Can eating too much ginger induce liver cancer? What should liver cancer patients pay attention to in their diet?

Research by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shows that safrole in ginger can cause liver cancer. Adding 0.04% to 1% safrole to the feed of mice for 150 days to 2 years can induce liver cancer in mice. Ginger contains safrole, and excessive consumption of ginger can easily increase the risk of liver cancer. In addition, rotten ginger produces toxins that can also cause cancer. Some people believe that "rotten ginger does not taste rotten", but this idea has no scientific basis and is also very dangerous. Because rotten ginger produces toxins, in severe cases it can cause liver cancer and esophageal cancer. Not only should we eat less ginger and not eat rotten ginger to prevent liver cancer, but liver cancer patients should also pay attention to eating less ginger as much as possible.

What should liver cancer patients pay attention to in their diet?

Liver cancer patients need fresh, easy-to-digest, nutritious food to ensure the patients' heat and nutritional requirements. For example, eggs, fresh fish, lean meat, yogurt, soy milk, etc. can be used to supplement vitamins; fresh vegetables and fruits can be used to supplement vitamins; at the same time, attention should be paid to choosing appropriate fats to help absorb fat-soluble vitamins; auxiliary therapeutic foods such as turtles and mushrooms can also be used. The processing methods of various foods should be paid attention to. Liver cancer patients often have accompanying symptoms such as indigestion and anorexia. Therefore, food should be boiled, steamed, and stewed. Try not to eat hard and crisp foods such as fried and deep-fried foods. For liver cancer patients, hard, crisp, and spicy foods can cause serious complications such as gastrointestinal bleeding.

General principles of diet for liver cancer

1. Appropriate restrictions on food. Foods that liver cancer patients should avoid include: rooster, Muscovy duck, pork head, shrimp, crab, snail, clam, silkworm pupa, mutton, dog meat, eel, bamboo shoots, chili pepper, fried food, tobacco, alcohol, etc. (some of which are considered to be hair-raising foods by the public).

2. Limit the amount of food. The patient has a bad spleen and stomach, so he should eat in moderation, not overeat, not be picky eaters, and pay attention to fruit supplementation. There is a document saying that taking vitamin C can appropriately prolong the life of patients with advanced liver cancer.

Foods suitable for liver cancer diet: It is advisable to eat more foods that have the effect of softening and dispersing nodules and resisting liver cancer, such as red beans, coix seeds, jujubes, kelp, sea wormwood, kelp, hairy clams, conger eels, turtles, loaches, etc. It is advisable to eat more foods that have the effect of protecting the liver: turtles, soft-shelled turtles, clams, oysters, mulberries, thistles, shiitake mushrooms, mushrooms, sword beans, honey, etc. People with ascites should eat red beans, quail eggs, kelp, blue crabs, clams, black fish, carp, crucian carp, duck meat, etc. People with jaundice should eat horseshoe crab, carp, dace, loach, crab, clam, snail, sweet potato, wild rice stem, water chestnut, day lily, tangerine cake, kumquat, etc.; people with bleeding tendency should eat shellfish, tangerine, turtle, oyster, jellyfish, sea cucumber, squid, hairtail fish, black plum, dried persimmon, amaranth, shepherd's purse, etc.; people with liver pain should eat kumquat, tangerine cake, bergamot, bayberry, hawthorn, arrowhead, cucumber, etc.; people with hepatic coma tendency should eat sword bean, coix seed, burdock, river clam, seahorse, etc.

The dietary taboos for liver cancer are as follows: avoid smoking and drinking; avoid overeating, greasy food, avoid salted, smoked, grilled and fried food, especially burnt and charred food; avoid spicy and irritating food such as onion, garlic, pepper, chili, cinnamon, etc.; avoid moldy and pickled food, such as moldy peanuts, moldy soybeans, salted fish, pickled vegetables, etc.; avoid boney, rough, hard, sticky and indigestible food and food containing crude fiber; avoid heavy taste, too sour, too sweet, too salty, too cold, too hot and too gas-containing food; avoid salty and watery food for ascites, low coagulation function, especially those with bleeding tendency, scorpions, centipedes and food and Chinese medicine with blood circulation and blood stasis effect.

Specific dietary guidance for liver cancer

1. Balanced diet: Liver cancer patients consume a lot of energy, so the dietary principle for liver cancer patients must ensure adequate nutrition. The simplest way to measure the nutritional status of patients is whether they can maintain their weight. To maintain a normal weight, the best way is to maintain a balanced diet, requiring patients to eat more fresh vegetables, and half of them should be green leafy vegetables.

2. Fat and protein: A high-fat diet can affect and aggravate the condition, while a low-fat diet can alleviate symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and abdominal distension in liver cancer patients. Liver cancer patients have poor appetite and eat less. If they do not have a balanced diet, they must increase the calories of their diet and eat easily digestible fats, sweets (such as honey, royal jelly), sucrose, vegetable oils, and cream. Liver cancer patients should eat more protein-rich foods, especially high-quality proteins, such as lean meat, eggs, beans, and milk, to prevent a decrease in albumin. However, in the late stages of liver cancer, when liver function is poor, protein intake should be controlled to avoid excessive protein intake that may induce hepatic encephalopathy.

3. Vitamins: Vitamins A, C, E, K, etc. have certain auxiliary anti-tumor effects. Vitamin C is mainly found in fresh vegetables and fruits. Carotene can be converted into vitamin A after entering the human body, so liver cancer patients should eat more animal liver, carrots, cauliflower, day lily, cabbage, figs, jujubes, etc. At the same time, they should also eat more fresh vegetables and fruits, such as radish, pumpkin, bamboo shoots, asparagus, apples, black plums, kiwis, etc.

4. Inorganic salts: minerals. Nutritionists divide inorganic salts into two categories: macroelements, such as calcium, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, etc.; trace elements, such as selenium, zinc, iodine, copper, manganese, germanium, etc. Scientists have found that minerals such as selenium, magnesium, copper, magnesium, and iron have anti-cancer effects. Liver cancer patients should eat more foods containing trace elements with anti-cancer effects, such as garlic, mushrooms, asparagus, corn, seaweed, kelp, seaweed, clams, marine fish, egg yolks, brown rice, beans, whole wheat noodles, nuts, pumpkin, Chinese cabbage, kohlrabi, animal liver, kidney, ginseng, wolfberry, yam, ganoderma lucidum, etc.

5. Easily digestible and appetizing food: Liver cancer patients often have symptoms of indigestion such as loss of appetite, nausea, and abdominal distension, so they should eat easily digestible food, such as sour plum soup, fresh orange juice, fruit juice, ginger sugar water, noodle soup, fresh millet porridge, etc., to help digestion and relieve pain. Do not eat too cold, too hot, or too full. Liver cancer patients often experience nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite. They should eat light food that can stimulate the appetite and reduce reflux, such as almond juice, lotus root powder, corn paste, kumquat cake, mountain slag cake, and other easily digestible foods. Avoid eating heavy oil and greasy food.

6. Invigorating Qi and nourishing blood: After liver cancer surgery, patients often suffer from general fatigue, sore limbs, poor appetite and spontaneous sweating due to damage to Qi and blood. Invigorating Qi and nourishing blood should be the main treatment. Crucian carp soup, black chicken soup, ginseng tea, longan, white fungus, and turtle can be consumed. Hard, raw and cold foods should be avoided.

7. Most patients with advanced liver cancer are in a state of systemic failure and have difficulty eating. The dietary principle for liver cancer patients should be to strengthen the body. In addition to increasing nutrition, American ginseng or white ginseng should be often used to soak in water to enhance the functions of various organs.