Soft-shelled turtle, also known as Chinese water turtle, its meat contains a large amount of high-quality protein, amino acids, minerals, trace elements, as well as vitamins A, B1, B2, etc. Cancer patients often lose their appetite, and the proliferation of tumor cells consumes a large number of nutrients, which can easily lead to significant malnutrition. According to research, soft-shelled turtles not only have the effect of anti-fatigue and eliminating fatigue and are beneficial to patients with chronic hepatitis, but also have a certain anti-cancer effect. Modern medicine believes that eating soft-shelled turtles can enhance the body's immune function. Clinical studies have shown that eating soft-shelled turtles can control human liver cancer cells, stomach cancer cells, and acute lymphocytic leukemia cells. It can be seen that eating soft-shelled turtles is beneficial for cancer patients to relieve symptoms and physical recovery. However, the following aspects must be noted when eating:
1. Choose according to the individual, the disease, and the time. The syndrome has divisions of yin-yang, qi-blood, and deficiency-excess. After surgery, cancer patients are physically weak. When there are symptoms of yin deficiency during radiotherapy or chemotherapy, soft-shelled turtles can be eaten as an adjunctive therapy.
2. Pay attention to the function of the spleen and stomach. The taste of soft-shelled turtle is rich and greasy. If there is nausea, vomiting, abdominal distension, diarrhea, extremely poor appetite, or a thick, greasy tongue coating, it is not advisable to eat soft-shelled turtle. Otherwise, the opposite effect may occur.
3. Flexibly adjust the cooking method according to the condition. For early-stage patients with mild illness and good gastrointestinal function, they can eat more, and it can be braised. For patients with severe heat-damaging yin or late-stage patients with poor gastrointestinal function, clear stewing is more appropriate. When stewing, you can add appropriate seasonings such as dried shrimp, mushrooms, ham, ginger, and yellow wine, and drink more of the soup.
Everything should be in moderation. It is not good to eat only soft-shelled turtles; attention should be paid to the intake of other various nutrients. The amount and best time for cancer patients to eat soft-shelled turtles should be guided by an experienced Chinese medicine practitioner.