Juicing for cancer recipes can address several issues that a person with cancer might have. They need to boost their immune system to keep it as healthy as possible to best fight off cancer cells. They may have a loss of appetite but still need to consume fresh fruits and vegetables. If they’re receiving chemotherapy or radiation therapy, they may want to help detox their system. They may need something that can help ease the side effects of treatment, like nausea.
Why is Juicing for Cancer Patients Important?
Nutritional guidelines say we should eat a healthy diet that includes 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day, but it’s estimated that most American adults only eat 1 serving daily, if at all. Our standard diet relies on processed food, but our bodies need whole foods, leafy green vegetables, cruciferous vegetables, and fruits.
Juicing has been promoted as a way to help people with cancer prevention, but juicing might be even more important for those fighting cancer. People with cancer can make these simple recipes to help boost their energy levels and support their immune systems in killing off cancer cells, and it’s a great way to provide the nutrients necessary for their healing journey.
Many people with a cancer diagnosis have at one point or another a lack of appetite, or unintentional weight loss, possibly from nausea, mouth sores, or as a side effect of treatment. According to Stanford Healthcare, a cup of carrot or celery juice has most of the same nutrients found in 5 cups of those fresh vegetables cut up.
Dehydration is also a possible side effect of cancer treatment. Including hydrating fruits and vegetables (those with high water content, like cucumber, lemon, orange, celery, and watermelon) to juice blends can help prevent dehydration.
There are almost an unlimited number of combinations that can be made. You can select a simple pairing of cranberry apple juice, to more complex blends. Combine green leafy vegetables that provide folic acid with citrus fruits for their vitamin C, berries for their anti-cancer compounds or straight green juices – whatever your body needs and your taste buds like.
Important Notes on Juicing
- Fruits and vegetables need to be organic. It defeats the purpose of creating fresh juice from them if the juice is going to be filled with chemicals and pesticides.
- Wash all fruits and vegetables before using.
- It’s best to drink these healthy juices immediately. If you cannot drink it all, they can be stored (ideally in a glass mason-type jar leaving about an inch free space at the top and sealed with a lid) and either drank within a couple of hours. If that’s not possible, freeze the juice immediately. To thaw, place the glass jar in a bowl of room-temperature water for a few hours.
- Recommendations on the best juicers for cancer patients can be found in another article.
Healthy Juicing Recipes
One of my own favorite super simple, anti-nausea juice recipes is to combine one carrot, one apple, and a 1/4-inch piece of ginger root. This is a sweet, easy-to-drink healthy juice that soothes an upset stomach thanks to the ginger.
One of Chris Wark’s of Chris Beat Cancer‘s favorite juice recipes is below:
- 5 carrots
- 5 celery stalks
- 1/4 of a beet (including the root and the top)
- 1-inch piece of gingerroot
He drank so much of this as he naturally cured his cancer, he turned orange! (Don’t worry, this is a normal, non-harmful, and temporary reaction from consuming a lot of carrots). There are so many health benefits of carrot juice. You can read more about his natural cancer treatment journey on his website.
Season Johnson is a holistic nutritionist and swears by this Green Juice Recipe in helping to detox and rebuild damaged tissues. It has a combination of veggies I wouldn’t have thought of combining, but it does sound delicious!
Cortney of Anti Cancer Mom, who is a cancer survivor herself shares her 5 favorite anti-cancer juice recipes. The one that sounds the most unique to me is:
- 1 green apple
- 4-6 carrots
- 1 broccoli stalk
- 1 medium beet
After these are juiced, hand-squeeze a half a lemon into the mixture and stir. The lemon helps to cover the broccoli flavor.
Berries are known to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which help to fight free radicals. Stanford Healthcare recommends this pineapple/blueberry/ginger juice blend :
- 1/4 of a pineapple
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1/4 – 1/2 inch piece of ginger root
The American Cancer Society released a cancer cookbook of simple recipes for patients. This recipe is called Maya’s Wonder Juice:
- 4 carrots
- 2 celery stalks
- 1 cup spinach leaves
- 1/2 cup broccoli florets
- 1 thin slice peeled beet
- 1 to 2 unpeeled Gala apples (or other sweet apples)
Olga from Healthy Taste of Life calls this the best cancer killer juice – this pomegranate blend is unique because research has demonstrated that pomegranate extract can stop the growth of cancer cells. It can also boost the effectiveness of some chemotherapy drugs while also protecting healthy cells against chemo’s harmful side effects.
- 2 large pomegranates – de-seeded
- 1/4 medium red cabbage – (or purple cabbage)
- 1.5 cup blueberries or other berries
When it’s not possible to eat whole fruits and all recommended servings of vegetables every day as part of a healthy lifestyle to support your cancer care treatment plan, consider making your own juices. Remember to use the best vegetables (organic) and experiment with a variety of leafy greens, berries, and fruits to create nutritious juices to go along with other healthy foods in your diet.
Your turn: What’s your favorite juice ebland? Share your recipe in the comments below!
