A Healthy You: Cancer survivors urged to eat better, exercise
By Cindy Gates
New guidelines issued by the American Cancer Society urge doctors to talk to their cancer patients about eating right, exercising and slimming down if they are too heavy.The American Cancer Society has long encouraged healthy eating and exercise as a way to prevent some cancers, and now they are spreading the word to cancer survivors as well.Over the past five years, there has been more than 100 studies involving cancer survivors, many of them showing that exercise and/or healthy diet is associated with lower cancer recurrence rates and longer survival.The main points of the guidelines include:
- Maintaining a healthy weight. This includes avoiding weight gain during treatment and losing weight if you are overweight. A healthy weight is important for fighting recurrence of cancer, as well as beneficial for fighting other health problems.
- Exercise regularly - up to 150 minutes per week. This has many healthy benefits, including improved physical function, helping mood and mental clarity, and may even help patients to complete chemotherapy by fighting fatigue and making them feel better.
- Various studies have shown that diet and food choices may impact cancer progression and recurrence among cancer survivors. The guidelines suggest eating a healthy diet that’s high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, poultry and fish and avoiding a diet containing refined food products, red and processed meats, high fat dairy products and fried foods.
These recommendations are not only good for cancer survivors, they are good guidelines for everyone. Broccoli anyone?To schedule an appointment with the dietitian to discuss healthy eating and exercise guidelines, call Cindy Gates at 712-252-9425 or email at gatesc[at]jencc.com.A Healthy You is a regular column about nutrition, healthy living and cancer care. It is written by Cindy Gates, RD and LD and the Cancer Center’s Oncology dietitian, herbalist and Certified Wellness Coach.