Diet & nutrition
12 articles shown
Regaining Weight After Cancer Treatment: Eating to Rebuild Muscle Without Overdoing It
After cancer treatment ends, it is natural to want the lost weight back, but it matters to fill it with muscle rather than fat. The keys are eating small amounts often when a full meal is hard, getting a palm-sized portion of protein at every meal, and pairing it with light strength exercise. Easy proteins such as eggs, tofu, fish, lean meat, and dairy are laid out in concrete terms.
Coaxing a Hospitalized Child to Eat — Between the Neutropenic Diet and Snacks
A child on chemotherapy often loses appetite and tastes things differently, and resists eating. While keeping the safety rules of the neutropenic diet, this piece offers a parent's tips: serve small portions in small bowls, try food cold or tart, catch the moments when the child does want to eat, and use safe store-bought snacks wisely. The goal is to get even one happy bite down.
Eating When Ascites Builds Up: How to Manage Salt and Fluid
Practical diet tips for ascites: daily salt and sodium targets, cutting back on broth, flavoring without salt, avoiding hidden sodium, when fluid is restricted, and daily weigh-ins.
The Time I Kept My Nutrition Up Through a Gastrostomy Tube (PEG)
When head and neck cancer treatment makes eating by mouth difficult, nutrition can be delivered through a small tube placed into the stomach (a gastrostomy tube, or PEG). This is a practical guide: starting slowly and building up the volume, posture and pace during feeding, keeping the tube and surrounding skin clean, and concrete tips to reduce clogging and leakage.
When Your Appetite Disappears, How to Still Get One Spoonful Down
A practical look at how to keep eating, even just a spoonful, when your appetite vanishes during lung cancer treatment. Eating small amounts often, adding protein to porridge, choosing lukewarm or cold foods that smell less, drinking your calories, and catching the times of day when your appetite returns. If you lose weight or have serious trouble swallowing, tell your care team right away.
When Food Tastes Different: Learning to Enjoy Eating Again After Head and Neck Cancer Treatment
Changes in taste after head and neck cancer treatment are common. Lean on texture and temperature instead of flavor, switch to plastic or wooden utensils for a metallic taste, try mild-tasting proteins, and use a touch of sourness to wake up your appetite. The key is to eat "often" rather than "a lot" so you hold onto your weight. Taste usually returns with time, so don't blame yourself: eat what you can. But if you have trouble swallowing or are losing weight quickly, see your care team or a dietitian.
When Radiation Makes Swallowing Hard: Protecting Your Meals and Nutrition
A practical eating guide for when swallowing becomes difficult during head and neck radiation therapy: adjusting food texture, temperature, and seasoning, and packing protein and calories into small portions to hold your weight. If you go too long unable to eat, don't tough it out alone-talk to your care team about ways to supplement your nutrition.
When the Neutrophils Drop: How to Set Your Child's Table
A caregiver-friendly guide to feeding a child safely during the low-neutrophil phase of chemotherapy — covering how to cook and store food, hand and utensil hygiene, mouth care, and gentle ways to vary the diet for a child who has lost their appetite.
When a Child on Chemo Has No Appetite: Gentle Ways to Keep Them Eating
Practical, at-home tips for parents when a child going through chemotherapy loses their appetite. If there's mouth sores, ease off on anything irritating and lean on soft textures; if smells are setting them off, serve food cooled down; and on the days they can't eat much, pack more calories and protein into smaller portions. Because immunity is low during this time, it's safer to be extra strict about food hygiene.
When Your Mouth Is Sore: Soft Meals You Can Still Swallow
Practical tips for eating with less pain when mouth sores (mucositis) flare up during chemotherapy. The basics: keep food lukewarm or cold, choose smooth textures, and steer clear of spicy, sour, and salty irritants. We suggest finely blended porridge enriched with sweet pumpkin, egg, tofu, soft fish, or yogurt so even small portions deliver protein, plus easy-to-swallow options like a banana shake spread across several small meals a day. It also covers mouth care, such as gentle rinsing after meals and avoiding alcohol-based mouthwash, and the warning signs, like being unable to swallow water or running a fever, that mean you should tell your care team.
When Your White Cell Count Drops During Chemo: Eating to Prevent Infection and Speed Recovery
A practical guide to managing your diet when chemotherapy for blood cancer has lowered your white blood cell count (especially neutrophils), so you can avoid infection and support recovery. It covers food hygiene, getting enough protein, soft meals for when your mouth is sore or you feel nauseous, and checking with your care team before using supplements - simple things you can put into practice right away.
After Gallbladder Removal: How to Plan Meals When Fatty Food Feels Heavy
Once the gallbladder is gone, you lose the ability to store bile and release it all at once, so eating a lot of fatty food in one sitting can leave your stomach feeling heavy. The trick isn't to cut out fat entirely but to split meals into smaller portions, eat slowly while chewing well, and choose the kinds of fat that go down more easily. Loose stools usually settle with time as your body adjusts, but lasting abdominal pain or weight loss is a reason to see a doctor.