella is tremella, which is as rich in polysaccharide as auricularia auricula, which can increase the immune function of the body, while lotus seeds can soothe the nerves, stimulate appetite and stop diarrhea. For patients with poor physical strength and diarrhea after chemotherapy, it can help sleep, restore appetite and supplement enough calories.
Three. Shen Si Decoction (Coicis Semen, Lotus Seed, Euryale Semen, Poria)
In traditional Chinese medicine, coix seed is a kind of food that can "clear away heat and reduce fire", which can help the body that is still inflamed after chemotherapy to slowly return to normal from the inflamed state; Poria cocos is also a fungus, which also contains polysaccharides, which can help patients increase their immunity and restore their physical strength.
Fourth, medlar and jujube tea.
Lycium barbarum and jujube are relatively warm medicinal materials, which can balance human immunity and prevent immune cells from being overly sensitive, but attacking their own bodies; It can also balance the drugs for clearing away heat and reducing fire and diminishing inflammation after chemotherapy, so that the body can resume normal work and rest after diminishing inflammation.
5. Huangqi Dangshen Decoction
Astragalus membranaceus and Codonopsis pilosula are similar to Lycium barbarum and Zizyphus jujuba, and they are also mild medicinal materials. Can be eaten alternately with medlar and jujube, and can also be eaten with ingredients.