Food preferences of patients with cancer.

Cancer patients who experience food aversions generally rated foods less pleasant than healthy controls or cancer patients with no food aversions. Most high protein foods, cereal products, and sweet foods were generally less palatable to patients with food aversions. Most fruits, vegetables, and cultured dairy products were equally palatable to all three subject groups. Although the cause of these food aversions is not understood, they do not appear to be a generalized response to all foods.