TUBERCULOSIS

What is tuberculosis?

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that usually affects the lungs, though it can affect any organ in the body. It can develop when bacteria spread through droplets in the air. TB can be fatal, but in many cases, it is preventable and treatable. A person may develop TB after inhaling Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) bacteria.

There are two types of tuberculosis are as follows: 

1. TB infection (latent TB): A person can have TB bacteria in their body and never develop symptoms. In most people, the immune system can contain the bacteria so that they do not replicate and cause disease. In this case, a person will have TB infection but not active disease.

2. TB disease (active TB): The body may be unable to contain TB bacteria. This is more common when the immune system is weakened due to illness or the use of certain medications. When this happens, the bacteria can replicate and cause symptoms, resulting in active TB. People with active TB can spread the infection.

Causes:

M. tuberculosis bacteria cause TB. They can spread through the air in droplets when a person with pulmonary TB coughs, sneezes, spits, laughs, or talks. Only people with active TB can transmit the infection. However, most people with the disease can no longer transmit the bacteria after they have received appropriate treatment for at least 2 weeks.

Symptoms: 

Dietary guidelines for tuberculosis: 

○ Good quality protein in the diet protein makes the immunity cells strong as it’s a building block of the body. Protein deficiency may have a particularly detrimental effect on the ability of the body to fight tuberculosis. 

○ Choose dairy, lean meats, pulses, beans. Eat 2-3 portions daily.

○ Daily include at least a source of an antioxidant from colour fruits and vegetables which boost your immune power.

○ Include dark green leafy vegetables twice a day to enrich your meal with iron content.

Keep fibres in your diet in the form of whole-grain cereals, pulses, and germinated legumes which helps to keep the gut healthy and removes bad toxins, bad fat from the diet.

○ Choose a healthy form of fat which is unsaturated oil over saturated oil like olive oil, sunflower oil instead of butter or margarine.

○ It particularly is important to avoid consuming any alcohol during the entire course of your treatment as this could result in treatment complications and side effects.

Role of micronutrients:

□ Zinc: Various studies on patients with tuberculosis had shown significantly lower plasma zinc levels than those without tuberculosis, irrespective of their nutritional status. An adequate supply of zinc may also limit free radical membrane damage during inflammation.

□ Vitamin A: It has been shown that vitamin A has an immune-competent role in human tuberculosis. Vitamin A was reported to inhibit the multiplication of virulent bacilli in cultured human macrophages. Vitamin A is essential for the normal functioning of T and B lymphocytes, macrophage activity, and generation of antibody response. Red and orange-colored fruits and vegetables should be included on daily basis.

□ Vitamin D: Vitamin D plays a role in the function of macrophages, and a key factor in host resistance in tuberculosis. Vit D fortified food includes eggs, fish like tuna, mackerel.

□ Selenium: The essential trace element selenium has an important function in maintaining the immune processes and thus may have a critical role in the clearance of mycobacteria. Selenium has been found as a significant factor in the relative risk for developing mycobacterial diseases in HIV-positive patients. Nuts and nut seeds in a moderate quantity should be taken twice a week.

□ Iron: There are two explanations for the association of low iron status and infection. One is that anemia results from chronic infection and the other is that iron deficiency would increase susceptibility to infection such as tuberculosis. Green leafy vegetables with a piece of lemon are a healthy tip to enhance iron absorption in the body.

□ Polyunsaturated fatty acids: In a research study, It was concluded that supplementing the diet with (n-3-) fatty acids can affect resistance to M. tuberculosis, whereas supplementing with (n-6-) fatty acids does not. A combination of olive oil, nuts, and cooking oil like sunflower, cottonseed oil, rice bran oil is best.

TB is the leading infectious disease killer in the world, claiming 1.5 million lives each year. Of the 10 million individuals who became ill with TB in 2018, approximately three million were “missed” by health systems and do not get the care they need, allowing the disease to continue to be transmitted. It is important to know more about this disease and prevent it by good nutrition. 

Musharrafa Asad

References:

○ Diet Tips to Fight Tuberculosis | Aster Hospitals. (n.d.). Retrieved July 16, 2021, from https://asterhospital.com/blog/diet-tips-for-tuberculosis/  

○ Tuberculosis (TB): Causes, symptoms, and treatments. (n.d.). Retrieved July 16, 2021, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/8856#causes

○ Basic TB Facts | TB | CDC. (n.d.). Retrieved July 25, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/tb/topic/basics/default.htm 

○ Tuberculosis. (n.d.). Retrieved July 25, 2021, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tuberculosis 

○ Tuberculosis—Symptoms and causes—Mayo Clinic. (n.d.). Retrieved July 25, 2021, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tuberculosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20351250