Diet Guidelines for TB Patients on Medication

TB is a contagious disease. When people with active infection cough, sneeze or spit indiscriminately without covering their mouth and face, the expelled droplets act as medium to spread infection. Experts estimate that up to 90 percent of the population many have encountered tubercle bacillus sometime in lives, but in majority of cases, the immune system successfully keeps a full-blown infection from developing. People who do not defeat it outright often carry the germ in a dormant state, sometimes for decades, before immunity weakens and the bacteria begin by replicating and infect the host.
TB is a curable disease. Patients need to follow the prescribed treatment regimen exactly and should not discontinue the medication on their own. TB medicines can cause toxicity. Hence the patients are advised to drink lots of water and eat fresh foods when taking medicines. Patients also complain of poor appetite. In that case they should be given six small meals at regular intervals. Force-feeding of the patient to gain extra weight is known to be more harmful than advantageous. Too much food especially fat, frequently causes gastric upsets and diarrhoea.

Dietary Recommendations

1. To promote healing eat a diet consisting of at least 50 percent raw vegetables and fruits. Also eat alfalfa sprouts, fish, pomegranates, raw cheese, raw seeds, nuts, whole grains and garlic.
2. Drink fresh pineapple and carrot juice and a green drink daily.
3. You can make puree of steamed asparagus in a blender. Refrigerate and take four tablespoons twice a day. Asparagus stimulates immune function.
4. Make home made sugar free yoghurt and buttermilk a part of your diet. You can also take an acidiophillus supplement, because TB patients need to take antibiotics for a long time. Hence it is advisable to supplement it with probiotics. Do not take acidophilus the same time as you take antibiotic but do make sure that you take it.
5. Quit smoking and drinking of alcohol or any kind of recreational drugs when you are on anti-tubercular-treatment. All these negatively impact the ability of the immune system to fight infection. Smoking is even more dangerous than usual in the presence of lung infection.
6. When preparing food for such people you should ensure that the food is simple, easy to digest and has cereal and pulse combination.
7. Try to include quality sources of protein in the diet because protein is needed for tissue repair. Good vegetarian sources or protein are—paneer and soya
8. Good sources of vitamin C like sprouted moong, guava, amla and oranges should be incorporated in the meal plan.
9. Emphasize on fresh fruits and vegetables.
10. Patients should try and keep away from stress. They should practice meditation to unwind themselves. Rest, sunshine and fresh air are just perfect companions to Anti-Tubercular-Treatment.

Recommended Supplements

TB being an opportunistic disease the best defense against it is healthy immune system. When on Anti-Tubercular Treatment it’s advised to do the following….

1. Incorporate a high quality multivitamin in your diet.
2. Take a good quality antioxidant like Coenzyme Q 10 to support your immune strength.
3. Take supplemental vitamin C because it is one of the best antioxidants available in nature.
4. You can take supplements of B complex because its needed for energy production.

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