Cancer treatment, as well as cancer itself, can increase your body’s need for protein as you cope with the disease and experience the healing process. However, some types of cancers and many cancer therapies can affect not only your desire to eat but also the way you absorb and use nutrients. At these times, bolstering the protein content of whole foods with dry protein powder can help you take in enough protein to meet your body’s need. As with any nutritional supplement, consult your oncologist or a dietitian for advice before adding dry protein powder to your food.
Nonfat Dry Milk
Nonfat dry milk, also known as powdered milk, is nonfat liquid milk with just its water content removed. It therefore contains all the nutrients of nonfat milk, including protein, milk sugar, vitamins and minerals. You can add nonfat milk powder to both savory and sweet dishes to boost the calorie and protein content of your cancer diet. For example, powdered milk is appropriate to cook into creamy soups, gravies or cream sauces. You can also incorporate it into baked goods, such as muffins or quick breads, or into the batter of waffles or pancakes.
Whey Protein
Whey protein is a milk protein and therefore shares similarities with nonfat dry milk. Unlike nonfat dry milk, however, it is available in a variety of formulations that affect its nutrient content. For example, it can contain between 30 and 90 percent protein with variable levels of milk sugar and milk fat. Commercial preparations may feature specific flavors, such as chocolate or vanilla, making them unsuitable to cook into savory foods, but you can include them in sweet dishes. For your cancer diet, you can include whey protein in cooked puddings, hot cereals or pancake and waffle batter to improve their nutrient content.
Soy Protein
Soy protein derives from soybeans, a protein-rich legume. As with nonfat dry milk and whey, soy delivers high-quality protein to support you as you recover from cancer. Soy protein powder offers versatility, lending itself well to baking into bread dough, pizza dough and sweet breads. You can also cook it into scrambled eggs or custards.
Considerations
While you can cook nonfat dry milk, whey protein or soy protein into many foods, they each come with caveats that might affect your health when you have cancer. Nonfat dry milk and some formulations of whey contain significant lactose, or milk sugar. If you are lactose intolerant, or develop it during cancer treatment, these protein sources can cause digestive distress. Soy protein contains no lactose but might contain phytoestrogens. Phytoestrogens can weakly mimic the effects of estrogen, so the American Cancer Society recommends against consuming large quantities of soy products if you have estrogen-sensitive breast cancer or if your chemotherapy includes aromatase inhibitors or tamoxifen.
References
- University of Illinois McKinley Health Center; Creatine and Whey Protein Supplements; December 2008
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Lung Cancer
- University of California San Francisco Medical Center: Nutrition Tips for Patients Receiving Head and Neck Radiation Therapy
- Siteman Cancer Center: Overview of Nutrition in Cancer Care
- American Cancer Society: Soybean
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