Things You Need To Avoid When Going Through Cancer Treatments
If you have recently been diagnosed with cancer and are starting treatments soon, then your physician will likely inform you of all the important things that you will need to do. However, there are also a number of things that you should not do. Keep reading to learn about a few things that you should not ingest.
Alcohol
Cancer drugs are extremely hard on the body and your liver will need to process the medications you take. In fact, many individuals will experience liver damage as the result of their medications. Thankfully, the damage is often temporary and your liver will function normally once your treatments are over.
Since your liver is being placed under stress, you do not want to consume anything that could possibly harm the organ. This includes alcohol and you should be avoiding both small and large amounts of it. Make sure to look at labels to ensure that you are not consuming anything alcoholic and also look for alternative beverages that can help you avoid the consumption of alcohol. Keep in mind that alcohol will often react with medications, like ones taken when you have cancer, so this is something that you need to consider as well if you are thinking about having a drink.
Other substances that can place stress on the liver include acetaminophen as well as ones that are used to treat high cholesterol. If you take these medicines or are concerned about liver damage, speak with your doctor about alternative medications you can take.
Green Tea
Green tea is packed with antioxidants, phytochemicals, and other substances that help prevent cancer and other diseases. While this can benefit you, you probably want to avoid green tea because these beneficial substances can interfere with the medicines you are taking and their effect on the cancer. You also want to avoid matcha tea and any other beverage that claims to have antioxidant benefits. This likely does not mean that you need to avoid whole fruits and vegetables or juices though.
Many herbal and vitamin supplements probably should not be consumed either due to their effect on cancer drugs. They may speed up your body's removal of the cancer drugs from the body or they may simply keep them from working as effectively as they should. St. Johns wort is particularly troublesome when it comes to cancer treatments, so make sure that you are discussing all of the remedies you consume with your cancer doctor. Contact a treatment center, like Silver Cancer Institute, for more help.