ISSN: 2640-2637
Authors: Shango AJ* and Maswi PB
Fruits and vegetables are among the foods considered as naturally nutrient-rich in addition to common everyday meals. Plant-based diet entailing high intake of these nutrient-rich plant derived foods can provide numerous bioactive constituents. Several of such compounds may modify a multitude of processes that are related to numerous chronic diseases in humans. Human bone marrow can be damaged by disease, chemotherapy or radiation. Therefore, a patient is subjected to stem cell transplantation (SCT) to infuse healthy stem cells that replace damaged ones. Therefore, the purpose of this mini-review is to provide insight of research on the nutritional aspects including pros and cons of nutrient-rich foods (fruits and vegetables) in response to SCT. The review revealed that, multiple myeloma, overweight, sarcopenia and low oxidative stress levels are among the most prevalent conditions/risk factors for complications and increased relapse/non-relapse mortality in patients eligible for SCT. Patients recovering from SCT require more calories and twice as much protein in diets than healthy individuals of similar age and gender. Apple fruit and vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and beetroots were most frequently consumed by patients subjected to allogeneic bone marrow (allo-BMT). While, green vegetables like spinach and broccoli, onion, garlic, beans and peas as well as grapefruits, raspberries, grapes, oranges and strawberries were rarely consumed by patients under allo-BMT. Neutropenic (low-microbial) diets are designed to reduce ingestion of pathogens through the exclusion of foods such as fruits and vegetables that can be vectors of bacteria. In contrast to the neutropenic diet, natural diet plus vegetable-dairy i.e., soy-whey blended protein as well as the modified BMT diet allowed fresh fruits and vegetables without visible damage (e.g., cuts and bruises) and must be well washed under cold running water. Despite the diet restrictions (i.e., towards foods which pose the greatest risk both in hospitals and at home), further research studies with respect to fruit and vegetables are recommended to establish specific prescriptions including optimum quantities and time of consumption by the immunosuppressed patients/those subjected to SCT. Adequate data would be ideal as a tool to aid professionals including nutritionists to safely recommend foods that can be ingested by patients under SCT.
Keywords: Nutrients-Rich Foods; Fruits; Vegetables; Stem Cells Transplantation; Diet Enrichment
