Life Over Cancer Diet | Quantity Guide

In addition to making the right choices about what you eat, you also need to pay attention to how much you eat. Most of each meal should consist of vegetables, whole grains, and plant-based proteins...

Complex carbohydrates: Complex carbohydrates (from whole grains, vegetables, and fruit) should provide about half of your daily calories. About 1.5 cups of starchy vegetables or 2 slices of bread can be counted as the equivalent of a cup of cooked grain. At each meal and snack you should consume some grains or starchy vegetables or 1 or 2 slices of whole grain bread. 

Vegetables & fruits: Dr. Block encourages patients to eat at least a dozen servings of vegetables and fruits each day (2.5-4 cups). Yes, twelve! While this may seem difficult, you can make it easy by getting several of these servings from concentrated sources such as green drinks, vegetable juice, dehydrated vegetable or fruit powders, and vegetable extracts.

Protein: Adequate protein can usually be gotten in two protein-containing meals a day (usually lunch and dinner) plus snacks. However, if you are consuming more than 2,400 calories a day, you may want to consider three protein-containing meals a day. A protein serving consists of approximately 1/2 cup cooked beans or 1/2 cup soy foods such as tofu or tempeh or 2 eggs or 4 egg whites or 4 ounces of fish (a piece the size of your palm). Be sure to eat a variety of protein foods over the course of a week.

Fats & Salt: Look at fat and salt as an accent to your meal - too much may contribute to a decline in your condition. While you do not want to zero out fat, you should consume no more than 2 to 5 teaspoons of oil a day unless you are very active and must eat well over 2,500 calories a day. 

Fruit: Fruit contains sugars, so it can satisfy a craving for something sweet. But be careful, since the high sugar content of fruit can make you gain weight and cause your blood sugar to fluctuate. Dr. Block recommends no more than 1-3 pieces or five 1/2-cup servings a day. To further reduce the impact of fruit on blood sugar levels, choose whole fruits over fruit juices or other more processed fruit products—the fiber in whole fruits helps slow down digestion and keep your blood sugar more stable. If you have fruit juice, limit the amount (about 1/2 cup counts as a fruit serving) or dilute it with water. Also, spread fruit intake out throuhgout the day, rather than having a lot at once. If you eat fruit with a meal or snack containing protein or fat, you will digest it more slowly, also tempering the rise in blood sugar levels. 

Sweeteners: Dr. Block recommends sweeteners that are less likely to lead to the spikes in blood sugar that refined sugars cause. Agave has a very low glycemic index and has a more concentrated sweet taste than conventional sweeteners, so it is less caloric. Barley malt and rice syrup contain sugars that are absorbed more slowly. however, you should remember that even these sweeteners should be used in limited amounts, especially by people who should lose weight or keep their weight stable, since consistently overdoing even "healthy" sweets and desserts can boost your caloric intake with surprising ease.

See the Life Over Cancer website for a description of how our food quantity recommendations were calculated; they were developed with the assistance of registered dietitians at the Block Center. 

For cancer patients in the throes of clinical disease, active treatment, or uncontrolled weight loss, it is critical to make sure you get enough food of the right kinds.

For more information on The Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment, visit BlockMD.com.