Fruits offers numerous health benefits if you have cancer. You can eat a wide variety of healthy fruits. Fruits are easy to transport when going to and from treatment, work or daily activities. They are typically quite inexpensive and most people enjoy at least a few different kinds of fruits. Cancer treatment often causes nutritional problems. Thus, adding more fruits to the diet during or after cancer treatment will help you get the nutrients and calories you need, notes Georgetown University Department of Medicine.
Vitamin C
Citrus fruits, raspberries, pineapples, cranberries and blueberries contain strong levels of vitamin C, which is helpful for wound healing and repair of tissues in your body, MedlinePLus notes. The intake of citrus fruits after cancer surgery will help your body regain health, stay hydrated and regain strength.
Limit Cancer Recurrence
Eating fruits will help reduce the risk of a recurrence of breast cancer in women who also participate in physical activity, notes John P. Pierce of the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego, in a study described in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. A strong protective outcome was observed in breast cancer patients who ate a high level of fruits and vegetables and were physically active for an amount comparable to walking for a total of 30 minutes six times a week. There was about a 50 percent lower risk of mortality in women who adopted the challenge to eat more fruits and become physically active. This benefit was seen in both obese and non-obese women.
Phytochemicals, Antioxidants and Flavanoids
Fruits contain phytochemicals and antioxidant qualities, chemopreventive effects and an ability to lower estrogen levels in the body, notes Johns Hopkins Pathology. Thus, after a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, patients are advised to add more fruits to the diet to eat at least five or more fruits daily. Citrus fruits like oranges, grapefruits and nectarines contain flavanoids that help limit the risk of cancer.
Pectin Fights Cancer Cells
The pectin found in fruits, especially in citrus fruits that are fully ripe, is used to create MCP, modified citrus pectin, a cancer treatment. MCP therapy is used to prevent and treat metastatic cancer. The MCP binds to the receptors located on cancerous cells to impede the cancerous cells from moving into adjacent healthy cells. The MCP treatment is taken three times daily in a powder or capsule, notes the University of California, San Diego, Moores Medical Center. MCP treatment is still undergoing testing in humans.
References
- University of California, San Diego Medical Center: Moores Cancer Center: Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Cancer Patients
- Journal of Clinical Oncology: Greater Survival After Breast Cancer in Physically Active Women with High Vegetable-Fruit Intake Regardless of Obesity
- Johns Hopkins Pathology: Ovarian Cancer & Nutrition
- Georgetown University Department of Medicine: Diet---Cancer Treatment
- MedlinePlus: Vitamin C
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