- Avoid eating excess of sugar.
- Avoid cooking food in unhealthy oils. Use healthy oils instead, like olive oil, canola oil and use butter/ desi ghee in moderation. Other cooking oils need to be used in moderation too. Avoid eating deep- fried and greasy foods.
- Drink plenty of water. Increase fluid intake through milk, lassi, juices, sharbat, coconut water, soups, smoothies, milk-shakes, and protein shakes.
- Avoid eating 3 large meals, instead eat 6 small meals. You may also eat regularly at short intervals depending on your condition and your nutritional requirements.
- Snack healthy, with fruits and vegetables, or nuts.
- Eat home prepared food: “ghar ka khaana” is the best. Avoid restaurant and hotel foods.
- Eat a handful of nuts daily. If you can’t chew or swallow, then soak them in warm water, and blend them in milk, dahi, smoothie, dalia, etc. Avoid eating raw nuts.
- Use Chia seeds and Flax seeds. Boil just a teaspoon of them with little water, and blend them in smoothies and shakes.
- Eat dates if you can: as it is, or blended in some drink like milk, or smoothie or kheer.
- Avoid eating sour fruits and juices, and sour vegetables. If you may, eat in the middle of eating lunch or dinner.
- Eat cheese and paneer to improve your protein intake. Eat soybean products like tofu and soybean milk for improving protein intake.
- Use protein powder for improving protein intake. Check more options to increase your protein intake.
- Wash your fruits and vegetables, very well using care, to avoid getting any infections. Avoid eating raw leafy vegetables. Avoid eating hard vegetables.
- Cook food hygienically.
- Avoid Smoking, Tobacco use and Alcohol at all costs.
- It is best to take juice in small quantities, as opposed to consuming a full glass of juice. A half or a third of glass is enough for a one-time consumption. Juices can also be consumed along-with foods. Pomegranate or Anaar juice made from a single- or two pomegranates is sufficient for one-time consumption. It can be made slightly warm to reduce any trigger of cough/sore throat. You can drink it once or twice a day, to correct anemia.
- Avoid charred or burnt foods. They change the properties of foods.
- Do not eat foods with artificial colorings. They are harmful even though present in small amounts.
- Fortify foods to increase protein content and nutritional value.
Few More Tips Only for Non-Vegetarians:
- Eat fish if you can, at least 3 times a week.
- For patients with extreme weight loss, loss of muscle mass, and if protein intake is allowed by your doctor: Eat bone broth (mutton bones that have been cooked for a long duration, to increase your muscle mass).
- If patient has eating difficulty: Make chicken soup, grind the boneless meat and soup together to make a thick paste and consume it. (Same can be done for fish soup). Add vegetables to increase the nutrition.
- Avoid processed meats. Avoid red meat. Eat lean meat, and fish.
- Eat boiled or fried eggs: 2 eggs- one, two or three times a day, can be consumed to increase protein intake.
- Avoid smoked, charred or burnt foods especially meats. Avoid consuming char-grilled foods.
If you are on Denvax treatment, you may avoid eating sour (khatte) fruits and their juices especially. You must avoid taking amla juice, lemon juice, orange/mosammi juice on empty stomach. If you still want to consume, then take it with your food, in between eating lunch/dinner, and in small amounts.
