As much as 77 percent of respondents agree with the statement that weight loss, malnutrition and cachexia are a natural condition in the case of cancer - according to a study conducted in April this year. by SMG / KRC on behalf of Nutricia Medyczna. However, this is not a situation that everyone should come to terms with. A sick person does not have to, and should not, lose weight. The "Medical Nutrition - Your meals in the fight against disease" campaign aims to educate about the role of specialized nutrition in disease, especially oncological, and to educate about medical nutrition as an integral part of treatment.
Talking about medical nutrition is a huge challenge, including because the knowledge of the concept itself is very low - as much as 66 percent. Poles asked admitted that they do not know what medical nutrition is. What is more, when asked to describe in their own words the definition of medical nutrition, they most often indicated diet (28%), IV feeding (16%) and tube feeding (13%). when traditional nutrition turns out to be insufficient, consideration should be given to supplementing the patient's daily menu with ready-made nutritional preparations. Oral liquid diets are the basic, simple, and most accessible form of nutritional treatment. They are available over the counter and can support meals both in the hospital and at home throughout the treatment process.
It is worth emphasizing that in the case of oncological disease, special attention should be paid to the nutritional status of the patient. Whenever possible, the digestive tract should be systematically nourished to function properly. Otherwise, it will not be able to function efficiently and will be subject to degradation - notes Dr. n. med. Stanisław Kłęk, oncologist surgeon, president of the Polish Society of Parenteral, Enteral and Metabolism (POLSPEN).
There is also an erroneous belief that medical nutrition is less valuable than a decent home-made meal - this is what every fourth respondent thinks, and that food products belong to the same category as dietary supplements and vitamin strengthening preparations - as indicated by as many as 40 percent . subjects. Meanwhile, specialized diets are properly balanced medications for the sick, whose advantageis to concentrate all the necessary nutrients and the right amount of energy in a small dose. Thanks to this, they are able to completely replace a normal diet or single meals. However, as long as the patient can eat, it is recommended to use them as a supplement to a traditional diet. The patient should drink them in small portions between meals.
In the case of almost every cancer patient, there comes a time when even a carefully designed natural diet is not able to meet the increased demand for energy, protein and other nutrients. In this case, nutritional supplements are the best way to increase the nutritional value of the patient's daily food intake. They allow the patient who consumes smaller amounts of food to supplement nutritional deficiencies with much less effort. It is also often a rescue for patients who, as a result of the disease, have problems with chewing or swallowing and are not able to eat traditional meals - summarizes dietician Ewa Ceborska-Scheiterbauer from the Food & Diet clinic.
Specific nutritional problems of cancer patients
Cancer patients are particularly prone to malnutrition problems, as the vast majority of therapies used are associated with eating problems during and after treatment. There are numerous side effects, such as vomiting, nausea, diarrhea and aches and pains that cause loss of appetite: A metallic, strange taste, one that cannot be drunk and eaten. Nothing tastes good, you feel like absolutely nothing, not even a sip of water, you even have anorexia. In such a situation, you lose weight immediately - recalls Agata, who suffered from ovarian cancer - the heroine of the documentary "I".
Eating is sometimes impossible due to gastrointestinal mucosa irritation or difficulty swallowing. As a result, providing the right amount of nutrients can be a huge problem.
Furthermore, the metabolic rate of cancer patients increases, leading to further unintentional weight loss. Unplanned weight loss, which is not the result of our specific actions in this direction, is often the first sign that our body is sick. This is how our body can react to a cancer that develops in it. That is why it is so important not to underestimate unintentional weight loss and consult a doctor - says Dr. n. med. Stanisław Kłęk and adds that we will talk about malnutrition when weight loss in the last 3 months exceeds 10%. ideal body weightof a given person.
Taking into account the specificity of nutrition in oncological diseases, each patient with a diagnosed cancer should be included in nutritional education, because a better nutritional status at the start of therapy may translate into better effects and tolerance of anticancer treatment. Unfortunately, patients very often notice the problem too late when they lose weight and develop malnutrition - points out nutritionist Iwona Sajór from the Food and Nutrition Institute, nutrition expert at the He alth Education Center.
Adequate nutrition is also healing
Cancer patients rarely focus on the relationship between nutritional status and its effects on the course of treatment. Their attention is mainly drawn to reports of single foods that can "fight" cancer. This may be due to the low level of knowledge about the role of nutrients in the body - emphasizes Iwona Sajór.
If we do not provide the body with enough carbohydrates and fats, the energy necessary for functioning is obtained from the burning of proteins. At the very beginning, proteins from muscles are used, and then from other organs. Hence, in the course of the development of neoplastic disease, there are large deficiencies of this component and often need to be supplemented. Meanwhile, one in five respondents said that people with cancer should avoid high-protein foods because protein feeds cancer.
Malnutrition destabilizes important body functions, such as the cardiovascular system, nervous system and respiratory system, and also impairs the functioning of the immune system. The consequences are rapid weight loss, muscle atrophy, deterioration of psychomotor performance and disorders of digestion, absorption and intestinal peristalsis.
Malnourished patients are sometimes not qualified for treatment at all. This is due to the fact that the body, which lacks adequate nutrients, does not tolerate the period of therapy and convalescence, has less strength to fight the disease - wounds heal worse, complications and infections are more frequent. In the case of such patients, complications after surgical treatment are more often observed - lists Dr. n. med. Stanisław Kłęk.
Experts agree that medical nutrition should be an integral part of therapy. It consists in assessing the nutritional status of each patient and the need for all necessary nutrients, and if necessary, administering to him - orally, enterally or parenterally - appropriate amounts of energy, protein, electrolytes, vitamins, trace elements and water, and monitoring his conditionclinical.
Worth knowingAbout the campaign
Bearing in mind the great need to raise awareness of medical nutrition, Nutricia Medyczna has initiated a nationwide educational campaign "Medical nutrition - your meals in the fight against disease", which for the first time in such a wide range addresses the role of specialized nutrition in disease, especially oncological disease. The aim of the campaign is to show the scale of the phenomenon, pay attention to the nutritional needs of patients and educate about medical nutrition as an integral part of treatment. The first edition of the educational campaign "Medical Nutrition - Your meals in the fight against disease" will last until the end of 2016. During this time, meetings of experts with the media are planned all over Poland. The campaign was inaugurated by the premiere of the documentary film by the famous director Aneta Kopacz. "Ja", which is currently available on the YouTube channel: Nutricia Medyczna. Part of the activities will also be an extensive information campaign in TV, press and the Internet. For the purposes of the initiative, the website www.posilkiwchorobie.pl was also created, where patients and their caregivers will find information on nutrition in disease.
Source:
1. The documentary "I", directed by Aneta Kopacz, was made as part of the educational campaign "Medical nutrition - Your meals in the fight against disease". You can watch it on the YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrlwAV2LRVU 2. The study was carried out by the research institute SMG / KRC on behalf of Nutricia Medeczna on March 30 - April 1, 2016; representative sample in terms of age, sex, size of town and region, n=400; methodology: online survey: CAWI