When you have active tuberculosis, the only way to treat it is via a heavy yearlong antibiotic regimen. That being said, you can improve the efficacy of the antibiotic treatment by making sure your body gets the proper nutrition. Failure to maintain a proper diet can actually be detrimental to your treatment. Below are some things to consider when planning your tuberculosis resistant diet.
Protein rich foods
Protein heavy foods like nuts, laddoo, chicken, fish, and gingelly chikki are some the most important things you can eat while being treated for TB. If your appetitive is poor and you cannot get food down, then consider crushing the nuts into a fine powder and mixing them into a milkshake or fruit smoothie. There are also great vegetarian options like eggs, tofu, soya chunks, paneer, and mushrooms that can be easier to get down than others.
Vitamin A, E, C
Vegetables and fruits that contain a lot of vitamin A, E, C are essential for keeping your body properly laden with nutrients. Try to stick to orange and yellow vegetables, like oranges, papayas, mangoes, sweet pumpkins, bell peppers, etc to get the vitamin A and vitamin C you need. You can typically find vitamin E in nuts, wheat germ, seeds, and vegetable oils.
B complex vitamins
You can find B complex vitamins in whole grain cereals, nuts, seeds, and pulses. There are also animal product options, like chicken, lean cuts of meat, and fish – especially fatty fish.
Selenium and zinc
Some of the best sources of selenium are Brazil nuts and fortified eggs. Mushrooms, and the majority of seeds and nuts, such as flax, sunflower seeds, sesame, chia seeds, and pumpkin seeds are also great sources of zinc and selenium. You can also find these trace minerals in chicken, oysters, and fish.
