Complete list of dietary taboos for tuberculosis

There are only three core categories of dietary taboos for tuberculosis patients - foods that interact with anti-tuberculosis drugs, foods that aggravate respiratory inflammation/irritate coughs, and foods that themselves increase the metabolic burden on the body. They are not as evil as the dozens or hundreds of foods posted online. Most of the so-called "fat foods" can be eaten normally as long as they don't feel uncomfortable.

Let me talk about the most important thing first, which will really affect the effect of treatment. It is the food that conflicts with anti-tuberculosis drugs. You should not take it seriously. A young man in his 20s who had been treated before had been recovering well after taking medicine for three months. He thought it was okay to drink two bottles of beer during a party with friends. As a result, he was hospitalized for drug-induced liver injury. The first-line anti-tuberculosis drug, which was already damaging to the liver, completely added fuel to the fire when it came into contact with alcohol. Whether it was liquor, beer or fruit wine, he had to not touch it during the entire treatment period. There is also grapefruit/grapefruit juice. The CYP3A4 inhibitors in it will disrupt the rhythm of liver metabolism of drugs. An aunt heard someone say that she drank freshly squeezed grapefruit juice to supplement vitamin C. She drank it every day while taking the medicine. During the reexamination, the transaminase soared to 287. After stopping the grapefruit juice, it went down after two weeks. It was an unnecessary sin. As for strong tea and raw persimmons with high tannin content, you only need to stagger one hour before and after taking the medicine. It does not mean that you are not allowed to drink tea at all. If you take the medicine at 10 a.m., you can make a cup of light green tea at 3 p.m. to relieve boredom. It is perfectly fine.

After talking about the most important taboos related to taking medicine, let’s talk about the “replenishment pitfalls” that many family members are most likely to step into. Oh, by the way, there is another point that has been controversial for a long time: can we eat "fawu"?

In the traditional Chinese medicine system, tuberculosis is generally considered to be a type of "pulmonary tuberculosis", which is often caused by deficiency of lung yin. Spicy hot pot, charcoal grilled skewers, braised mutton, etc. can easily consume yin fluid and aggravate the symptoms of night sweats and coughing. This is not groundless. I treated a 62-year-old patient before. His family thought he was sick and weak, so he stewed mutton soup with dried chili peppers every day. As a result, he coughed for almost three weeks, and his sputum was stained with blood. After he stopped taking warm and dry foods, he recovered in three days.

However, Western medicine does not have the concept of "hair growth" at all. As long as you are not allergic to foods such as shrimp, crab, rooster, and carp, and your cough does not worsen after eating, you can eat normally - especially high-quality and high-protein foods such as shrimp, which can help you replenish the nutrients consumed by the disease. There is only one situation where you need to pay extra attention: if you are taking pyrazinamide, an anti-tuberculosis drug, it will increase blood uric acid, so the amount of high-purine seafood, animal offal, and thick broth must be appropriately controlled to avoid inducing gout. If you are not taking this drug, you don’t have to worry about it at all.

In addition to these, there are some small details in daily meals that you don’t need to remember. Just pay more attention when encountering them. For example, don’t eat food that is too salty when you have a severe cough. High salt content will make respiratory secretions thicker and clog your throat and make you unable to cough them out. I once met a little girl who felt her mouth was weak during her illness. She ate pickled radish with porridge every day. She was almost cured but had a cough for a week. She stopped picking pickles and was relieved within two days. And don’t show off high-sugar cream cakes or full-sugar milk tea every day. Sugar can aggravate inflammation and easily produce phlegm. If you are greedy, it’s okay to take one or two mouthfuls to relieve your cravings. There is no need to eat them all the time.

In fact, there is really no need to make dietary taboos like college entrance examination endorsements. I tell every patient who is discharged from the hospital: Just remember the three most important ones. Don’t touch alcohol, grapefruit, or strong tea for an hour before and after taking medicine. Don’t eat anything that is too spicy, too salty, or too sweet. If you feel uncomfortable after eating, don’t touch it next time. Eat whatever you want. Tuberculosis is a wasting disease. If you keep up with nutrition, you will recover faster, which is better than any strict taboos.