Nutrition
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Proper nutrition plays an important role in supporting patients, but eating well can feel especially challenging during treatment and recovery. The right nutritional approach can provide real comfort, improve energy, support healing, and help patients maintain strength throughout their care journey. It is also a meaningful way that caregivers can support patients by easing their struggles and contributing to their overall healing!
This resource is designed to make all of that a little easier through simple, practical steps on the fundamentals of nourishment, strategies for managing common side effects, and tools to help patients and caregivers respond to the daily ups and downs of the cancer journey.
Every patient’s experience is different, and no single approach works for everyone. But by understanding the basics of hydration, protein-forward nutrition, simple interventions, and tasty, balanced meals, patients and caregivers can make informed decisions that support healing and well-being at every step.
Please note that this resource is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Every individual patient’s dietary needs are unique - just as every case of abdominal cancer is unique - so individualized nutritional care is key. Always speak with your doctor and/or registered dietician to follow their direction for individualized care.
The Basics
Find Tailored Direction
A registered dietician (RD), especially one who has experience working with cancer patients, will be able to work with you to get nuanced advice for managing nutrition with a history of cancer diagnosis.
Hydrate!
Staying properly hydrated with a steady intake of water is one of the most important ways patients can maintain balance and promote healthy healing.
Small, Frequent Meals
Eating five-to-six smaller meals throughout the day is easier to tolerate and maintain than fewer, larger ones.
Protein First!
Protein is vital for maintaining healthy weight and healing the body, particularly during and following cancer treatment. When manageable, eating organic, pasture-raised meat or wild-caught seafood is one of the best ways to get protein into your diet.
Eat the Rainbow!
A diet high in vegetables and fruit is important to giving the body the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients it needs to be healthy and heal. And when possible, eating locally sourced, organic, non-GMO produce can yield the most impactful nourishment.
Avoid Highly Processed
& High Sugar Foods
Highly processed foods introduce detrimental chemicals and additives, are less nourishing, can be harder to digest, and can increase inflammation. Similarly, a diet high in carbohydrates and sugar is often less nourishing, increases inflammation, and worsens numerous other side effects.
Avoid Alcohol!
Alcohol interacts with many medications and weakens the immune system, increasing the risk of complications. Alcohol also irritates the digestive system, worsens treatment side effects (like nausea, dehydration, and poor appetite), and interferes with healing.
Herbs & Spices:
Tasty & Powerful
When incorporated into your normal culinary habits, adding herbs and spices not only make our food tastier, but also pack a nourishing punch that can help manage cancer risk factors and side effects.
Take Care with Supplements!
They can be very easy to overdo and are not always as low-risk, high-reward as they might seem.
Food Journal
On the up-and-down rollercoaster that is undergoing and recovering from cancer treatment, our diets really take a beating and therefore so do our bodies. Some side effects come and go - some stick around - but challenges with nourishment and what foods our bodies can tolerate are a mainstay for many patients. A food journal is a great tool to help manage those ups and downs.
In its simplest form, a food journal is a notebook or legal pad where a patient and caregiver can keep track of what foods the patient eats and when. It is also great to record side effects that the patient experiences and when. With this bit of diet history at hand, it can be a useful tool to narrow down what foods may be contributing to things like nausea, gas, general discomfort, and so on. A food journal is similarly beneficial when incorporating new foods into the patient’s diet as they progress through treatment or recovery.
Though it might feel like a bit of a chore to get started, remaining consistent with logging the patient’s diet and food-related side effects can be very helpful when identifying longer-term trends in what the patient is feeling and what dietary changes can be made in response!
Common Side Effects
The factors that contribute to problematic side effects for cancer patients are many and can sometimes be difficult to pinpoint. When responding to specific side effects, consider these interventions. As always, report changes to and talk with your care provider for tailored guidance before making changes to your diet.
Constipation: Increase hydration to help soften stools. Add gentle fiber such as oatmeal and fruit purees. You can try over-the-counter products as needed, such as gummies or fiber powder to add to drinks. Avoid high-fat fried foods and dairy. Consider a stool softener prescribed by your provider.
Dehydration: Increase water consumption at more frequent, regular intervals. Add herbal teas, such as ginger tea; and foods high in water, such as soups, fruit, and smoothies. Electrolyte powders or electrolyte drinks may help to retain more fluid.
Diarrhea: Increase water consumption to make up for lost fluids. Add electrolyte fluids and incorporate foods such as white rice, toast, potatoes, and other low-fat foods. Avoid high-fat and high-sugar foods and drinks. Introduce gentle soluble fiber like oatmeal, applesauce, and bananas.
Fatigue: Maintain hydration. Take small, frequent meals with a focus to increase overall calorie intake. Incorporate more protein and complex carbohydrates and fats. Consider making protein shakes with powdered protein, or adding nutritional drinks (such as Boost, Ensure, Ka’Chava, and others) that are higher in protein and calories. Avoid high-sugar foods and drinks.
Loss of Appetite: Take small, frequent meals with a focus to increase overall calorie intake. Incorporate more protein and complex carbohydrates and fats. Incorporate more calorie-dense foods such as nut butters, avocados, cheeses, and consider protein shakes or nutritional drinks (such as Boost, Ensure, Ka’Chava, and others) that are higher in protein.
Mouth Sores and Dry Mouth: Add foods high in water such as soups and smoothies, as well as soft foods like rice and potatoes. Avoid acidic or citrusy foods, dry and salty foods, as well as foods that require a lot of chewing.
Nausea and Vomiting: Increase water consumption to make up for lost fluids as necessary. Take small, frequent meals and eat slowly. Incorporate bland foods such as rice, toast, crackers, and applesauce. Avoid high-fat and high-sugar foods and drinks. Consider ginger or peppermint teas.
Pain (bowels/belly): Take small, frequent meals and take care to chew food thoroughly. Focus on gentle liquid and soft food diets. Avoid “gassy” foods such as beans, cabbage, raw vegetables, and carbonated drinks, as well as high-fiber foods that also contribute to bowel pressure.
Weight Loss: Increase high-protein, high-calorie foods like greek yogurt, eggs, nut butters, avocados, full-fat dairy products, and so on. Add calorie-boosting ingredients like olive oil, butter, cream, and protein powder to shakes and other easy-to-consume foods. Consider protein shakes or nutritional drinks (such as Boost, Ensure, Ka’Chava, and others) that are higher in protein.
Foods to Eat / Foods to Avoid
Diets rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein like fish and olive oil have been associated with a reduced risk of several types of cancer and improved quality of life. Limiting red meat, processed meats, sweets, and alcohol has a protective effect. These also help manage obesity, a key cancer risk factor.
These diet choices are also central to anti-inflammatory diets - such as the Mediterranean diet - which include whole, nutrient-dense foods, mostly plant-based foods, and are strongly linked to lower overall cancer risk and mortality. Anti-inflammatory diets have also been shown to help cancer survivors stay healthier by lowering their risk of dying from other causes like heart disease. Scientists think this is because these kinds of diets include many foods that have polyphenols, which are compounds found naturally in plants and plant-based foods that are known to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antitumor properties.
Foods to Eat More Of:
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Fruits & Vegetables: Aim for colorful varieties, especially citrus (oranges, grapefruit), leafy greens, carrots, and cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cabbage).
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Allium Vegetables: Garlic, onions, leeks, and shallots contain cancer-fighting compounds.
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Whole Grains: Choose whole-grain breads, oats, quinoa, and brown rice over refined grains.
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Legumes & Nuts: Beans, lentils, and nuts provide fiber and healthy proteins.
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Fish & Poultry: Healthier protein sources than red meat.
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Green Tea: Contains beneficial polyphenols.
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Healthy Fats: Olive oil, avocados, nuts, and fish.
Foods to Limit or Avoid:
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Red & Processed Meats: Limit these significantly.
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Salted & Smoked Foods: High salt intake increases risk.
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Sugary Drinks & Simple sugars: Reduce intake of added sugars and refined products.
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Alcohol: Limiting or avoiding alcohol.
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Grilled/Charred Foods: Avoid heavily grilled or smoked foods.
Registered Dietician
For expertise about diet and nutrition, consider a registered dietician (RD). A registered dietician is a food and nutrition expert who will have a degree from an accredited program as well as licensure to practice. This kind of provider will be able to give you evidence-based direction for your nutrition care based on your needs. RDs can also specialize with credentials in areas such as oncology nutrition. And be sure to ask a RD for recommendations for specific recipes so that it is easier to turn their nutritional suggestions into actual meals.
Ask your oncologist or other care provider for a recommendation for an RD. You can also visit EatRight.org to use their searchable database of nutrition experts: https://www.eatright.org/find-a-nutrition-expert
Food Safety
Cancer commonly causes patients to have weakened immune systems.Cancer treatment itself can also weaken the immune system. This makes it harder for a patient’s body to fight off infections. In addition to environmental factors such as communicable illnesses, even as simple as the common cold, a weakened immune system makes the body more susceptible to food-borne illnesses. Therefore, it is important to take extra care when preparing and consuming food through cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Consider these tips!
Exercise to Boost Appetite
While perhaps not the first thing we think of on the topic of nutrition, exercise can be an important tool to staying nourished during and following cancer treatment. Loss of appetite is a very common side effect for cancer patients. Pain, nausea, gas, constipation, lack of sleep, and more can all contribute to a lack of appetite. This in turn disrupts the flow of food and nourishment into the body, which reduces the body’s ability to heal and thus perpetuates a cycle from which it can be very difficult to break free.
Exercise is an important way to help our bodies maintain appetite. By getting our bodies moving we burn fuel and stimulate our natural metabolic systems. As a result, our bodies tell us to eat more. This can be a tricky balance when in the midst of and following treatment, but even simple exercises can keep our bodies, and our appetites, on track.
Simple exercises that can help boost appetite:
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Walk: around the house or around the neighborhood is a great start, or take a gentle nature walk outside at a local park or forest and get the added bonus of some fresh air and nature therapy
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Light stretching: gentle stretching is great for getting our bodies moving again, especially after major surgery, and can help gently stimulate bowels for improved motility
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Gentle yoga: carefully easing into some gentle yoga can be very beneficial, but only if your doctor has given the all-clear
 Walking in nature is a healthy exercise following abdominal cancer treatment, such as CRS/HIPEC |
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 Stretching is a healthy exercise following abdominal cancer treatment, such as CRS/HIPEC |
 Yoga is a healthy exercise following abdominal cancer treatment, such as CRS/HIPEC |
Be Careful with Supplements
First and foremost, talk with your care provider before starting any new supplements or herbal remedies! As a general rule of thumb most supplements should be avoided during treatment due to their potential interference with treatments.
When trying to be proactive about our nutritional health, dietary supplements are generally a convenient way to take action with good intentions. And “natural” or “herbal” supplements certainly sound like they should mean they are safe to take. The dietary / nutrition supplement industry has grown rapidly over recent decades, despite little-to-no oversight from federal regulatory bodies to substantiate health claims and monitor impacts of supplements and their interaction with other therapies. Many patients report taking supplements both proactively and in response to specific conditions, reflecting broader trends in the general public to view nutrition supplements as low-risk, high-reward options to promote balanced nourishment and improve health. However, studies demonstrate that this does not represent the full picture, and nutrition supplements can do as much harm as they can do good, if not more so. This is particularly true for cancer patients who are undergoing treatment and recovering from treatment.
For example, most nutrition supplements are just that: they are a way to incorporate additional nourishment of key vitamins, minerals, proteins, and more that our bodies need to be healthy. Ideally, everyone would have all of their nutritional needs met through a healthy, balanced diet. That can be difficult for a variety of reasons, so nutrition supplements are often viewed as a convenient way to supplement those nutritional needs that we don’t get through our normal diets. But these supplements can in fact be harmful even to healthy individuals, particularly to the liver which can struggle to remove high doses from the bloodstream, leading to liver damage[5]. And for patients being treated for cancer, supplements can be more harmful and even counteract treatments such as chemotherapy.
Supplements and Treatment
If you are in any form of treatment, consult with a physician (oncologist) before adding supplements that could interfere with medications.
Potentially Beneficial Supplements - Selenium, Folic Acid, and Ginger are widely considered healthy and can help the patient while undergoing cancer treatment.
Supplements to Avoid - Garlic, Ginkgo, Echinacea, Ginseng, St. John's wort, Kava, Vincristine, Vinblastine, Taxanes, Anthracyclines, Tamoxifen, and Tyrosine kinase inhibitors represent an incomplete-but-important list of supplements to avoid when actively under treatment such as chemotherapy. It is very important to speak with your care provider about any supplements you are taking or considering taking.[1]
For more, consider City of Hope Medical Center’s resource on “Natural supplements for cancer patients to avoid”
Get the Details
Memorial Sloan Kettering maintains a database of more than 300 herbs, botanicals, and other supplements. This tool can help you navigate the tricky landscape of balancing well-intentioned supplements to your diet against common risks you should be aware of.
Recipes and Other Reading
We couldn’t possibly summarize the seemingly unlimited number of healthy recipes out there, so here are a few notable resources that include healthy recipes, along with some how-to insights.
The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen
Authors: Rebecca Katz and Mat Edelson
The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen, Second Edition: Nourishing, Big-Flavor Recipes for Cancer Treatment and Recovery.
Ten Speed Press; 2017.
The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen is a practical cookbook designed specifically for people undergoing cancer treatment and for those recovering after treatment. It focuses on helping patients stay nourished, manage side effects, and enjoy food again during a time when eating can be challenging. As a bonus, it was co-authored by abdominal cancer survivor Mat Edelson.
Food: What the Heck Should I Eat?
Author: Mark Hyman
Food: What the Heck Should I Eat?
Little, Brown and Company; 2018.
Food: What the Heck Should I Eat? is a straightforward guide that cuts through the confusion surrounding modern nutrition advice. Dr. Mark Hyman reviews decades of research, and common myths, to help readers understand which foods support long-term health and which tend to promote inflammation, low energy, and chronic disease.
Salt Fat Acid Heat
Author: Samin Nosrat
Illustrator: Wendy MacNaughton
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking.
Simon & Schuster; 2017.
Salt Fat Acid Heat is an easy-entry, engaging guide that teaches these four core elements that make food taste good. Instead of focusing on strict recipes, the book helps readers understand how cooking works, so they can feel confident preparing meals that are flavorful, balanced, and nourishing.
References
1. City of Hope Medical Center. Kellman D. Natural supplements for cancer patients to avoid. https://www.cancercenter.com/integrative-care/naturopathic-support/natural-supplements-to-avoid 2. Henricksen et al. The Norwegian dietary guidelines and colorectal cancer survival (CRC NORDIET) study: a food-based multicentre randomized controlled trial BMC Cancer 2017;17:83. 3. Hyman M. Food: What the Heck Should I Eat? New York: Little, Brown and Company; 2018. 4. Jochems et al. Impact of dietary patterns and the main food groups on mortality and recurrence in cancer survivors: a systematic review of current epidemiological literature. BMJ Open 2018;8(2):e014530. 5. Likhitsup A, Chen VL, Fontana RJ. Estimated Exposure to 6 Potentially Hepatotoxic Botanicals in US Adults. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(8):e2425822. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2821951 6. Muscaritoli M, et al., ESPEN/ASPEN Clinical Nutrition Guidelines for Cancer Surgery. Clinical Nutrition 40, Issue 5, 2898-2913May 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2021.02.005 7. National Cancer Institute. Food Safety. https://youtu.be/ynxCM7yEpNc 8. National Cancer Institute: How a Mediterranean Diet May Benefit Cancer Survivors. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/latest-news/how-a-mediterranean-diet-may-benefit-cancer-survivors.html 9. National Cancer Institute: Nutrition in Cancer Care and Managing Appetite Loss. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/side-effects/nutrition 10. Oncology Nutrition, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. EatRight.org 11. Rabbani et al. Impact of Lifestyle Modifications on Cancer Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Medicina (Kaunas) 2025;61(2):307. 12. Stibbard A. et al., Factors Affecting Dietary Progression Post-CRS and HIPEC. Clinical Nutrition ESPEN. 2024 Oct:63:520-529. doi: 10.1016/j.clnesp.2024.06.057. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38972376/
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