Diet During an Infection
Protein cannot be overemphasized
Antibodies, white blood cells, the complement, and lymph cells are all made of complete protein. A lack of this nutrient can prevent recovery from infections regardless of the amounts of vitamins obtained. When a low-protein diet has been replaced by one high in protein, the production of antibodies has increased within a few hours. Of single amino acids, methionine and tryptophane, generously supplied in eggs and milk, are particularly valuable. Of single proteins tested for their ability to build body defenses, liver, yeast, and especially wheat germ proved most valuable. Egg yolk, milk, meat, and soy flour, in this order, particularly increased the production of white blood cells.
Although the infection increases the need for protein, because albumin from the blood is lost in the feces, the protein requirements are made even higher during many infections.
Vitamin A and Infections
Deficiencies of vitamin A are far more widespread in America than we like to believe. This vitamin plays a particularly important role in preventing or clearing up infections of the skin, the cornea of the eye, and the mucous membranes which line all body cavities, although it is also necessary for the production of antibodies and white blood cells. When vitamin A is under supplied, millions of cells in the lower layers of the skin and the surface of the mucous membranes die quickly and accumulate; cells lining the body cavities can no longer secrete mucus, which normally washes the tissues and carries the white blood cells Whether in the skin or the mucous membranes, the accumulation of dead cells serves as food for bacteria.
A five-year study of 1,100 people revealed that individuals whose blood was consistently low in vitamins A and C contracted by far the most infections. The blood vitamin A drops sharply during many infections, is often lost in the urine, and may disappear completely during measles and high fever. Moreover, cortisone and a number of drugs rapidly deplete the body of its vitamin-A stores and tremendously increase the need for it. Unless vitamin A is generously supplied, the body is left susceptible to more serious infections. Well known examples are kidney infections following rheumatic fever, encephalitis following measles, and endocarditis following a strep throat.
Though vitamin A is usually well absorbed during infections, a water-dispersed preparation is preferable to that dissolved in oil when an illness is acute or diarrhea occurs. Physicians have given 200,000 units daily for six months with no signs of toxicity being recognized, though rarely are more than 50,000 units needed daily. Unless vitamin E is amply supplied, however, the vitamin A obtained from foods or supplements, the vitamin A already in the blood, and that stored in the liver and other body tissues is quickly destroyed by oxygen; therefore, what appears to be a lack of vitamin A may in fact be a deficiency of vitamin E.
Prevent Acidosis
If a person feels too ill to eat, the blood sugar quickly drops and acidosis develops, causing irritability, headache, nausea, and vomiting, often mistakenly considered to be symptoms of the illness itself. Acidosis can be completely prevented if, immediately at the onset of any infection, some food containing sugar is taken every hour or two: sections of orange, bits of cooked fruit, sips of fruit juice, eggnog, and milk sweetened with honey, or any food containing starch or natural sugar.
If vomiting has already set in, it can be stopped if a few tablespoons of sweetened orange juice, lemon juice or teaspoons of honey are taken every 15 minutes. As soon as vomiting has stopped, green tea, juices, and other liquids should be given to replace the fluids lost. Because the nutritional needs at this time are so great, a patient should not be given soft drinks.
Aside from preventing acidosis, the diet should meet the increased nutritional demands of stress, mobilize all defense mechanisms, detoxify any drugs I used, and, if antibiotics are taken by mouth, replace the intestinal bacteria destroyed by them. When these requirements are met, recovery is often remarkably rapid.
When the throat is sore or if a child is too young to swallow tablets, supplements should be obtained in powder form or the tablets dissolved in water.
The Amounts of Vitamin C Needed
The severity of an infection should determine the quantity of vitamin C to take; a deficiency can quickly occur, causing bruises, bleeding gums, nosebleeds, and hemorrhages even when the intake seems adequate.
In general, the more serious the illness, the larger should be the quantity of vitamins obtained particularly at first, and the more frequently they should be taken. If the infection is acute, the vitamins should be given every three hours during the first night, always with fortified milk. As the symptoms subside, smaller amounts can be taken, but if a relapse occurs, the quantities should be immediately increased. Massive amounts of vitamin C have been used without toxicity in a wide variety of illnesses, including certain mental conditions.
However, each individual should be under the care of a physician, and the vitamins and milk drink taken with whatever medication is prescribed
