Multiple myeloma is a type of cancer that affects the bone marrow in individuals. The bone marrow is a critical body part that produces blood cells. Multiple myeloma causes the blood’s plasma cells, a crucial kind of white blood cells, to multiply aggressively. In fact, these cells also grow too much and eventually crowd out the cells that make platelets, other white blood cells, and red blood cells. Here are some details about multiple myeloma:

Five uncommon signs of multiple myeloma
While this health condition is not curable entirely, especially the relapsed refractory multiple myeloma, in which no amount of therapy or other healthcare remedies helps to control the spread of this cancer, doctors can diagnose this condition through specific early symptoms to suggest solutions to patients. Here are the five distinctive signs of multiple myeloma:

Vision problems
Multiple myeloma, in some instances, causes a thickening of the mucous membranes within a person’s eyes. Due to that, people with this health condition tend to have distorted or blurry vision. Besides vision problems, the eyes may turn deep red, show signs of irritation, and turn dry.
Dry eye syndrome is one of the rare or lesser-known signs of multiple myeloma. So, if people show this condition, they need to visit their healthcare expert to get screened for this health condition immediately.

Hyperviscosity syndrome
Another rare signal of multiple myeloma is the thickening of a person’s blood. This marked increase in the thickness of an individual’s blood causes circulation issues. Naturally, key elements such as oxygen, iron, and other nutrients do not adequately reach essential areas such as the brain or lungs. As a result of that, people may experience problems such as headaches, dizziness, confusion, and articulation problems.

Skin lesions
In some cases, people with multiple myeloma develop small, red (or occasionally purple), and raised lesions or bumps on their skin. These bumps tend to be itchy, uncomfortable, and painful. Generally, such lesions appear on the arms and legs of the individual with this health condition.

Hearing loss
Hearing loss is another unusual symptom of multiple myeloma. The cancerous cells of multiple myeloma damage the nerves that transmit sound impulses needed for hearing—as a result, people living with this health condition experience gradual and progressive hearing loss.

Peripheral neuropathy
Apart from damaging the nerves that regulate one’s hearing, multiple myeloma also causes profound damage to the nerves that control all kinds of sensations and movement of the hands and feet. Because of that, people with this condition may experience numbness, tingling, and weakness in affected areas.
Apart from these symptoms, the common symptoms of multiple myeloma are bone pain, bone fractures and spinal cord compression, raised calcium levels in the blood, anemia, repeated infections, kidney problems, extreme thirst, and stomach pain, among others.

Five foods to manage multiple myeloma symptoms
Certain foods help fight health conditions such as multiple myeloma (and even relapsed refractory multiple myeloma) to improve people’s quality of life. They are:

Sardines
Sardines and other fatty fish contain loads of higher omega-3/omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. These elements reduce the risk of aggressive, malignant cell growth, and most healthcare experts recommend people with multiple myeloma to consume these foods. Apart from being good for cancer, omega-3 fatty acids have remarkable anti-inflammatory properties due to their antioxidative nature.

Apples
Apart from omega-3 fatty acids, ursolic acid has also been found to be a cytotoxin. This chemical can prevent cancer growth through the inhibition of a variety of cancer cells. Apples contain a healthy quantity of this acid, and several cancer-based studies have found that consuming apples daily can positively treat cancer. Apart from apples, other foods rich in ursolic acid are apple peel, cranberry juice, holy basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, grape skin, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. Due to these nutritional niceties, apple is considered a food that “keeps the doctor away.”

Fortified orange juice
Vitamin D is yet another useful element to combat multiple myeloma. Several medical research studies have found that people with multiple myeloma tend to have heavy vitamin D and folate deficiency in their bodies. Apart from these two nutrients, a deficiency of vitamin B12 also aggravates the symptoms of this health condition.

Quinoa
Whole grain foods such as quinoa, brown rice, and brown bread contain essential fibers that help the digestive process and bowel movements. More importantly, fiber-rich foods also have impressive anti-cancer properties that can address health conditions like multiple myeloma in people.

Water
While many may not consider water food, it is vital to all meals. Therefore, hydration is necessary for people with multiple myeloma to alleviate or reduce the severity of symptoms like dehydration and constipation.

Five foods that worsen multiple myeloma
In complete contrast to the foods listed above, the ones featured below can aggravate the symptoms of multiple myeloma. Therefore, one must steer clear of the following foods at all costs:

Avocado
Bananas, avocados, citrus, tomatoes, spinach, leafy greens, bran cereals, whole grain bread, oats, nuts, sunflower seeds, and others. As one can see, some of the foods mentioned here also find their way into the “best foods” list due to their specific properties. As implied earlier, multiple myeloma tends to affect the kidney particularly severely. In particular, foods rich in potassium and phosphorus seriously aggravate multiple myeloma by negatively affecting one’s kidney function.

Processed meats
Processed foods are a big no-no, even during the best of times. So, with a multiple myeloma diagnosis, one is advised to eliminate this food from their diet as soon as possible.

Cakes and pastries
Sweets and other sugar-rich foods can trigger inflammation and undesirable muscle gain in people. Inflammation in cells and tissues is one of the leading causes of conditions like multiple myeloma. Therefore, cutting or limiting sugar from one’s meals is advisable.

Pork
Like processed meats, red meats such as pork, beef, and lamb are rich in protein, but these foods also contain components that increase a person’s chances of developing cancer. What’s worse, consuming these meats can aggravate symptoms of multiple myeloma and other cancers if a person is already diagnosed with them.

French fries
Deep-fried and starch-heavy foods like fries and chips tend to be loaded with a chemical compound named acrylamide. Several research studies have found links between cancers of various kinds and this compound. So, an abundance in consumption of French fries is directly linked with the worsening of multiple myeloma symptoms.