One thing that I learnt as a trainee dietitian at the local hospice clinic was that daily nutrition and food for cancer patients is as important as the treatment itself and the importance of a well balanced nutrition for cancer patients can never be overemphasized. However, achieving the goals of proper and balanced nutrition is easier said than done in case of cancer patients, especially with the treatment causing as many health problems as the disease itself. However, recently I got to read an article about Sable’s Foods Nutrition Bars, made exclusively for cancer patients to help them achieve their daily nutrition goals. This kind of got me excited and I did a bit of further research on these products. What I learnt was quite exciting, so do read on to know more about this small size nutritional dynamite for cancer patients…

A decade ago, during my training days, there were several times when a patient would get severely anorexic and refuse food completely or the disease would damage his digestive system so badly that he could no longer consume food. In such cases, we had very few options, since  there were hardly any foods in the market that were made exclusively for cancer patients. The nutritional shakes available would taste like sand paper and the occasional nutritional bars available lacked severely in nutrition or taste aspects. Hence, we would conveniently insert a gastric tube and tube feed the patient. However, studies have proved that, natural eating stimulates the digestive system and enables better nutrition absorption as compared to gastric tube feeding.

Alicia Sable Hunt, a cancer nurse with 15 years of experience, observed this dearth of good tasting nutritional supplements for cancer patients and came up with the Sable’s Foods Nutritional Empowerment Bars. Conceiving the idea was easy but not implementing it. After years of hard work and recipe development process, Sable came up with the nutrition bar that she claims, is loved by several people (cancer patients or otherwise) world-over.

The nutritional empowerment bar comes in 2 different flavors to cater to the different tastes of cancer patients, and packs enough calorie to last an entire noon time. The serving size too has been designed in such a way that the patient neither feels too full nor left hungry. The nutritional content of the bar was developed under the guidance of a team of doctors, dieticians, and nurses, while the taste and texture were determined by a set of cancer patients – the population for whom these energy bars were developed.  

These nutritional bars are, of course, a blessing in disguise for all cancer patients trying to postpone or avoid a stage where gastric tubing becomes a necessity. I would like to thank Sable, for putting in such great efforts towards the cause of cancer food and nutrition.

Image Credits: trialx.com