**A continuation of our series on breast cancer and nutrition.
You may not want to think about diarrhea as a side effect of your breast cancer treatment, but Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center nutritionist Mary Eve Brown recommends you get ahead of it with a management game plan include these steps:
- Plan to eat foods that are easy to digest, like baked potatoes without the skin, baked chicken, applesauce, bananas, cooked vegetables like carrots or green beans, or Cream of Wheat.
- Stay hydrated with your own rehydration drink, made with a ½ cup of orange juice for potassium, 2 quarts of water, ½ cup of sugar, and a ½ teaspoon of salt for sodium and chloride. This is important because diarrhea can easily dehydrate you, so you may need more than your basic amount of nutrition. Why add sugar? It helps the hydration get into your cells faster, Brown says.
- Avoid fiber, fat and spicy foods. Foods that are easier to digest and on the bland side will help keep diarrhea at bay. Many people think they need more fiber, but in fact, a high-fiber diet can make diarrhea more likely.
- Eat small meals frequently, rather than a few big meals, to make it easier for your body to digest the food.
You can find out more about nutrition and your breast cancer journey in Brown’s recent free webinar, What’s Food Got to Do With It? Eating Well Before, During and After Treatment.
Videos from Mary Eve Brown:
Colon Cancer and Nutrition