Diet taboos after tumor resection

Foods that are clearly known to cause allergies, unprocessed or unsafe foods that pose a risk of contamination, foods that clearly conflict with current treatments or underlying diseases, and other so-called "no touching of hairy foods" and "absolute taboos for spicy foods" mostly have no scientific basis, and there is no need to blindly avoid foods that lead to malnutrition.

The first thing that needs to be clarified is the mythical taboo of "making things", which is also the most controversial point at present. The "fat foods" mentioned in traditional Chinese medicine actually refer to foods that are likely to induce allergies, aggravate skin sores or febrile diseases. The applicable scenario is not for patients after tumor surgery. Many people have taken the concept seriously, which is why they made a joke that chicken, duck, seafood, beef and mutton cannot be eaten. I once met an aunt who had undergone lung cancer surgery at the thoracic surgery department. I heard from fellow patients in the same community that roosters are "hairy things" that can promote tumor recurrence. She only ate boiled vegetables for half a year after the operation. During the follow-up examination, her albumin was so low that she had to receive a human albumin transfusion. She wobbled when she walked. On the contrary, her recovery was a full two months slower than that of patients who ate normally during the same period. There is no concept of "hair growth" in modern medicine. Instead, patients are advised to eat more high-quality protein that is easy to digest, such as fish, shrimp, and poultry, which can help heal wounds and improve immunity. As long as you are not allergic to what you have eaten before, there is no need to deliberately avoid it. Of course, some schools of traditional Chinese medicine recommend that you eat less foods that are too warm and tonic in the acute post-operative period. For example, eating ginseng and velvet antler for a week just after surgery can easily aggravate the inflammatory reaction. This fact coincides with the advice of Western medicine. In essence, it is to avoid adding extra burden to the body that has just recovered.

After talking about the most common misunderstandings, let’s talk about the three types of foods that really need to be avoided. These are all based on actual clinical experience. First of all, let’s talk about allergies. This goes without saying. If you eat something that usually causes rashes and diarrhea, if you touch it when your immunity is low after surgery, the reaction will only be more severe than usual. Severe allergic shock can even be life-threatening. There is absolutely no need to take this risk. Then there are the uncooked and contamination risks, such as raw pickled eggs, soft-boiled eggs, cold dishes that have been left on the roadside for a long time, and leftovers that have become moldy. There was a young man in the gastroenterology department who had been recovering from bowel cancer for half a year. He was greedy and secretly ate raw pickled salmon. He had diarrhea for three days, and the newly formed anastomosis almost leaked. He stayed in the hospital for another week before being discharged. The gain outweighed the gain. Finally, it conflicts with treatment and underlying diseases, which varies from person to person. For example, patients who are taking targeted drugs must not touch grapefruit and carambola. These two will affect the activity of enzymes in the liver responsible for metabolizing drugs, which will increase the blood drug concentration to several times. In mild cases, it may cause rashes and diarrhea, or in severe cases, liver and kidney damage. ； Patients with diabetes must control their sugar regardless of whether the tumor is removed or not. It is not that sugar will "feed cancer cells", but that high blood sugar will affect wound healing and increase the risk of infection. ； In the first two weeks after gastrointestinal surgery, do not touch hard, brittle, or sharp objects, such as chewing ribs or eating crispy rice. If you scratch the anastomosis that has not yet grown firmly, you will be the one to suffer.

As for other taboos that are hotly debated on the Internet, most of them are inconclusive. For example, can I eat spicy food? There is currently no evidence-based medical evidence that chili peppers can induce tumor recurrence. If you are a person who doesn't like spicy food, and your wounds have healed and your digestive function has recovered after the surgery, it's perfectly fine to occasionally eat a couple of mildly spicy dishes as an appetizer. Of course, don't do it one month before the surgery. At that time, the mucous membrane of the digestive tract is still tender, and the spicy food will not cause stomach pain. Another example is whether you should give up sugar? Those who support quitting sugar believe that excessive added sugar will lead to obesity, and obesity itself is a high-risk factor for the recurrence of various tumors. The opposing group believes that normal carbohydrates are the main source of energy for human cells, and deliberately not eating staple foods will lead to malnutrition. Both groups are reasonable. The compromise is: eat normal carbohydrates such as rice and noodles when you should, and eat snacks with a lot of added sugar such as milk tea, cakes, and carbonated drinks as little as possible. There is no need to overdo it and even dare not eat fruits.

I was chatting with a teacher in the nutrition department before. He said that he had seen too many patients who were so restrictive that they no longer had the strength to walk. He then asked the doctor why his recovery was so slow. "Being so taboo that you are malnourished is 10 times more harmful than eating two wrong bites of something." This is really true. Last month, I met a little girl who was three months post-operative for breast cancer. She happily brought milk tea for a follow-up check-up. She said that last week she and her friends went to eat tomato hot pot, rinsed tripe and shrimps, and there were no problems. All the indicators were normal. Of course, she either ate haise every day or just satiated her cravings occasionally. She had a very good attitude and recovered much faster than many patients who spend all their time at home wondering what they can and cannot eat.

In fact, to put it bluntly, there are two core aspects of diet after tumor surgery: first, safety, and second, adequate nutrition. There is really no need to check the list of contraindications on the Internet. Before eating, think about whether you will feel uncomfortable after eating it, and whether it will conflict with the medicine you are taking. If you are really unsure, ask your attending doctor or nutritionist. It is much better than guessing on your own. After all, eating happily and keeping up with nutrition are the best foundation for fighting against diseases.