Often time, when we take a long-distance drive up the highway, a brief stop at the R&R stations is what we need to re-energise our weary selves. A quick nap and munch on refreshments are all it takes to recover from exhaustion, and we are good to go again! The same goes for the recovery journey of a cancer patient. Fighting cancer is just like having a long-distance drive, is a process where one not only has to endure physical fatigue but also emotional turmoil. “Eat Well and Sleep Well,” is a common adage that we often say to someone that is ill, as such, a strong tie between nutrition, sleep quality and recovery are ascertainable.

Nearly 50% of cancer patients complained that they are unable to fall asleep at night, frequently awaken, and have feelings of unrest1. The chronic pain caused by their cancer treatment or surgery keeps them tossed and turn even more. A good 7 -8 hours of sleep is essential to maintain our physical and physiological health. As during deep sleep, our body performs housekeeping functions (e.g. removing inflammation), and restores the injured muscles and tissues2. Excessive inflammation is unhealthful and will delay the healing of surgical wounds and a probable risk that cancer recur. Lack of sleep can also make cancer patients grumpy, impatient, and less able to cope with things.

Getting better sleep is an important part of a comprehensive treatment plan. Using nutrition with the right energy efficiency and adequate macronutrients (i.e., proteins, carbohydrates and fats) to improve sleep is a realisable, convenient and inexpensive strategy. Appeton® Wellness Recovery is a breakthrough oral nutrition supplementation (ONS), clinically proven to help cancer patients recover faster after surgery, illness or hospitalisation3. It is specially formulated with Lactium®, a natural milk extract which promotes better sleep quality4, and with 28 essential vitamins and minerals that help prevents malnutrition and regulate normal body functions.

From the clinical study3, it was evidenced that supplementation of Appeton® Wellness Recovery before the cancer surgery, with 3 servings per day, improved the overall health and nutritional status of the patients in terms of energy, protein, carbohydrates and fat intake. Cancer patients required higher protein intake than healthy people, so they will need to take additional supplementation on top of their normal diet. Appeton® Wellness Recovery contains a high amount of protein which met the recommended protein intake for cancer patients, which kept their bodies well-nourished and supports recovery. On top of that, post-surgical supplementation of ONS for 3 months not only improved the patient’s sleep quality, and inflammation status, but they also showed significant improvement in their handgrip strength - an indication of higher muscle mass. By optimising sleep and nutrition, cancer patients can make sure their body has a chance to rest and recover and gets their immune system to function at full strength.

In essence, Appeton® Wellness Recovery – is the Nutrition R&R that helps cancer patients navigate a better recovery journey.

Learn more: Appeton Wellness Recovery

References:

1. Liu, L., & Ancoli-Israel, S. (2008). Sleep Disturbances in Cancer. Psychiatric annals, 38(9), 627.
2. Besedovsky, L., & Haack, M. (2019). The sleep-immune crosstalk in health and disease. Physiological Reviews, 99(3), 1325–1380.
3. Wong T.X. et. al. (2022) Effects of Perioperative Oral Nutrition Supplementation in Malaysian Patients Undergoing Elective Surgery for Breast and Colorectal Cancers-A Randomised Controlled Trial. Nutrients, 14(3):615.
4. De Saint-Hilaire, Z., Messaoudi, M., Desor, D., & Kobayashi, T. (2009). Effects of a bovine alpha S1-casein tryptic hydrolysate (CTH) on sleep disorder in Japanese general population. The Open Sleep Journal, 2(1), 26–32.