I have been advised not to eat natural yogurts while on chemotherapy as they contain live culture. Nurse said culture free natural yogurts are available. I would like to know what should I look for when looking for yogurts or brands which are suitable to eat while on chemo. Many thanks
Hi Priti
Welcome to the online community and hope you find the support and information helpful.
Everyone is different in how they are affected by a cancer diagnosis and its treatments and on this platform it’s difficult to give individual advice for this reason.
During chemotherapy there can be an increased risk of infections as well as other side effects.
One of the things you must be careful is what you eat.
Regarding culture free yogurts it is very difficult to find information on sourcing this product.
Purchasing any yogurt that does not describe itself as bio or probiotic including live, plain, Greek and fruit yogurts is generally advised. You should also check that the yogurt has been made from pasteurised milk as this will help kill harmful bacteria that may be in the yogurt . Although all yogurts do contain live bacterial cultures which ferment the milk to make it yogurt.
You should generally avoid any supplements, food and drink containing probiotics such as bio -yogurts Actimel, Yakult and supermarkets own brands.
Probiotics are usually good for you as they provide good bacteria for the body but whilst having chemotherapy caution is advised with consuming any type of bacteria due to possible reduced immune response.
The label on the product should give you information re culture free products and asking the staff in the supermarket or store may be helpful.
Just to be on the safe side.
Once you have found a local source for this type of yogurt it may be helpful just to double check with your treatment team /dietician that there are happy for you to consume this product.
Another option for more specific advice would be to ask your treatment team to refer you for a dietetic referral.
It may also be worthwhile looking at this information on Breast Cancer Now for further information re diet during breast cancer treatment .
I have also found this chat on our online forum that may also be useful to look at.
It’s about a lymphoma patient but the principal is the same.
On this platform it can be difficult to have a two-way conversation and to fully understand what you are going through.
If you’d like further explanation or have any other questions, please feel free to recontact us. Or if you think it may help to discuss things with someone outside the loop please feel free to give us a call or contact us via our web chat platform.
take care
Keith, Cancer Information Nurse Specialist
You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email.
Ref KM/AD
