Nutrition for tongue cancer patients

1. The importance of diet for people with tongue cancer

When suffering from cancer in general and tongue cancer in particular, patients need to eat healthily and have adequate nutrition to increase resistance to deal with the side effects of treatment and support recovery.

Proper nutrition is an extremely important factor contributing to the success of cancer treatment. Adequate nutrition during cancer treatment will bring benefits such as: maintaining health to pursue the treatment process, limiting the toxicity and side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, quickly healing surgical wounds, recovering health quickly after surgery, improving the patient's mood.

Patients undergoing treatment need to eat well to have the health to participate in strong enough treatment methods, according to the correct regimen. When discharged from the hospital, they should still eat well, scientifically and reasonably to maintain good health and immune system, contributing to reducing the risk of recurrence.

Tongue cancer makes it difficult for patients to eat and drink.

For people with tongue cancer, ensuring nutrition is even more important, because according to medical experts, tongue cancer seriously affects health, especially the patient's ability to eat.

Due to tumors or cancerous lesions, moving the tongue and swallowing food becomes difficult, making the patient not want to eat or drink, leading to weight loss and poor health.

Tongue cancer can affect the sense of taste, causing food to taste different or completely gone. This can lead to loss of appetite. In addition, fatigue, anxiety, or side effects from treatment can further reduce appetite and energy.

Therefore, patients need special attention to nutrition to provide adequate energy, maintain health and support the recovery process. Increase nutrients, especially vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to increase resistance against infections and other diseases.

Some common side effects of tongue cancer treatment include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, mouth ulcers, etc., which affect the ability to eat and absorb nutrients. A suitable diet can help alleviate these side effects and improve the patient's quality of life.

2. Essential nutrients for the body of tongue cancer patients

Prof. Dr. Tran Van Thuan, Deputy Minister of Health , one of the leading experts in cancer prevention and treatment research, said:

In general, a reasonable diet for cancer patients is to use a variety of foods, divided into many meals a day, ensuring a balance of 4 groups of substances: starch, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. You should eat more foods of plant origin, limit canned foods, sugar and fat, avoid overeating because it can lead to metabolic disorders and overweight, obesity.

However, the nutritional regimen is different for each specific patient. Specialists will base on clinical and paraclinical data, assess the patient's condition and nutritional needs during treatment to give useful advice on diet as well as decide on appropriate nutritional intervention.

Proper nutritional practices are important factors in inhibiting cancer growth, enhancing treatment effectiveness and improving quality of life.

Protein

After surgery or other treatments, the body needs adequate nutrients to repair damaged tissues. A high-protein diet helps promote wound healing in people with tongue cancer.

Good protein-rich foods for people with tongue cancer include: Lean meat, fish, skinless poultry, eggs, dairy products, nuts, beans...

Fiber

Fiber in food helps promote digestion and excrete toxins from the body faster. Fiber nourishes beneficial bacteria in the intestines, helping the digestive system function better and preventing constipation.

Foods rich in plant-based fiber have the ability to protect and restore damaged DNA in the body, which is very good for cancer patients. Fiber sources are abundant in green vegetables, tubers, fresh fruits, whole grains, nuts, etc.

Vitamins and minerals

This is an indispensable food group in the diet of cancer patients. Eating foods rich in vitamins and minerals helps cancer patients strengthen their immune system to fight infections, supporting the treatment process.

Good sources of vitamins and minerals for tongue cancer patients include vegetables and fruits; milk, yogurt, etc.

Provide enough water

Water helps purify the body, detoxify and aid digestion. For people with tongue cancer, drinking plenty of water will provide moisture to prevent dry mouth and help food move through the digestive system more easily. Drinking plenty of water also helps relieve mouth and tongue pain. Patients should drink about 2 liters of water per day, divided into small portions throughout the day.

People with tongue cancer should drink lots of water and eat soft, ripe fruits like mangoes, bananas...

3. Suggest some good foods for people with tongue cancer

When preparing food for people with tongue cancer, priority should be given to foods that are rich in nutrients, soft, easy to chew, easy to swallow, and easy to digest such as: soup, porridge, stews, smoothies, soft ripe fruits...

• Porridge: White porridge, cereal porridge, meat porridge, fish porridge...
• Soups: Vegetable soup, chicken soup, fish soup...
• Smoothies: Fruit smoothies, vegetable smoothies...
• Soft ripe fruit: Banana, avocado, papaya, mango...
• Boiled green vegetables: Spinach, Chinese kale, broccoli...
• Minced lean meat: Beef, pork, chicken...
• Steamed fish: Tilapia, snakehead fish, basa fish, red tilapia...
• Boiled and steamed eggs: Chicken eggs, duck eggs...
• Yogurt: Low sugar yogurt, Greek yogurt...

Note: You should divide your meals into 5-6 small meals a day to provide enough calories and make them easier to digest. If the patient has a lot of pain due to tongue ulcers, you should use a blender to grind the food. Drink fruit juice or make smoothies. Avoid foods that contain a lot of acid such as lemon or citrus fruits or spicy foods such as chili and pepper.

Season food lightly, limit eating braised, fried foods with a lot of oil. Do not use alcohol or tobacco. Be careful to ensure food sources and safe preparation methods to avoid the risk of food poisoning.

If the patient has difficulty eating and drinking, causing a significant decline in health, they should notify their doctor or nutritionist for guidance on appropriate intervention measures.

Source: https://giadinh.suckhoedoisong.vn/che-do-dinh-duong-cho-nguoi-benh-ung-thu-luoi-172240529065648973.htm