A focus on food safety advice... In Part 1 of "What do I eat during chemo' series we were talking about what to eat when you are struggling with you appetite (read it here) this post is going to focus on food safety. When you are having cancer treatment such as chemotherapy your body’s ability to fight infections may be reduced so could increase your risk of food related infections. It is very important during this time to avoid be too restrictive, so you continue to eat well (see part 1 for more advice) but also protect yourself by following good food safety and hygiene. Shopping tips Try t ..read more

Why do you need to look after your heart after cancer treatment? Keeping your heart healthy is important for everyone but cancer survivors in particular, can experience heart problems during or after cancer treatment. For example, some hormone treatments for breast cancer such as anastrozole and letrozole can increase the ‘unhealthy’ LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol level in your blood. So how can you reduce your risk? Below are my 10 steps to building your healthy heart diet to reduce your risk of heart disease Here are you 10 steps to building your healthy heart diet 1. Aim for your ..read more

Nutrition is a very newsworthy topic and just a quick browse online and you will see there is a wealth of information and recommendations of specific foods and diets to follow. When it comes to cancer, there is great deal of info on what you should and shouldn’t eat; but how do you know what to believe? If you have been diagnosed with cancer, food can become more than just nourishment, it is often a means maintaining some control over what is happening to you. You may be in the thick of treatments and investigations and food gives you a means to take charge and have an influence on what is ha ..read more

Changes in your body shape can happen to all of us and it is an all too common occurrence during or after cancer treatment, when your body has had to go through so much. Understanding why or how some of these changes can occur can be helpful so we can address any underlying factors. Why have I gained weight during cancer treatment? Treatments and medications During cancer treatment some medications like steroids (often used to prevent allergic reactions or side effects from chemo), chemo or hormone treatment can cause changes in your appetite. So, you may feel hungrier and eat a bit more than ..read more

What are Omega-3 fats? Omega-3 fatty acids (also known as n-3 PUFAs) are a group of healthy fats which we need for many different roles in our body. There are THREE types of omega-3 fats: ALA - Alpha-linolenic acid DHA - Docosahexaenoic acid EPA - Eicosapentaenoic acid ALA - alpha-linolenic acid ALA is called an ‘essential fat’ as it cannot be made in the body so must be consumed in our diet. Dietary sources of ALA are from plant sources such as green leafy vegetables vegetable oils (rapeseed and linseed) and nuts (pecans, walnuts and hazelnut). DHA - docosahexaenoic acid and EPA - eicosapent ..read more

Artificial sweeteners are added to sugar-free’ or ‘diet’ foods and drinks such as fizzy drinks, fruit juices and foods like jellies, yogurts and chewing gums and as a sugar replacement (or sucrose the chemical name for sugar). In UK different types of artificial sweeteners are used in different brands*: Aspartame in Canderel, Hermesetas granulated Saccharin in Hermesetas mini sweeteners Sucralose in Splenda Acesulfame potassium (acesulfame-K) in Hermesetas Gold sweetener Cyclamate in Hermesetas liquid *Source Diabetes UK Artificial sweeteners and cancer risk? Studies performed in rats in th ..read more

Disclosure: this is a sponsored review written for Nutrium but is my critical and honest review of the software. It also contains an affiliate link which if you click through will provide you with a 25% discount code and I will also earn a commission. This blog is aimed at Dietitians and Nutritionists who are interested in a nutrition software for their practice. I have been looking into a, ,nutrition software package for some time and like most of you I have lots of separate systems for running my practice; a program for scheduling clients, meal planning software, the list goes on. So, I hav ..read more