Giving a Young Writer a Black Sheep Chance

Eat. Live Healthy. Fight Cancer.

After a cancer diagnosis, most people are eager to do anything that will help their recovery. One of the most important things a cancer patient can do is make a diet change to eat well and pay attention to nutrition. Proper nutrition can slow cancer growth, lower the risk of infection and make recovery much easier.

It should come as no surprise that eating a nutritious diet will help the body maintain its store of vital nutrients. Many patients do not receive the proper nutrition during recovery, and their bodies have trouble maintaining weight. Patients who are not properly nourished may find their bodies unable to stay well otherwise. They will be more tired and more susceptible to common illnesses because their bodies don’t have the stores of nutrients they require.

A simple change of diet and nutrition can help cancer patients heal…period. Knowing as much about conditions by asking health professionals the right questions during treatment can mean figuring out the best and most effective meal plan for a speedy recovery. Questions like can garlic fight prostate cancer, what is mesothelioma, or what foods should be avoided when dealing with breast cancer can drastically change an outcome. This may seem like an overstatement, but the truth is that by satisfying the body’s nutritional needs, patients help their bodies fight off the cancer.

Patients all over are already seeing drastic change in their lives by adopting a healthier diet. Take Faith for instance featured on Free From Harm. After a bit of research and taking a crucial step toward vegetarianism, Faith realized, “the more I learned, the clearer it became that if I could meet my nutritional needs without causing any animal suffering, why would I choose to do otherwise?”. She credits her diet with helping her feel better during her recovery as well as helping her recover from cancer, and believes that continuing the healthier diet has helped her stay cancer-free for several years.

Proper nutrition helps a recovering cancer patient generally feel better naturally raising tolerance to various side effects from treatments. The nutrient dense foods create the energy needed to stay strong through cancer treatment and recovery. Junk foods and unhealthy foods fill up the body but don’t provide the nutrients needed to maintain energy and strength and can drastically have a negative effect on our moods as well. In recovery, any action which can make a patient feel even a little better is worth investigating, at the very least.

Katrina Evans is a recent college graduate and aspiring writer especially interested in health and wellness. She enjoys making a difference in people’s lives seeing how devastating cancer can be for people and their families. Katrina also likes running, reading and listening to cool podcasts.


http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/supportivecare/nutrition/Patient/page1http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/parathyroid
http://www.mesotheliomasymptoms.com/what-mesothelioma
http://freefromharm.org/health-nutrition/faith-terwilliger-a-cancer-survivor-turned-plant-based-nutrition-coach/
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/26/earlyshow/health/main595775.shtml