It’s natural to let good nutrition slide when coping with an illness. But it’s also dangerous. Everyone needs to get enough vitamins and nutrients. And that’s truer than ever when you’re sick.
By learning what to look for, and making smart choices, you can get the nutrition you need without a lot of extra effort.
Healthy Eating When You’re Sick: Protein
When you’re sick, dietitians agree that protein is key. “Protein is crucial for building and repairing cells,” says Paula Charuhas, RD, nutrition education coordinator at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Protein can help you prevent the loss of muscle mass. It also helps maintain fluid balance and improves your body’s ability to heal.
Some of the best sources of protein are obvious, says Christine Gerbstadt, MD, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. Chicken, pork, lean beef, fish, and lamb are all good. Eggs and cheese are also easily digestible forms of animal protein.
What if you’re a vegetarian? Getting enough protein can be harder, says Gerbstadt. “The problem is that you have to eat a lot of vegetable protein to get the equivalent of a much smaller amount of animal protein,” she tells WebMD. “Not everyone can do it.”
Good non-animal sources of protein are beans, soy products like tofu, and nuts. Adding more peanut butter or almond butter to your diet is one easy way of getting more protein.
If you just can’t get enough protein from foods, your doctor may recommend high-protein nutritional supplement drinks. You might also benefit from powdered protein that you can stir into any food.
Healthy Eating When You’re Sick: Getting Enough Calories
Many of us spend our adult lives counting calories. But for some people who get sick, the meaning of the phrase gets turned upside down. Instead of trying to reduce their calories, they may actually need to increase them.
When you’re sick, you may need more calories than normal because your body is working harder. But just when you need to eat more, your appetite is gone. Unintentional weight loss can become serious. It can leave you exhausted, weak, and interfere with your treatment.
Preventing weight loss can put people — and their dietitians — in an odd position. “It’s totally counterintuitive,” says Rachel Zinaman, MPA, RD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering’s Evelyn Lauder Breast Center. “But I sometimes actually recommend cheese fries and burgers and milkshakes to some women with cancer to stop them from losing too much weight.”
Obviously, Zinaman stresses that a high-calorie diet is only a good idea for people who are losing weight. Many chronic diseases and treatments pose a risk of weight gain instead. But if you are losing weight during treatment, here are some tips for healthy eating when you’re sick:
- Boosting protein in your diet, since protein is calorically dense
- Drinking whole milk instead of skim
- Adding cream to soups, fruit, cold cereal, and other foods
Again, Zinaman stresses that you should never start up a high-calorie diet on your own. Always talk to your doctor first to see whether unintended weight loss is a risk for you.
Healthy Eating When You’re Sick: Fiber
Fiber is good for you both in the short and the long term. It helps keep you regular and prevents constipation. In the long run, it may lower the risk of intestinal problems, diabetes, and other diseases.
But when you’re feeling sick, it’s easy to forget about the fiber. You might be drawn to low-fiber comfort foods such as mashed potatoes. If you’re feeling queasy, you might opt for white toast instead of whole- grain bread. These diet changes — along with lower fluid intake and less exercise — can lead to constipation.
For most people, getting more fiber is a key part of healthy eating when you’re sick. The best sources are fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, says Gerbstadt. If your doctor or dietitian recommends them, you can consider taking a fiber supplement, too.
Be sure to talk with your doctor if you have problems with fiber. Some people with chronic illnesses find that fiber makes them feel bloated. If you’re having diarrhea — either because of your illness or drugs you’re taking — you may have to cut down on your fiber, at least for the time being. Once it’s under control, you can start adding back in high-fiber foods, says Sheri Knecht, RD, a dietitian at the South-Atlantic Division of the American Cancer Society.
Healthy Eating When You’re Sick: Supplements
Vitamins and minerals are important for health; calcium, potassium, and vitamins A, C, D and E are just a few of them.
But don’t make the mistake of relying on supplements. Experts say you should concentrate on eating healthy foods when you’re sick, rather than stocking up on pills and powders.
“My focus is for people to get their nutrition from whole foods,” Zinaman tells WebMD. “There are so many nutrients in fruits and vegetables that have yet to be identified. Taking supplements just won’t have the same benefit.”
Supplements aren’t only inferior to a good diet, they can pose risks. If you have a serious disease, you need to be sure that any supplement you take isn’t interfering with your medical treatment. Zinaman offers these examples:
- Omega-3 fatty acids, often used to treat arthritis and other conditions, could be dangerous in combination with blood thinners like Coumadin.
- Folic acid — a standard ingredient in multivitamins — can potentially interfere with the effectiveness of methotrexate, a drug used for arthritis, cancer, and other conditions.
Even a one-a-day multivitamin may not be safe when you’re sick. The doses in multivitamins have gotten higher over the years, Zinaman says. “So many products have mega-doses now instead of just the recommended daily amount, “she says. That makes them even riskier.
Always check with your doctor before starting supplements or any alternative treatment. Your doctor may give you the OK. He or she may even recommend specific supplements, depending on your condition. But during treatment, you should never start dosing yourself with supplements on your own.
Instead, focus on whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. By eating a wide array of these foods, you’ll naturally get the vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals you need. And you won’t have to worry about whether you’re getting too little or too much of any specific nutrient.
Healthy Eating Goes Hand-in-Hand With Treatment
Your ability to eat healthy depends on how you feel when you’re sick. If your symptoms — such as pain or nausea — are overwhelming, you won’t be able to eat well no matter how much you want to.
“In order to improve your appetite, you need to control your symptoms and side effects,” Knecht tells WebMD. “Once you do, then you have a chance to eat better and maintain your strength and stamina.”
Good nutrition must go hand in hand with good medical treatment. Talk to your doctor about any symptoms that interfere with your ability to eat. Your doctor may be able to prescribe medicine to control your pain, improve your mobility, or reduce your nausea.
No matter what you’ve been diagnosed with, don’t settle for debilitating side effects. See what your doctor can do to help.
http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/healthy-eating-when-you-are-sick
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Healthy eating when you’re sick is a challenge — especially when you have a chronic illness like cancer, arthritis, or even depression. Diseases and their treatment can sap your appetite or leave you nauseated. Cancer fatigue might leave you too worn out to cook. Arthritis can make it a lot harder to get out and shop for groceries.
