Prostate cancer - foods to aid recovery
Janella Purcell answers your questions
My husband recently underwent severe chemo treatment for prostate cancer. He is now in remission but has lost a huge amount of weight and I want to help him get back to optimum health. What kind of foods do you recommend for cancer prevention as well as helping him recover from this?
The answer
He needs to get as many nutrients in his diet as he can now, and those that won’t burden his digestive organs. Choose foods that are easy to digest and therefore assimilate. Most animal products need to be avoided, as does refined sugar, and the best thing he could do for himself is to go totally organic – this includes body and hair care, cleaning and washing products as well as garden fertlisers and sprays.
To help build his body and strength up, include foods like flax, chia or hemp oil; a small handful of nuts a day, lots of vegetables and one piece of fruit a day – like paw paw or papaya, but not bananas – seeds like quinoa, sunflower, sesame, pepitas and include protein like sustainable seafood, spirulina, amaranth, lentils and other legumes, soybeans (organic), tempeh and almonds.
A little goat’s milk products will be lovely for him if he likes cheese, as it’s low fat and has a good deal of calcium and protein as well.
Wonderfoods to include for cancer prevention are anti-inflammatory food like: turmeric, ginger, garlic and the cruciferous family of vegies, like Brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and kale. And all the ‘superfoods’ – pomegranate, blueberries, raw cacao and organic goji berries.
Foods high in zinc are especially helpful when it comes to the prostate. Pepitas, oysters, sardines, sunflower seeds, whole grains, miso, mushrooms, pecans and legumes.
It’s true that vegie juices are especially great for dealing with and the prevention of cancer. Try a 200 ml glass one to three times a day, made with beetroot, celery, carrot, ginger, lemon and mint. You could also sometimes add a kale leaf, some turmeric root, spirulina, wheatgrass or barley grass.
Consider taking something to balance the gut flora. Perhaps a strong probiotic or fermented papaya (available as a liquid supplement). Keep the stress to an absolute minimum and exercise gently. Qi Gong or yoga would be good when he feels up to it. Best of luck to you both.
NEXT: How one woman overcame terminal cancer>>
Photo: Quinoa and lentil salad; Photo credit: Thinkstock
