Dietician Kelly Silverio Alonso-Duin, who specializes in helping oncology patients, developed easy-to-follow guidelines to make food tastier for patients with cancer.
About 55 to 75% of patients receiving chemotherapy experience changes in how food tastes, which can make eating an extra struggle. Sufficient nutritional intake - especially protein- is important to support the best possible outcome and quality of life she explains.
If someone becomes malnourished, an oncologist is forced to adjust the chemo accordingly. You want to prevent that by eating well.”
Kelly worked with the World Cancer Research Fund to develop a simple food flavoring guide for cancer patients. Their poster presentation ‘At home with taste control’ was chosen from ten posters as the winner of the poster prize at the VoedingsNL congress.
A patient-friendly version was developed for use by dietitians when consulting patients. The ‘Taste Compass’ offers tips on how to flavor food according to tastes the patients still experience and enjoy, such as sweet, sour or unami (savory). “Small additions to the meal can really help,” says Kelly. The Flavor Compass is free to nutritionists, courtesy of the World Cancer Research Fund.
Small additions to the meal can really help”
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