What foods and taboos should you pay attention to when dealing with tuberculosis?

In fact, for tuberculosis patients, the core of the diet is not so complicated. It is to give the body enough "ammunition" to fight tuberculosis bacteria first, and avoid minefields that will clearly increase the burden on the body and affect the efficacy of the medicine. Many "taboos" that are rumored to be magical have no scientific basis.

Two months ago, I came into contact with a secondary tuberculosis patient who was just in his third year of college. The old man in his hometown said that tuberculosis should be avoided by "eating things". Chickens, fish, shrimps, eggs, and even milk were not allowed to touch. Later, I adjusted his diet plan and told him that he could eat normally as long as he ate food without allergic reactions. He should add at least two eggs and 300ml of warm milk every day, and eat some lean meat fish and shrimp every three to five days. The young man was greedy and occasionally ate some non-spicy fried chicken. When he came back for a follow-up examination in a month, he had gained six pounds and the lesions were absorbed very quickly. He said that his energy and energy were much better.

After all, tuberculosis is a typical chronic wasting disease. The reproduction of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the body consumes a lot of protein and energy. If you take away all the nutrients, the immune cells will have no raw materials to synthesize and have no strength to fight against the bacteria. The lesions will naturally heal slowly.

Of course, it doesn’t mean that you can eat everything without restraint. For example, the most controversial thing is whether you can eat spicy food. In fact, it really depends on your personal situation. If you don’t have obvious cough or sore throat, it’s perfectly fine to eat some mild spicy food to satisfy your craving. It is also said that seafood cannot be eaten. The same reason applies. As long as you are not allergic to seafood and your uric acid does not exceed the standard after taking anti-tuberculosis drugs, it will be beneficial to eat more high-quality proteins such as shrimps and fish. If your uric acid is already high, you should avoid high-purine seafood, animal offal and thick broth to avoid triggering gout.

But there are two taboos that are absolutely non-negotiable, and that is tobacco and alcohol. There used to be a male patient in his 40s who always secretly went out to drink with friends while taking medicine. He thought it would be okay to drink a few sips less. However, a three-month routine review directly revealed drug-induced liver damage. The transaminase increased to five or six times the normal value. He had to stop the tuberculosis medicine to protect his liver, and then restarted treatment after more than a month. He suffered a lot and delayed the course of the disease. Not to mention cigarettes. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is already damaging lung tissue and respiratory mucosa. Repeated stimulation of harmful substances in cigarettes will not only aggravate the symptoms of cough and sputum, but also slow down the healing of lesions and may even induce hemoptysis. There is really no need to take this risk.

There are also some small details that are related to the efficacy of the drug. For example, when taking rifampicin, it is best not to take it with milk or juice. The interval should be at least one hour. Otherwise, it will affect the absorption of the drug and reduce the efficacy. If you happen to have hemoptysis, avoid eating too hot food for a few days. Warm and cool food is best. Food that is too hot will dilate blood vessels and easily aggravate bleeding.

Don’t believe the claims that eating cordyceps and bird’s nests can make you feel better faster. An aunt spent more than 30,000 yuan to buy cordyceps, but she still had hypoalbuminemia after a follow-up test. In fact, the protein content of these health products is not as good as eating two more eggs and drinking half a pound of milk every day. The price/performance ratio is not even a little bit worse.

In fact, to put it bluntly, the diet of tuberculosis is really not that demanding. On the basis of normal meals, you should supplement more nutrients, avoid tobacco and alcohol that are clearly harmful, and follow the doctor's instructions for regular review and adjustment. It is more effective than any folk prescription.