Beware of osteoporosis during breast cancer chemotherapy ~ Nutritionist recommends: Less oil, more fruits and vegetables, 3 high-calcium dishes

Breast cancer is the number one killer of women. In Taiwan, there are as many as 13,000 new cases of breast cancer each year. Doctors point out that in addition to surgery, patients are at risk of osteoporosis regardless of whether they receive hormone or chemotherapy treatments. Only by exercising more, getting more sun, supplementing vitamin D and increasing calcium absorption can you preserve your bone mass and fight osteoporosis.

Du Shih-hsing, deputy director of the Taipei Cancer Center of Taipei Medical University, said that most osteoporosis patients in Taiwan are elderly people over 50 years old, with the prevalence rate for women as high as 10.75% and for men at 4.15%, more than twice that of men. Osteoporosis can only be prevented at present, and there is no more effective treatment.

Breast cancer chemotherapy drugs may increase the risk of osteoporosis

It is worth noting that breast cancer patients are prone to osteoporosis once they receive chemotherapy or aromatase inhibitor drug treatment after menopause. This is because long-term chemotherapy will inhibit the ovarian function of secreting female hormones, leading to a decrease in female hormones in the body, which in turn accelerates the loss of bone density.

In particular, about 70% of breast cancer patients need to receive hormone therapy. A decrease in hormones in the body means they are at high risk of osteoporosis, and a high-fat, high-protein diet can easily accelerate bone loss. Therefore, breast cancer patients undergoing treatment are urged to eat less pork belly during Mid-Autumn barbecues and eat more high-fiber, high-calcium foods such as tenderloin, sakura shrimp, and vegetables.

3 high-calcium foods recommended for breast cancer patients during Mid-Autumn Festival

In order to allow breast cancer patients to fully enjoy the fun of Mid-Autumn barbecue, nutritionist Li Huizhen from Taipei Cancer Center of Taipei Medical University specially designed 3 high-calcium dishes and a Mid-Autumn barbecue recipe with homemade healthy sauce. They are:

1. Luffa and Sakura Shrimp: It is made of luffa, sakura shrimp and black fungus. The sakura shrimp is a high-calcium ingredient, and the black fungus is rich in vitamin D. The two are paired with the sweet luffa, then wrapped in aluminum foil and grilled. It tastes delicious and sweet, and helps the overall calcium absorption.

2.Pork tenderloin vegetable skewers: consists of pork tenderloin, onion and bell pepper. The pork loin used has a lower fat content and is better than pork belly. Onions and bell peppers are both anti-cancer foods. Grilling these three ingredients together can help improve the balanced nutritional density.

3. Tofu and green onion skewers: made of spiced tofu, green onions and mushrooms. Among them, dried tofu is a high-calcium ingredient rich in protein. When paired with shiitake mushrooms rich in vitamin D, it can increase the absorption rate of calcium.

Homemade healthy sauces reduce carcinogens

As for the homemade healthy sauce, take 50cc of light soy sauce, 10cc of rice wine, 10cc of mirin, 5g of pepper, 100cc of boiling water, 5g of garlic, 10g of mashed ginger, 25g of onion, 50g of diced pear, 5cc of sesame oil, and 5g of white sesame seeds.

Nutritionist Li Huizhen said that replacing the sugar commonly found in traditional sauces with fruits such as diced pears can reduce calorie intake and improve the flavor. Some studies also suggest that you can marinate the meat before grilling it to reduce the carcinogens produced during grilling.

In addition, if you feel thirsty while enjoying barbecue food, you should reduce the amount of cola and alcohol you drink. Nutritionist Li Huizhen explained that the carbonic acid in cola can easily combine with calcium-containing foods to form calcium carbonate, which cannot be absorbed by the human body and will be excreted from the body along with other objects. This can easily cause calcium loss in the long term, and drinking alcohol can also easily cause calcium loss. If you want to eat more vegetables, it is recommended to choose kale, okra, cauliflower, and basil, which are high in calcium. If you want to add a little change, salmon and cheese are good choices.

At the same time, fitness coach Derek also personally demonstrated stretching exercises, hoping that people would do more exercise and get more sun during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday to increase calcium absorption. And through simple stretching exercises, you can burn fat and get rid of excess fat.