World Tuberculosis (TB) Day 24th march
The theme of this year’s World TB Day is:
“Unite to End TB”
‘I am stopping TB’
What exactly is TB? An airborne contagious infection caused by a bacteria that mainly affects the lungs – although different types can affect other parts of the body.
Tuberculosis symptoms include coughing up blood or phlegm, weight loss and a loss of appetite. The good news is that with treatment of antibiotics TB is relatively straightforward to cure.
TB is curable, but current efforts to find, treat and cure everyone who gets ill with the disease are not sufficient. Of the 9 million people a year who get sick with TB, a third of them are “missed” by health systems.
TB can be prevented by eating healthy food that enhances the immune system of the body. People with existing TB also need a nutritious diet because malnutrition is a common complication of the disease. The healthiest TB diet should basically be nutrient rich foods packed with essential minerals, vitamins and nutrients.
Nutritional needs in TB patients
Energy: Energy requirements of TB patients are raised because of the disease itself.
Micronutrients: A good mineral and multivitamin supplement, supplying between 50 to 150% of the suggested daily allowance, is required since a person with TB is unlikely to meet the heightened requirements for vitamins and minerals with diet alone due to loss of appetite.
Protein: Protein is critical in to Prevent the wasting of body reserves such as muscle tissues.
