Anti-nausea advice for chemo patients includes fast food?

Physical Health Cancer
21

I've written this on another discussion board, but it really belongs here!

Here comes the monkey wrench to everyone's thoughts and opinions of fast food:

During Chemo- literally while being infused, I ate McDonald's breakfasts! The egg McMuffin, psuedo-haashbrowns in patty form, or the pancake, eggs and pseudo-hashbrowns.
I'm not a fast-food advocate, but boy, oh boy, was it good! I think I knew I wouldn't be eating for a few days after chemo, and somehow was drawn to having McDonald's. My husband refers to it as "a super-volcanic-colonic-cleanser"! But for me, wonderful!

My father-in-law owned a tavern and before he went to work each day, would eat barely cooked, really easy, eggs, floating in olive oil. Or he would drink a shot of olive oil to coat his stomach as his patrons would always want to "buy him a drink".

Perhaps the same analogy? Who knows. When I think about how the body really takes care of itself through what we call cravings and which is actually a deficiency of vitamins, minerals and the such, I wonder if the oil in the fast food really was coating my stomach, giving me calories that I would need for the following days after chemo?
Thanks to whomever (KB?), bumped this discussion.

Food for thought?!?

Robin

22

Robin S,

What a splendid "bump" for this topic! We have, of course, McDonalds in the UK, and I have tried it twice in the last 20 years or so. I might give it another go in another 10 years or so, to see if they have got the hang of it yet.

If I have a burger, I have usually made it myself from minced beef, a few seasonings, and not much else. Mind you, I bake a lot of my own bread, showing the scant regard I have for processed food.

My main point, before I disappear at a complete tangent, is that you may be on to something with the olive oil. I love it! I make salad dressings with it, and focaccia, I fry stuff in it, I use it when I make pitta bread, it's always on the table, with balsamic vinegar, to dip bread if friends are having nibbles, and more besides. When I was a child in Oldham (near Manchester in England), olive oil was something you bought from the pharmacy to rub on weak limbs or sunburn. Now it is in every supermarket.

I have travelled a bit, first encountering olive oil proper in the south of France. I've eaten chicken with tarragon and olive oil in Spain, salads and confit fish in Italy, and all manner of meat, vegetable, and fish dishes in Greece and Turkey. To my mind, the best olive oil comes from Corfu, and the best overall food is to be found in Cyprus. There, it is so simple and fresh! I can smell the kleftiko - slow cooked lamb shank - perfect! With a horiatiki insalata, then yoghurt of goat and sheep milk, with honey, as a dessert. Kala!

Where was I? I think food can be important in overall health. Equally, I found when I had Hodgkins that I, like you, would crave certain things on certain days, and would eat those, and only those. My appetite went all over the place, before during and after my treatment. My wife, who is also a wonderful cook, would make me some splendid meals to try to coax me into eating. But I would pick at it, then make myself a cheese sandwich. Moral? Eat what you want. Nothing will make you better or worse. Food tastes slightly metallic during ABVD, I lost my appetite and a lot of weight, you still got to eat, so you might as well eat what you want. You can make up after, this is subsistence.

It may be that your body is demanding the things you need, or it may be that your mind is demanding the things it wants. I, for one, care nothing. Bon appetit!

23

Okay, I'm hungry! I use olive oil in just about everything! My husband's favorite salad dressing is olive oil and soy sauce or olive oil and balsamic.

Nice to meet another foodie! Would Mrs. K CARE TO SHARE A RECIPE OR TWO?sorry caps left on. LOVE lamb shanks!Oso Bucco last i made with them.

My appetite still hasn't recovered (thank goodness!), but, my nutritional habits are severally lacking in discipline. I love to cook, but the odor, ah hem, aroma, makes me queasy after standing over the stove for too long. I take a "time out" while the family enjoys, then join them when my tummy settles down.

Cheers!

Robin

24

Mr K does most of the cooking at our house, that way we eat what I want. Thinking cassoulet for tonight with focaccia, lots of olive oil obviously.

LAMB SHANKS deserve capital letters! Cut three slashes in your shanks, put a sprig of rosemary, wrapped in a piece of anchovy fillet, and a slice of garlic in each slash. Brown the outsides in a casserole, then remove and keep warm. Turn up the heat, add chopped carrots, celery, onion, leeks, more garlic, thyme and a bay leaf, fry until a little browned. Deglaze with red wine, then add stock (beef or chicken) and bring to the boil. Add the shanks, cover, then cook in a very low oven (140C or 275F) for 2 hours 30 mins, maybe even 3 hours.

Just ahead of time, you can make a sauce. Fry chopped bacon, onion, carrot, celery etc. Add a tin of flageolet beans. Then take out the shanks, keep warm. Whizz up the cooking liquid in a blender and pass through a mouli or sieve onto the bean mixture. Heat through, then serve, with simple vegetables, and a bottle of red wine. This is so full of flavour that it will go easily with an oaked wine, like a Rioja or Syrah.

This is not fast food. It is good for anyone recovering from illness. (Tenuous link to maintain thread relevance!)

25

hmmm.
so ummmm
when's dinner?

26

Sorry, can't speak just now - eating! It's Jersey Royal potato time here.

27

you tease you

28

Geri, I would reply, but the lovely smell of fish curry and home-made naan bread wafting from my kitchen is distracting me. It must be nearly ready. I must go and fry up the pakoras, and pull a cork. Laters!

29

arrrrrggghhhhhh!

well, yesterday I made the most delish red lentil soup. heavenly.
:-))

30

A favourite here, too! Especially with crusty bread, straight from the oven.

31

Well it looks like the McDonald's food won out. I am wondering if it is the fact that it coats the stomache to buffer it. For those it worked for it was an easy fix. As a nurse when I worked the Oncology floor I always started my patients out on Ice Cream. Worked great! Eat it in solid form or drink it later...the vitamins are there!