Cancer & Nutrition

Therapist Dana Nolan and Dietitian Tejal Parekh will be offering presentations at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on Saturday, April 13, 2013.  The Blood Cancer Symposium is being held at the Citrus Club in Orlando, Florida.

This is part of an educational program series provided by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, that provides mutual support and education for family members.  If you or a loved one have a diagnosis of Leukemia, Hodgkins Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, Myeloma or Myelodysplastic Syndrome, this symposium will provide you with information about making Healthy Food Choices in the Fight Against Cancer, Cancer Treatment, and Survivorship (getting back to normal after cancer treatment).  This is a great opportunity to discuss anxiety and concern with others who share the same experiences.

Dana Nolan is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Tejal Parekh is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian.  Both professionals are members of Healthy Living Counseling which provides counseling services for cancer and other serious illnesses.

Pre-registration for this FREE Cancer Symposium provided by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is required.  Please refer to the flyer below for more information.

blood cancer lecture orlando florida

This is a common question and an important one. Sugar, in its most simplest form, glucose does feed cancer cells just as it does all cells, healthy or not. It is the fuel needed for our body. To stop eating all foods containing sugar would not only be impractical ( as most foods are broken down in the body to glucose) but would also limit this fuel needed to power our healthy cells, including our brain.

When we eat food high in simple sugars, our body releases insulin, a growth hormone that takes care of the excess glucose in our body. It is believed that excess insulin may promote the growth of cancer cells and therefore our goal is to stabilize our glucose levels that will in turn, stabilize our insulin levels. How do we do this?

Essentially, we want to follow a diabetic diet. Eat small, frequent meals and snacks every 3 hours or so and avoid excess simple, processed sugars such as sodas, candy, cookies and cakes. We also want to eat more complex carbohydrates, i.e. whole grains. A meal containing protein, fat and/or fiber will help to slow down sugar absorption resulting in a slow rise in blood glucose levels and therefore a slow rise in insulin levels.

For more information or to clarify anything in this article, don’t hesitate to contact your Healthy Living Dietitian, Tejal Parekh, MS, RD/LDN.  Tejal provides services related to healthy eating for Cancer Patients, as well as, for people with heart disease, and other serious illnesses.