Nutrition During Cancer Treatment: A Family Handbook

The Three Nutrition Goals During Treatment

• Preserve muscle mass · every 1 kg of muscle lost delays recovery by roughly a week
• Maintain a stable weight · unintentional loss of more than 5% worsens outcomes
• Support the immune system · protein, zinc, vitamin D and adequate calories all matter

Protein · The Non-Negotiable

Most Indian diets are protein-poor. During cancer treatment, protein requirement rises to 1.2-1.5 g per kg body weight per day · roughly 70-90 g for an average adult. Distribute it across every meal: 2 eggs at breakfast, dal + curd at lunch, paneer, chicken or fish at dinner, and a protein-rich snack like sprouts or a whey shake in between. Vegetarian patients can meet targets with a combination of dal, soya chunks, paneer, tofu, curd, sprouts and · when needed · a clean whey or plant-protein supplement approved by the oncologist.

Managing Common Treatment Side Effects with Food

• Nausea · small frequent meals, cold foods, ginger tea, avoid strong smells and fried food
• Mouth sores · soft foods, khichdi, dal-chawal, curd rice, avoid citrus, chilli and hot temperatures
• Taste changes · rinse with baking-soda water, use tulsi or mint, plastic cutlery, marinate meats
• Constipation · warm water, isabgol, papaya, prunes, adequate fluid
• Diarrhoea · BRAT diet (banana, rice, apple, toast), oral rehydration, avoid dairy and raw fibre

What to Avoid · Honest Truths

Do not accept every so-called cancer diet forwarded on WhatsApp. There is no evidence that going fully vegan cures cancer, that alkaline water shrinks tumours, or that avoiding sugar starves cancer cells (all cells use glucose · restricting it starves the patient, not the tumour). What genuinely harms patients: raw or undercooked meat and eggs during chemotherapy (infection risk), grapefruit juice (interferes with many oncology drugs), unpasteurised dairy, and any supplement not cleared by the treating oncologist.

Why Families Trust Dr. Sujata Mittal's Team

Dr. Sujata Mittal has spent three decades caring not just for patients but for entire families walking through cancer treatment. At Famicare, every cancer patient receives an individualised nutrition plan from an oncology-trained dietitian, reviewed monthly and adjusted for side effects, treatment phase and cultural food preferences · because a diet that ignores dal, roti and sabzi will not be followed in an Indian home.