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Cancer treatment is physically and emotionally demanding. Along with medications, therapies, and hospital visits, patients are often advised to make important dietary changes. One recommendation that surprises many people is the advice to avoid raw foods during treatment. Patients may wonder why salads, sushi, raw sprouts, unpasteurized juices, or undercooked foods suddenly become risky when they were previously part of a healthy diet.
The reason is closely connected to how cancer treatments affect the immune system. Treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, bone marrow transplantation, and certain immunotherapies can weaken the body’s natural defenses. When immunity is low, even bacteria or germs that are harmless to healthy individuals can cause serious infections in cancer patients.
