What should liver cancer patients eat? Dietary principles for liver cancer patients

There are significantly more male patients with liver cancer than female patients. Generally speaking, the ratio of male to female liver cancer patients is 7-10:1, which means that the number of male liver cancer patients is 7-10 times that of female patients. There is no definite explanation as to why males are the high-risk group for liver cancer. However, many medical experts believe that the female hormone in women has a certain antagonistic effect on certain liver cancer pathogenic factors.

Elderly people and hepatitis B patients are more susceptible to liver cancer

Elderly people: Most liver cancers occur after the age of 40, because the effects of carcinogenic factors require a process of accumulation, which can even take decades. Therefore, most liver cancer patients are middle-aged and elderly people, and the age group with the highest incidence is between 50 and 60 years old.

In addition, the occurrence of liver cancer is also related to the decline of the human immune function. After middle age, the thymus gradually shrinks, and the cellular immune function closely related to the thymus endocrine system also gradually weakens. The human body cannot effectively reject abnormal cells, and cancer takes the opportunity to germinate.

Hepatitis B patients: Epidemiological statistics show that areas where hepatitis B is prevalent are often also high-incidence areas for liver cancer. People who have had hepatitis B are indeed more likely to develop liver cancer than those who have not had hepatitis B. The risk is as high as 10.7 times. Some scholars believe that the way hepatitis B virus causes liver cancer is that hepatitis B virus first causes hepatitis, which in turn causes cirrhosis, causing atypical proliferation of liver cells, and then developing into liver cancer; other scholars believe that chronic hepatitis can directly lead to the occurrence of liver cancer without going through the cirrhosis stage. However, there is one point in their different views that they all agree on: hepatitis B virus may be the main initiating factor among the many factors that cause human liver cancer.

In addition, elderly patients with diabetes are more susceptible to liver cancer

The British Medical Association's Viscera magazine recently reported that doctors at the Houston Veterans Affairs Medical Center in the United States accessed a database of nearly 10,000 people over the age of 65. The database data was collected by the US Medical Insurance Agency.

The results showed that among 2,061 liver cancer patients, 43% had previously suffered from diabetes. In the control group, only 19% of the 6,183 non-liver cancer patients had previously suffered from diabetes. Therefore, doctors believe that the risk of elderly diabetics suffering from liver cancer is 2 to 3 times that of non-diabetics.

The World Health Organization announced in Geneva last May that about 3.2 million people die from diabetes each year. Currently, there are at least 171 million diabetics in the world, and this number is expected to double by 2030.

Dietary principles for liver cancer

1. Balanced diet: Liver cancer patients consume a lot of energy, so they must be guaranteed to have enough nutrition. The simplest way to measure the nutritional status of patients is whether they can maintain their weight. To maintain a normal weight, the best way is to maintain a balanced diet, requiring patients to eat more fresh vegetables, and half of them should be green leafy vegetables.

2. Fat and protein: A high-fat diet can affect and aggravate the condition, while a low-fat diet can alleviate symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and abdominal distension in liver cancer patients. Liver cancer patients have poor appetite and eat less. If they do not have a balanced diet, they must increase the calories of their diet and eat crude fat that is easy to digest and absorb. Liver cancer patients should eat more foods rich in plant protein, especially high-quality plant protein.

3. Vitamins: Vitamins A, C, E, K, etc. have certain auxiliary anti-tumor effects. Vitamin C is mainly found in fresh vegetables and fruits. Carotene can be converted into vitamin A after entering the human body, so liver cancer patients should eat more vegetables and fruits rich in vitamin C.

4. Inorganic salts: minerals. Nutritionists divide inorganic salts into two categories: macroelements, such as calcium, sodium, potassium, etc.; trace elements, such as selenium, zinc, iodine, etc. Scientists have found that minerals such as selenium and iron have anti-cancer effects.

5. Liver cancer patients often have symptoms of indigestion such as loss of appetite, nausea, and abdominal distension, so they should eat easily digestible food.

6. Most patients with advanced liver cancer are in a state of systemic failure and have difficulty eating. They should focus on strengthening their body and eat easily digestible foods.

3 types of food that liver cancer patients should eat more

1. Drink Tieguanyin

People in southern Fujian love to drink tea, which is very beneficial for preventing liver cancer. Tieguanyin, which is common in southern Fujian, is the best, and Longjing before the rain is also good.

2. Eat carrots and citrus

Experts say that the protective effect of vegetables and fruits on the liver is produced by the interaction between the vitamins, minerals, fibers, etc. in them. Green leafy vegetables, carrots, potatoes and citrus fruits have the strongest preventive effect. You should eat five or more kinds of vegetables and fruits every day, including a glass of juice in the morning, a piece of fruit in the morning and afternoon, and two or more servings of vegetables at dinner. The total daily intake is about 400-800 grams, which can reduce your risk of liver cancer by 20%.

3. Eat dairy products

Medical research has shown that if you consume dairy products, including milk and yogurt, every day while controlling your alcohol intake, your risk of liver cancer will be reduced by 78%. Currently, children have developed the habit of consuming dairy products, but only a few adults do, so this may be improved.