Limit or avoid during radiation treatment - foods

Last updated: August 23, 2025

Foods to limit during radiotherapy

The current webpage is designed to make additional research available concerning how certain foods and beverages can interfere with or reduce the beneficial treatment effects of radiotherapy. At the bottom of this webpage are links to studies relating to the foods under limit or avoid in Foods to eat & avoid during radiation treatment.

The following foods and beverages have the potential to reduce the beneficial cytotoxic effects of radiotherapy or interfere with the treatment:

Selected breast cancer studies

Effect of alcohol consumption on oncological treatment effectiveness and toxicity in patients with cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis Cite
Fountoukidis G, Schiza A, Smith D, Othman M, Bergman M, Ahlgren J, et al. Effect of alcohol consumption on oncological treatment effectiveness and toxicity in patients with cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Cancer. Springer Science and Business Media LLC; 2025; 25 10.1186/s12885-025-13694-z
Comprehensive analysis and assessment of exposure to enteric viruses and bacteria in shellfish Cite
Fehrenbach GW, Murphy E, Pogue R, Carter F, Clifford E, Major I. Comprehensive analysis and assessment of exposure to enteric viruses and bacteria in shellfish. Marine Environmental Research. Elsevier BV; 2024; 196:106404 10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106404
Impact of combining vitamin C with radiation therapy in human breast cancer: does it matter? Cite
Khazaei S, Nilsson L, Adrian G, Tryggvadottir H, Konradsson E, Borgquist S, et al. Impact of combining vitamin C with radiation therapy in human breast cancer: does it matter?. Oncotarget. Impact Journals, LLC; 2022; 13:439-453 10.18632/oncotarget.28204
Pro-inflammatory cytokine polymorphisms and interactions with dietary alcohol and estrogen, risk factors for invasive breast cancer using a post genome-wide analysis for gene–gene and gene–lifestyle interaction Cite
Jung SY, Papp JC, Sobel EM, Pellegrini M, Yu H, Zhang Z. Pro-inflammatory cytokine polymorphisms and interactions with dietary alcohol and estrogen, risk factors for invasive breast cancer using a post genome-wide analysis for gene–gene and gene–lifestyle interaction. Scientific Reports. Springer Science and Business Media LLC; 2021; 11 10.1038/s41598-020-80197-1
Assessment of Vibrio parahaemolyticus levels in oysters (Crassostrea virginica) and seawater in Delaware Bay in relation to environmental conditions and the prevalence of molecular markers to identify pathogenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains Cite
Almuhaideb E, Chintapenta LK, Abbott A, Parveen S, Ozbay G. Assessment of Vibrio parahaemolyticus levels in oysters (Crassostrea virginica) and seawater in Delaware Bay in relation to environmental conditions and the prevalence of molecular markers to identify pathogenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains. PLOS ONE. Public Library of Science (PLoS); 2020; 15:e0242229 10.1371/journal.pone.0242229
Antioxidant supplementation and breast cancer prognosis in postmenopausal women undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy Cite
Jung AY, Cai X, Thoene K, Obi N, Jaskulski S, Behrens S, et al. Antioxidant supplementation and breast cancer prognosis in postmenopausal women undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Oxford University Press (OUP); 2019; 109:69-78 10.1093/ajcn/nqy223
Cancerous patients and outbreak of Escherichia coli: an important issue in oncology Cite
Joob B, Wiwanitkit V. Cancerous patients and outbreak of Escherichia coli: an important issue in oncology. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Disease. Elsevier BV; 2014; 4:204-206 10.1016/s2222-1808(14)60506-5
Radioprotective potential of mint: A brief review Cite
Baliga M, Rao S. Radioprotective potential of mint: A brief review. Journal of Cancer Research and Therapeutics. Medknow; 2010; 6:255 10.4103/0973-1482.73336
Raw milk and raw milk cheeses as vehicles for infection by Verocytotoxin‐producing Escherichia coli Cite
BAYLIS CL. Raw milk and raw milk cheeses as vehicles for infection by Verocytotoxin‐producing Escherichia coli. International Journal of Dairy Technology. Wiley; 2009; 62:293-307 10.1111/j.1471-0307.2009.00504.x
Antioxidants Suppress Apoptosis Cite
Zeisel SH. Antioxidants Suppress Apoptosis. The Journal of Nutrition. Oxford University Press (OUP); 2004; 134:3179S-3180S 10.1093/jn/134.11.3179s

Selected breast cancer studies

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