When patients are fighting cancer, the obstacles are overwhelming.  You are facing the biggest battle of your life. There are tests, analysis, appointments, directives, prescriptions, navigation of schedules, and an expectation that your only priority is to defeat cancer. Possibly for the first time in your life, you have to make your health your sole focus.

The battlefield is set and the enemy is clear. It’s you against the blackness. You might feel as if your body has betrayed you, and that you can no longer trust that it supports your being. And yet, nothing can be farther from the truth. Your body wants to heal. Your body is on your side, and you have all the weapons you need to face it.

Believe it or not, among your miracle weapons is your sense of taste. It is your first line of defense and the very first part of your body that engages your digestive system. When you experience the flavor of real food ingredients on your tongue, and not that of artificial or natural chemically created flavors, your taste buds send a message to your body that nutrition is coming to support you. Real flavor engages the salivary glands and starts the nourishing process.

As a cancer patient, you’re probably not seeing the benefits of your sense of taste. Your tastebuds might seem to be battling you as well. Often times, food has an overwhelming offensive salty or even a metallic taste to those undergoing chemotherapy. Many of these protocols are platinum based. Your body actually recognizes these newly introduced elements and tries to compensate by sending a message that suggests, “Hey, I’m on metallic mineral overload, tell those taste buds to reject anything that contains more minerals!” You might not realize that salt in its natural state is full of minerals. When your body is already at capacity, it wants you to stop taking in more. Hence, salty flavors become overwhelming and lose all appeal.

You see, taste buds have a purpose. They are there to help you understand your body and what it needs. Take steps as you heal to insure that flavors you eat come from real food. Use fruits for sweetness, spices and herbs for balanced more interesting flavors. Avoid anything with artificial or natural flavorings. Even “natural” flavors are manufactured flavors that simply fool your taste buds into thinking you are eating something nutritious.  When you eat real food, your taste buds send accurate messages that real nutrition is there to help you heal.

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Sherry Hess, VP of Product Development at Marivation. (this blog represents the opinions of the Author)

* This work was originally published in the MarivationUSA.com website on October, 2019.