Guest Post: Healthy Eating for Your Health

Good morning friends! Today I bring you a great guest post from Leroy Templeton. He writes about the importance of healthy eating as just one way of staying healthy and, for those battling cancer, easing many symptoms that make one feel worse. As I'm sure many of you have experienced, I lost a family member to cancer and just found out the other day one of my grad school classmates passed away after a short battle with cancer. When it hits home like that, I'm even more motivated to fuel my body with healthy food and do whatever I can to keep cancer at bay in the future. If you or anyone you know is fighting cancer, or even if you're just looking to establish or keep healthy eating habits, I hope Leroy's tips will be useful for feeling better and improving one's health.


Check out what Leroy has to say, and don't forget to try his delicious juice recipe below. Thanks again, Leroy!

Good nutrition is a very important thing for all people. And while it is important, for cancer patients, it is essential. With cancer patients; making sure you have a working knowledge of the proper diet and food choices can ease cancer treatments and increase a patients overall wellbeing. Keeping an eye on the foods you eat can help enhance strength, recovery-time, vigor and even disposition.

Many forms of cancer often lessen hunger. Persons suffering of the sickness find it not easy to eat due in part to stress, unease, queasiness, exhaustion and many, various side-effects of their treatments. Thus, with reduction in appetite, it is important to make sure that when they are ready to eat, cancer patients consume healthy foods that are high in protein and calories. Choosing foods such as olives, dried fruits and nuts are good choices. Make an attempt to stay away from unhealthy synthetic sugars that can be found in candies, sodas and other sweets as these sugars can help to disrupt the cell division process; which, when left unbalanced, can lead to the development of a number of cancers from gastric cancer to peritoneal mesothelioma.

While it seems nobody can drink enough water, for cancer patients, this goes doubly. Those experiencing fatigue, nausea and other symptoms of cancer and cancer treatments can help fight some of the bodily harm that comes with that by replenishing their lost fluid regularly. High intake of water also helps regulate the body temperature. This can reduce much of the discomfort that comes with sickness. Another important thing to be concerned with is tolerance for certain foods.

Certain issues with food tolerance may arise in cancer patients as well. Treatments can hurt the ability of the patient’s small intestine to produce lactase. Therefore, patients going through chemotherapy or radiation treatment may want to avoid excessive consumption of dairy products.   

From fresh vegetables, one can get many vitamins which are known to help with the immune system. This is especially important when it is going through stressful illnesses. Raw vegetables cause some issues as they are difficult to digest though. This can be circumvented by blending veggies into a smoothie and drinking them; essentially jump-starting the digestion process and allowing for the body to still obtain the valuable vitamins and nutrients found in this food.

Just as with vegetables, fruits are another valuable nutrition option. Fructose can be upsetting to the stomachs of many patients however, so it may be important to choose fruits that have lower levels of fructose such as berries and citrus fruits. This way one can get the help that comes from the nutritional value of these fruits without overloading the small intestine.

While engaged in a battle with cancer, it is important to distance yourself from foods that promote bacteria. This includes raw foods and meats as well as eggs and seafood. The effects of healthy eating can be one of the most critical elements of health. In the face of cancer the importance of those effects are compounded.




Hawaiian Getaway Juice

This juice has actually been studied, and used in cancer hospitals to give patients a healthy boost and delicious treat. It is rich in antioxidants and great for digestion, and it’s a little taste of paradise.

Ingredients:

• ¼ pineapple
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 piece fresh ginger (roughly ½ inch)

Directions:

• Wash ingredients
• Core and peel pineapple
• Juice
• Pour over or blend in ice
• Sprinkle coconut on top for an added island feel.

Leroy is a recent college graduate from the University of Central Florida. He majored in English, and was involved with several health and fitness clubs including the sports medicine team. As of 2011 he is a freelance writer with a focus on the benefits of healthy eating and daily exercise. He can be reached at lifeasleroy@gmail.com.