www.womanthismonth.com October 2016 62 LIFESTYLE | wellbeing Your Body and Breast Cancer The common goal for patients and doctors is maximising treatment, minimising side effects and improving the procedure’s outcome. Julie believes that good nutrition is paramount for patients who are ‘immune-suppressed’ following treatment for breast cancer, or any other cancer for that matter. “Good nutrition can really help during treatment. Another important factor is keeping insulin levels under control. This is a supportive mechanism that can boost treatment efficiency and also help to deal with side effects. Simple things like certain herbs and spices can enhance treatment and reduce toxicity. At the same time, one needs to avoid pro-inflammatory foods such as sugars, fast food and aerated beverages, which increase the inflammation in the body,” she says. It’s a well-known fact that food can start to taste like cardboard during breast Living with or undergoing treatment for breast cancer can prove to be a traumatic time, physically and emotionally. Behnaz Sanjana checked in with Think Pink founder Julie Sprakel to learn how best to cope with a few of the everyday problems associated with the disease and its side effects. Surviving the Storm cancer treatment. Many women also complain of experiencing ‘aluminum mouth’, an overpowering metallic taste. “Your favourite food can look great but the smell may be too much to handle. The FASS technique can enable you to make your meals palatable and engages you to eat healthily,” explains Julie. But how does one eat a nutritious diet when one feels a complete lack of appetite, which is common for those receiving any type of breast cancer treatment? “The best approach for a patient that has a reduced appetite is to graze – there will be days that food doesn’t look appealing,” Julie says. She recommends trying a comforting broth or cool, protein-rich smoothies, as well as freezing a combination of foods in easyto- use portion sizes, so you can get a variety of necessary nutrients from multiple sources. “There are many foods that can be used as alternatives to The Power of FASS Nutritionists and academics have used the fantastic four of seasonings: Fat (good quality olive oil), Acid (lemons), Salt (sea salt) and Sweet (organic natural sweeteners) for fixing taste troubles when your taste buds go awry. - Add a little sweetener like maple syrup or agave nectar and a squeeze of lemon when food tastes metallic. - Add six drops of lime juice in small increments until something tasting too sweet becomes muted. - Add ¼ teaspoon of lemon and it erases too much saltiness. - Use sea salt to help with ‘cardboard taste’.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Mjk0MTkxMQ==