{"id":807442,"date":"2026-07-17T08:20:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T08:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/807442\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T08:20:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T08:20:16","slug":"fuelling-the-fight-against-breast-cancer-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/807442\/","title":{"rendered":"Fuelling the fight against breast cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nutritionist Carla Prado<\/a> is leading a study that aims to determine the precise protein needs of women receiving chemotherapy with support from a prestigious Dorothy Killam Fellowship<\/a>. It\u2019s an area that remains largely based on estimates rather than direct physiological measurement.<\/p>\n

Muscle loss is a common and serious side effect of cancer treatment. It can reduce quality of life, slow recovery, increase treatment complications, and in some cases, impact survival. Protein plays a key role in maintaining muscle, supporting immune function, and helping the body repair itself, yet current dietary recommendations are largely based on broad population estimates.<\/p>\n

Prado explains that this approach leaves an important gap in care.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe body\u2019s needs during chemotherapy may be higher than what current guidelines assume, and if requirements are underestimated, even motivated patients may still fall short.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moving beyond general dietary guidelines <\/p>\n

To address this, her team is using a mechanistic approach that looks directly at how the body processes protein. Rather than relying on generalized dietary guidelines, the study measures protein metabolism in real time to identify a \u201cbreak point\u201d where the body\u2019s protein needs are fully met.<\/p>\n

Participants undergoing chemotherapy consume controlled amounts of protein while researchers analyze breath and urine samples to track how their bodies use and process it. The goal is to pinpoint a more accurate, individualized range of protein requirements during treatment.<\/p>\n

Prado says this method offers a more precise understanding of human physiology compared to traditional guidelines.<\/p>\n

\u201cGeneral recommendations are mostly based on studies that were not specific to this population and are often informed by expert opinion rather than direct measurement,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is a mechanistic approach that looks inside the body to understand what is actually happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conducting this type of research in patients undergoing chemotherapy comes with significant challenges. Participants are already managing intensive treatment schedules and multiple medical appointments, making recruitment and retention difficult. The study also requires long and detailed assessment sessions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese patients are incredibly generous with their time,\u201d Prado says. \u201cThey are often spending hours with us and returning for several visits while also managing treatment and family responsibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

The study also addresses a long-standing gap in nutrition research involving women. Many existing studies in metabolism and nutrition have historically focused on male participants, which may have shaped current recommendations in ways that do not fully reflect female physiology.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we look at what drives protein requirements, muscle is a key factor. Men generally have more muscle mass than women, which may influence needs. But we still need to understand this properly,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ensuring nutrition integration practices <\/p>\n

Beyond the laboratory, Prado\u2019s research program is strongly focused on real-world impact. Her team is already developing educational tools<\/a> for patients, including a freely available cookbook that has received international recognition and is being translated into multiple languages, including Spanish, Arabic, and French.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to give back to patients through education,\u201d she says. \u201cIt is our way of ensuring the science is accessible and useful beyond the research setting.\u201d<\/p>\n

She hopes the findings will help dietitians and oncologists better integrate nutrition into cancer care by offering targeted assessments and interventions for muscle loss during treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis work can help improve how we assess muscle, how we understand nutrition needs, and how we intervene in clinical care,\u201d Prado explained. \u201cIt is about giving health-care professionals better tools and patients better support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, the research could also pave the way for more personalized nutrition strategies. Prado\u2019s lab is beginning work in precision nutrition, exploring how molecular data and individual differences could help classify patients that respond differently to dietary interventions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next step is understanding how different people respond to diet at a biological level and whether we can tailor recommendations accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nutritionist Carla Prado is leading a study that aims to determine the precise protein needs of women receiving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":807443,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[11026,49,48,7714,177916,28867,84,238670,18426,203071,7430,15237,252106,203251,203252,81244],"class_list":["post-807442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-breast-cancer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cancer","tag-carla-prado","tag-chemotherapy","tag-health","tag-kshef-kamran","tag-muscle-loss","tag-nutrition-research","tag-protein","tag-protein-intake","tag-protein-metabolism","tag-u-of-a","tag-ualberta","tag-university-of-alberta"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/807442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=807442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/807442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/807443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=807442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=807442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=807442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}