Food is the primary source of energy for all human beings and animals for that matter. Being one of the most complex multi-cellular organisms of the animal kingdom we human beings have a diverse set of dietary requirements. Proteins, Carbohydrates, Fats, Minerals, and Vitamins just scratch the surface of the horde of demands of a human body. If even one thing which our body requires to maintain homeostasis is missing from our dietary intake, it has a profound and long-term effect on our various organ systems. Consequently, we become vulnerable to diseases and have to take nutritional supplements. Additionally, to maintain the wellness and diversity of our digestive tract’s fauna consisting of many types of bacteria and viruses it is essential to eat a well-balanced and nutritious diet. It makes sure that our metabolism remains fast and everything that we eat is correctly digested and absorbed.
Dozens or even hundreds of diets are available, promising outcomes that may include weight loss, muscle gain, greater energy, detoxification, philosophical or spiritual purity, disease prevention and even cure. Some people may use diets promoted as “alternative” while also undergoing conventional treatments. A number of these are strictly diets, but others are a component of an alternative therapy regimen that may also include coffee enemas and a host of nutritional supplements, as well as other components.
For a Cancer patient maintaining the metabolism and homeostasis is a tedious job due to the heavy dose of medication and radiation. The body is not able to process even simple foods like whole grains, rice, potato etc. One thing to keep in mind in such a condition is that even though your body does not accept these essential components, you need to make sure that they are ingested in one way or the other.
In alternative medicine treatments like Ayurveda, there are different methods of taking care of the unwanted reactions of our body towards a disease or its treatment. Balancing the metabolism rate or ‘pitta’ of the body is the primary objective of many branches of Ayurveda done keeping in mind that in diseases like Cancer our liver can digest only certain foods. For example, proteins do give you a lot of energy, but they are exothermic which makes them quite difficult to digest. Hence heavy protein foods including milk are advised to avoid in such chronic diseases.
Hence, following strict dietary advice from different therapies and nutrition methods reverse to a large extent the damage done by Cancer and the side effects of Chemotherapy. Some of those dietary and metabolic therapies are listed below. To know more about them click on the provided links.
- Gerson Therapy
- Intermittent Fasting
- Kelley/Gonzalez Regimen
- Macrobiotic Diet
- Livingston-Wheeler nutritional program
- Keto diet
- Alkaline diet
- Budwig diet
- Raw foods diet
- Eating well
References & More Information
- Credit: Beyond Conventional Care Therapies
- ZenOnco.io Integrative Oncology Cancer Care
- World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research: Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective
- Ting Bao, MD: The Role of Integrative Therapy in Cancer Care
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center: About Herbs, Botanicals and Other Products
- National Cancer Institute: Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine
- Five to Thrive Live: Keto for Cancer
- American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine and Metabolic Medical Institute: Integrative Cancer Therapy Fellowship Modules
- Rebecca Katz, MS, with Mat Edelson : The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen, Second Edition
- Jessica Iannotta and Susan Bratton: The Meals to Heal Cookbook
- Keith I. Block, MD: Life over Cancer: The Block Center Program for Integrative Cancer Treatment
- Raymond Chang, MD: Beyond the Magic Bullet: The Anti-Cancer Cocktail
