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Should I Avoid Antioxidants During Cancer Treatment?

June 11, 2018 By Julie Lanford MPH, RD, CSO, LDN

Antioxidants are a good thing. They are part of plants which have various other phytochemicals. However, more does not equal better!

Antioxidants are good when they are in food form. Just like anything else, problems can arise when you start taking concentrated versions of it. Our bodies prefer to get nutrients in the concentrations that they are grown!

Antioxidants. What are they?

Antioxidants are components in foods that eliminate free radicals in the body.

Examples of antioxidants are…

  • Beta-carotene
  • Lycopene
  • Lutein
  • Vitamin A
  • Vitamin C
  • Vitamin E

All of these are found in fruits and vegetables. For example:

  • Beta-carotene and vitamin A are found in orange vegetables like sweet potatoes and carrots
  • Lycopene is found in red tomatoes
  • Lutein is found in green, leafy vegetables
  • Vitamin C is in citrus fruits
  • Vitamin E is found in almonds and oils

Antioxidants are good things when found in foods. However, high doses of antioxidants (i.e. antioxidant supplements) can be a bad thing when undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Actually, I don’t recommend high doses of antioxidants for anyone!

These substances can negatively interact with the treatment and cause the treatments to not work as well as they could.

Because of this reason, it is not recommended to consume antioxidant supplements during cancer treatment. You can get all the antioxidants you need through your foods.

Many people going through cancer treatment have a hard time eating. Be sure to check out my treatment tips page here to see tips for when eating is difficult.

Eat your colors!

– Julie

Read more on this topic:

Is it safe to take antioxidant supplements during chemotherapy and radiation therapy? – From the Oncology Nutrition Practice Group

Antioxidants: Beyond the Hype – From Harvard

Can Antioxidants Prevent Cancer? – From Dana Farber Cancer Institute

 

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Filed Under: Other

This post may contain affiliate links for products I recommend. This means if you click on a link and purchase a product, Cancer Services, Inc. will receive a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. We use these proceeds to support cancer patient direct services and community education in the Triad area of North Carolina. For more information, view our disclosure policy.

Comments

  1. Darlene says

    November 19, 2018 at 12:42 pm

    My husband went through Chemo. In our experience anything you can get them to eat is good. Our experience the weight fell off my husband and he went down to a weight he had not been since he was in middle school. I was excited to get him to eat anything. Chemo is not a party it is mostly a early death sentence.

    • Julie Lanford MPH, RD, CSO, LDN says

      December 13, 2018 at 5:06 pm

      YES!! This is absolutely right. Especially during treatment eating something is better than eating nothing. No matter what that something is!!

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