Sydney Russell, oncology dietitian at OSF HealthCare and coordinator of the OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute Teaching Kitchen, says simple dietary additions like fiber-rich seeds, antioxidant-packed fruits and vegetables and plant-based proteins can help strengthen the body and improve your quality of life.

The power of ginger for nausea relief

Ginger has long been used as a natural remedy, and modern research supports its benefits, particularly for people undergoing chemotherapy. Ginger contains an antioxidant compound called gingerol, which helps reduce inflammation and manage nausea.

"Gingerol is one of the antioxidant compounds found in ginger. It's excellent; from reducing chronic inflammation to helping relieve joint and muscle pain," Russell says. "It also helps manage nausea. Many of my patients undergoing oncology treatment are struggling with nausea. So, ginger tea, ginger broth and ginger smoothies can be great ways to help and keep nausea at bay."

Antioxidants: “Eating the rainbow”

Antioxidants are found in a wide variety of fruits and vegetables and play a role in supporting overall health and reducing cancer risk. Russell encourages people to focus on variety.

"We refer to it as eating the rainbow," Russell says. Adding all kinds of berries, fruits (like oranges) and veggies (leafy greens) into our meals daily can help add much-needed antioxidants into our lives, she adds.

"It's important we add protein and fiber (into our diets). I would encourage emphasizing antioxidants as well. That is going to support our overall health, but specifically when we're talking about cancer and ways to reduce our cancer risk," Russell says. "Those antioxidant-rich foods can be an excellent thing to include in our diets."

Fiber: A hidden powerhouse

Many Americans do not get enough fiber in their daily diets, yet it plays a key role in digestive health, blood sugar balance and cholesterol management.

It's a "hidden powerhouse," Russell says. Pumpkin seeds are a great way to add fiber into your diet, and you can add them to things like yogurt parfaits, granola and baked goods. This feeds the bacteria in your gut to promote a healthy gut microbiome. It also keeps your blood sugars balanced and helps with cholesterol.

Russell says vitamins and minerals help our bodies function better overall. Pumpkin seeds have magnesium and zinc in them, which are great for our immune system and support both heart health and hormone health. This is impactful for those in their cancer journey, helping to keep their bodies strong.

Plant-based proteins that support gut health

Plant-based proteins can be an excellent option for those looking to diversify their diet or reduce meat intake without sacrificing nutrition.

Lentils are versatile and a great way to get that needed fiber and protein and can be a substitute for meat. Not ready to fully give up meat? Russell says you can mix the lentils with meat and go half and half.

Tempeh lettuce tomato (TLT) is an alternative to a BLT. The tempeh is a plant-based protein source and is much firmer than tofu. It can have a bacon-like flavor when marinated in a mixture of low sodium soy sauce, maple syrup and liquid smoke. It can be found in the health foods section or plant-based section in the grocery store.

Tempeh is great for gut health, adding prebiotics into our diets.

Fruit that does more than taste good

Some fruits offer unique benefits beyond vitamins and antioxidants. Golden kiwis, for example, are easier to eat for some patients and provide hydration and digestive support.

Golden kiwis have great fiber found in the skin, and are sweeter than green kiwis, so they're easier to eat. They also have fantastic vitamin C levels and help keep you hydrated. They can help relieve constipation as well.

A fresh start in the new year

Russell encourages people to view the new year as an opportunity to explore new foods and expand their dietary habits.

"New Year is the perfect time to start thinking about healthy eating, it's a fresh start. The importance of trying new foods would be to expand your palette. There are so many different flavors and textures out there, as well as so many different health benefits from expanding that palette," Russell says.

By focusing on whole foods, fiber, antioxidants and nutrient-rich ingredients, Russell emphasizes that small, sustainable changes can make a meaningful difference, especially for those navigating cancer care and recovery.

It’s always important to speak with your oncology team first about dietary decisions.

Video Interview Clips

B-ROLL

TikTok is full of videos from influencers and others touting the benefits of various juice cleanses. For better or worse, the share of adults who regularly get news from TikTok has grown about fivefold since 2020 and for adults under 30, nearly 40% get their news on the social media platform.

So, there are a lot of people who could be convinced to do a juice cleanse from their exposure to those messages. Is that a bad thing? A juice cleanse involves consuming only fruit and vegetable juices for between three and seven days. OSF HealthCare gastroenterologist Omar Khokhar, MD, says the research isn't there yet for him to recommend tackling a juice cleanse to reset your gut health.

One of the biggest claims you hear on Tik Tok is that a juice cleanse can remove toxins from your body. Dr. Khokhar says there’s no data to support that.

“I don't know of any data that shows that a juice cleanse will preemptively remove toxins. That being said, if you reduce the amount of overall chemicals or ingredients that you're ingesting, you may have less toxins going in and thereby being metabolized and then excreted.”

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns that some detox/cleansing products may contain illegal or potentially harmful ingredients, are marketed using false health claims, and could be harmful for people with some health conditions, such as diabetes. They also rarely lead to permanent weight loss.

Instead of a juice cleanse, Dr. Khokhar says the best approach to improving gut health is to improve what you’re ingesting every day.

“Eat on the outside of the grocery store. We talk about produce, meat, seafood, and if you can tolerate it, dairy. The other way to look at it is – and I do this very frequently in our clinic for patients who have heartburn, diarrhea, constipation – I'll tell them, ‘Give me three days. Don't eat anything out of a wrapper, box, or a can.’”

Eat more fiber

Most people need more soluble and insoluble fiber in their diet. Soluble fiber is found in apples, bananas, oats, peas, beans, avocados, and citrus fruits. Insoluble fiber is in whole wheat flour, bran, nuts, seeds, and the skins of many fruits and vegetables. Dr. Khokhar says both are critical to improving digestive health.

“The trick with the GI tract is to keep things moving. When things stagnate, that's when your GI gut microbiome can replicate in the wrong way. It's when you get constipation, and you get diverticulosis, and you get bloating. So, it's all about keeping things moving.”

While some juices have antioxidants which can help protect cells from damage, reduce inflammation, and lower the risk of chronic diseases, they are also high in sugar and some, including grapefruit juice, can have a bad interaction or interfere with absorption of certain medications. So, Dr. Khokhar says it’s really important to consult your primary care provider before starting any cleanse. He also recommends limiting a juice cleanse to 72 hours.

Drink more water

Staying hydrated can also go a long way in keeping your intestinal tract healthy. Dr. Khokhar also says the body has its own system of flushing the digestive system. He explains there is something called a migrating motor complex, or MMC for short, that creates a soft tidal wave through your GI tract every two to three hours.

“That's because it's important to replenish and recycle bacteria in the gut microbiome that often, and so if you change what you're putting into your system, it will affect the composition of that system,” Dr. Khokhar stresses.

Whether that’s a good or bad influence and what that means for our health is unclear and Dr. Khokhar suggests that’s the next exciting frontier of GI research. However, Dr. Khokhar returns to his theme that focusing on putting less processed food into your body on a regular basis will go a longer way than a juice cleanse to improve your gut microbiome and reduce gastrointestinal issues.    

Dr. Omar Khokhar

B-roll for Juice cleanse