How should patients with multiple myeloma eat?

Multiple myeloma weakens the body's immune system, making patients more susceptible to various infections. There are no special dietary requirements for multiple myeloma patients, but in general, these patients tend to have weakened physical conditions and poor gastrointestinal function, so they should consume light, easily digestible, and clean foods.

How Should Multiple Myeloma Patients Manage Their Diet?

If patients are able to eat, they should be encouraged to eat small amounts at a time. To maintain balanced nutrition, they may benefit from eating several smaller meals throughout the day. For some patients with particularly poor gastrointestinal function, nasogastric feeding may be used to maximize gastrointestinal nutrition intake.

However, if certain patients are completely unable to eat, intravenous nutritional support is required—this goes beyond home care capabilities and typically involves hospital-provided nutritional regimens. In daily life, if the patient is in good condition, protein intake can be moderately increased. However, if the patient has allergies to specific foods, those should be avoided as much as possible.

Clinical manifestations of multiple myeloma include bone pain, anemia, kidney failure, hypercalcemia, and hyperuricemia. Therefore, when suffering from multiple myeloma, patients should avoid low-calcium and low-sodium foods, limit fluid and salt intake to prevent worsening kidney damage, and avoid alcohol, seafood, and animal organs, which can further elevate uric acid levels.

In recent years, the incidence of multiple myeloma has remained high. This disease not only causes physical harm to patients but also significantly impacts their quality of life.

Dietary management is a very important aspect of care for multiple myeloma patients, aside from medical treatment. Patients should avoid smoking and alcohol, refrain from consuming spicy or irritating foods, avoid overeating, steer clear of excessively greasy foods, and minimize intake of fried, grilled, moldy, or pickled foods.