Foods Spices To Avoid On Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a treatment used to help kill cancer cells. Unfortunately, chemotherapy is often accompanied by many uncomfortable side effects such as nausea, vomiting, fatigue, diarrhea, constipation, mucositis or inflammation of the digestive tract lining, lack of appetite and a metal taste in the mouth. According to the website Chemo Care, what cancer patients eat during and after treatment can affect the severity of these symptoms, so avoiding or reducing certain foods may help ease the symptoms.

Hot and Spicy Foods

Two of the most common symptoms associated with chemotherapy are nausea and vomiting. The Cancer Treatment Centers of America, or CTCA, believes that cancer patients who eat spicy and hot foods from cuisines such as Mexican, Thai and Latin American exacerbate these symptoms. CTCA recommends instead that during and after chemo, patients eat bland, easy-to-digest foods, such as crackers, toast, clear soups and plain yogurt. The Cooper Clinic also recommends that cancer patients stay away from cloves, chili powder, cayenne, curry, nutmeg, pepper and hot sauces. These spices irritate the stomach lining and not only interfere with an already compromised digestive system, but can worsen nausea.

Greasy Fried Foods

Cancer patients often turn to fried greasy foods because they are high in calories, thinking these foods will help with their nausea. However, the Cooper Clinic reports that these foods usually make nausea worse and can also cause severe diarrhea that can lead to dehydration. Instead, the clinic suggests eating small meals throughout the day filled with foods such as clear soups, bananas, apples, and potatoes. It is also recommended that room temperature liquids be increased to offset the chance of dehydration.

Citrus Foods

Citrus foods such as lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruits should also be avoided both during and after chemotherapy. Huntmans Cancer Institute at the University of Utah states that acidic foods heighten the severity of mucositis. Eating citrus fruits and drinking their juices can worsen these symptoms making the pain more unbearable.

Soft Cheeses

Soft and blue-veined cheeses are yet another type of food to be avoided during chemotherapy. According to Carolyn Vachani, R.N., from the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, soft cheeses are mold-ripened and could carry contaminants that could cause an infection in an already compromised immune system. These cheeses could also worsen chemotherapy symptoms if an infection indeed happens. The cheeses to be wary of include Camembert, Brie, Roquefort, bleu, Stilton, and Gorgonzola.