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Healthy and tasty nutrition for patients with cancer

Services of the Munich Tumour Centre

The topic of nutrition is important for patients with cancer. Food is life-sustaining as well as being an elementary component of quality of life on a personal level - to paraphrase the maxim of German philosopher and anthropologist Ludwig Feuerbach: "You are what you eat".

Every phase that a cancer patient goes through involves its own special challenges. The Munich Tumour Centre and the Nutrition and Cancer Work Group, which is comprised of professors, doctors and nutritional specialists, have devoted themselves to exactly these particular requirements. As a "guide" we offer patients a comprehensive range of services relating to suitable and, at the same time, tasty nutrition.

Discover the various possibilities: from individualised, personal meetings and an easy-to-understand info portal through to the many delicious recipe ideas from the app and blog!

Services of the Munich Tumour Centre

The topic of nutrition is important for patients with cancer. Food is life-sustaining as well as being an elementary component of quality of life on a personal level - to paraphrase the maxim of German philosopher and anthropologist Ludwig Feuerbach: "You are what you eat".

Every phase that a cancer patient goes through involves its own special challenges. The Munich Tumour Centre and the Nutrition and Cancer Work Group, which is comprised of professors, doctors and nutritional specialists, have devoted themselves to exactly these particular requirements. As a "guide" we offer patients a comprehensive range of services relating to suitable and, at the same time, tasty nutrition.

Discover the various possibilities: from individualised, personal meetings and an easy-to-understand info portal through to the many delicious recipe ideas from the app and blog!

Nutritional recommendations for cancer patients

Throughout the course of their illness and treatment, cancer patients experience a complete variety of situations, some of which can be conflicting. Any of these can have a direct impact on the body and eating habits. Good and bad phases alternate with each other - sometimes unforeseen side effects occur, at other times everything seems to go quite smoothly. A balanced form of nutrition which is adapted to individual needs should always be kept in mind, despite all adversities. It is an important driver of personal quality of life. It provides the body with strength and moments of pleasure.

We are here to provide assistance with this and support you through all situations.

Unintentional weight loss and malnourishment

For some cancer patients unintentional weight loss is the first sign of having the disease. In addition, many cancer patients lose weight unintentionally during cancer treatment or progression. Not every case of cancer is necessarily connected with weight loss but changes to sense of taste, reduced appetite and lack of interest in food are frequent accompanying symptoms. Therefore pay special attention to these early warning signals!

Unintentional weight loss may lead to malnourishment. During therapy it is best to keep your body weight stable and to gain weight if you are underweight. At all times you need sufficient energy and valuable nutrients in order to support your body. Your personal preferences combined with proper food are always given prominence.

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During chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy or after an operation

Depending on the type of therapy and cancer, the risk of losing weight during treatment varies considerably and may lead to an inadequate supply of nutrients. This is especially common for cancers of the pancreas, oesophagus, head-throat area and lungs. By contrast, it is rather rare for prostate and breast cancer as well as a number of other gynaecological cancers. Cancer patients frequently also have an increased need for protein. Malnourishment, which negatively impacts on the success of treatment and quality of life, must be recognised at at early stage in order to counteract weight loss as soon as possible. Expert nutritional counselling and nutritional therapy is highly recommended as with individual recommendations and practical tips it is possible to more successfully deal with and alleviate accompanying symptoms, such as loss of appetite, nausea or changes in sense of taste.

For a few patients, on the other hand, unintentional weight gain can be experienced during therapy. Such a scenario should also be considered as soon as possible as part of the nutritional counselling received.

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Side effects and accompanying symptoms

When facing cancer as well as over the course of therapy, various accompanying symptoms can occur. It can often be that patients experience intermittent loss of appetite, changes to sense of taste and chewing and swallowing problems, nausea and vomiting as well as psychosocial problems such as loneliness or depression. Even though it is meanwhile possible to implement good countermeasures against one or another of these symptoms with medicines, it also often makes sense to take up the opportunity for nutritional counselling and nutritional therapy. Many factors can have an impact on eating habits - anything from unintentional weight loss to malnourishment, in particular, can have a negative effect on therapy and prognosis. In such cases always get in touch with your doctor and a nutritional therapist in order to overcome these challenges as much as possible!

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Nutrition after successful cancer treatment

The end of cancer treatment is, for many people, an emotional new beginning. Once health has been restored a generally healthy lifestyle is of central importance: regular exercise, high quality food, more enjoyment, conscious relaxation and less stress. A component of this is also to strive for a healthy body weight or to keep it stable.

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Choosing the right food - healthy nutrition for cancer patients

The aim of our nutrition and is to supply our bodies with energy and all the nutrients we need to live. For cancer patients healthy nutrition is highly important in two respects: over the course of the disease and also for prevention. During and after therapy it is important to implement eating habits which meet all requirements through a balanced diet. Particularly during cancer treatment, further support may be needed such as individual nutritional recommendations through personal nutritional counselling or the addition of oral nutritional supplements (e.g. flavoured liquid drinks). Therefore, you should contact a doctor and/or a nutritionist at an early stage if you experience side effects like loss of appetite or unintended weight loss.

Tips on choosing food

There is no doubt that ready meals and so-called convenience foods make our lives easier. And a few of these are very good in terms of quality. However, many also contain large amounts of fat and sugar, little fibre and a number of additives.

Our typical western diet is associated with an increased risk of illness. A healthier diet, for example, is the so-called Mediterranean diet. In general the following applies: nothing is better than eating a diverse range of cuisines with significant amounts of fresh ingredients which are - as far as possible - not industrially processed.

Here you will find a list of general recommendations for a balanced range of food:

    • Eat at least five portions (one handful) of different fruit and vegetables each day - the majority of which should be vegetables.
    • Eat foods which are colourful, varied and - at best - seasonal.
    • Choose foods which are rich in fibre such as vegetables, pulses and wholegrain products as long as you don't have any difficulty digesting these.
    • Nuts contain a high amount of healthy fats and, like pulses, are also an excellent source of plant protein. Eat nuts in moderation.
    • Reduce the amount of meat in your diet to one to two times per week. Eat as few sausages and processed meat products as possible.
    • Fish is recommended one to two times per week.
    • Meat or fish which has been grilled on an open flame as well as cured and smoked meat should only be eaten occasionally.
    • Use unhydrogenated vegetable oils. Rapeseed oil and olive oil are particularly recommended but linseed oil (do not heat!) can also be a positive addition to the diet.
    • If you are struggling with unintentional weight gain, give preference to low-fat foods.
    • Use little salt - iodised salt is best - and try to season more with herbs and other seasonings.
    • Reduce your intake of sugar and white flour. It is best to avoid consuming drinks containing sugar, sweet snacks and sweetened breakfast cereals. Such products can also lead to weight gain.
    • Do not drink alcohol daily and only in moderation.
    • Look at what you eat carefully: do not eat food with mould on it as fungal toxins (mykotoxins) are cancer causing. Also avoid fruit with brown and mushy patches and food which has been burnt. The maxim should be "nicely browned but not burned".


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        Delicious recipes to make preparing and eating more enjoyable

        Cancer patients can and should also enjoy preparing food and eating! Food provides energy and can also bring pleasure. For this reason, this aspect is particularly important to the Munich Tumour Centre. With the illustrative and practical "HealthFood" recipe app we provide you with support in implementing a form of nutrition appropriate to your situation. Under the motto "Stars cooking for health", this app combines top gastronomic recipes and tips with particular requirements of cancer patients. These predominantly simple and always tasty recipes come from the prominent star chefs Eckart Witzigmann, Hans Haas and Martin Fauster. They are supplemented with helpful cooking tips in video format. Nutritionist Veronika Flöter provides valuable information on the health-promoting effects of food constituents and specific problems relating to nutrition. The teams at TZM and the Witzigmann Academy as well as Hans Haas hope you enjoy shopping for the ingredients and cooking with them - bon appetit!

        We also provide you with seasonal recipes and insightful background information on healthy nutrition for cancer patients in our nutrition blog. Nutritionist Veronika Flöter offers expert tips and is available to answer any questions. All recipes are based on natural foods without artificial additives.

        And when you have finished preparing the meal please take time to enjoy it! This maxim should be given utmost priority. Chew slowly and consciously and your appetite for culinary pleasures will be reawakened. Eat what is good for you. In order to avoid putting on weight unintentionally, pay special attention to feelings of being satiated and only eat the amount you actually need. Ultimately, you should feel good when eating!

         

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