Prevention Against Dengue Fever: Food to Eat and Avoid

Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease that usually occurs in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world.

As per a statistical update in 2021, India has 1 23,106 reported cases of dengue and still counting. Patients who are diagnosed with dengue must choose their diet cautiously to ensure a fast recovery.  In this piece, we have discussed about foods to eat while suffering from dengue as well as the ones to avoid. Read along!

A dengue diet must include the following foods to recover faster from dengue fever -

• Papaya Leaf Juice: If dengue patients are receiving treatment at home, they must add Papaya leaf juice to their diet. Papaya leaves help in increasing the platelet count in blood and boosting immunity. Papaya extracts contain enzymes such as papain and chymopapain that prevent bloating and other digestive disorders. Take 30 ml of Papaya juice, add some water, and drink it twice or thrice a day. It is considered to be one of the best food items to increase platelets during dengue.
• Herbal Tea: Herbal tea has essential ingredients that can help in relaxing the mind and body of dengue patients. To make herbal tea, one can choose cardamom, peppermint, cinnamon, ginger, etc. Consuming this beverage ensures sound sleep, which ultimately helps in faster recovery. Hence, it is an essential item to include in the diet chart for dengue.
• Vegetable Juice: Next on the list of best foods for dengue patients is vegetable juice. Vegetables have essential nutrients helping in speedy recovery from dengue fever. Vegetables provide proper nourishment and help improve immunity. While preparing vegetable juice, one can add lemon juice to increase the vitamin C level and the taste of the entire mixture as well.
• Neem Leaves: Neem leaves are loaded with chemicals with chemicals like Nimbin and Nimbidin that have anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory and anti-pyretic properties. These leaves have shown positive results in treating dengue by increasing blood platelets and white blood cell count.  Neem leaves help to improve immunity, purify the blood and flush out toxins from one’s body. Boil neem leaves in water and drink this preparation at regular intervals.
• Coconut Water: Patients who suffer from dengue are more likely to experience dehydration as a result of high fever, diarrhoea, anorexia, vomiting, and nausea during the febrile phase (day 4-6).  Hence, they must drink plenty of fluids including coconut water which is rich in electrolytes and other essential nutrients. Thus, your food diet for dengue must include two glasses of coconut water every day.
• Pomegranate: is one of the best foods for dengue. This fruit is loaded with minerals and nutrients that provide one’s body with needed energy. Pomegranate helps to reduce exhaustion and fatigue. As Pomegranate contains a high amount of iron, it helps dengue patients maintain the required blood platelet count, thus recovering from dengue faster.
• Yoghurt: Yoghurt is a food item used during Dengue fever that helps individuals fight viruses and bacterial infections. Probiotics heighten the production of gut bacteria that remove toxins from the body. Its immunity-boosting properties help dengue patients to recover quickly.
• Grapefruit: Next on the diet list for dengue fever comes grapefruit, which is a tropical fruit rich in antioxidants and nutrients. Loaded with a high amount of Vitamin C content and anti-oxidants, grapefruits are vital to enhancing immunity. This citrus fruit is popular as a fever reliever and accelerates the production of White Blood Cells (WBCs) in the body.
• Broccoli: Broccoli is a mandatory food to eat during dengue fever. This vegetable is one of the primary sources of Vitamin K that helps to uplift blood platelet count levels. If individuals with dengue infection experience a drop in platelet count, they must include broccoli in their diet to bring it to a normal level.
• Orange: Orange is an effective food for dengue treatment. The antioxidant properties and high Vitamin C count helps to treat and reduce the dengue virus in one’s body.
• Fenugreek: Fenugreek or Methi helps in lowering the pain of dengue patients. Methi acts as a mild tranquilliser that not only aids in reducing pain but also ensures good sleep. Further, Fenugreek is popular for stabilizing high fever, which is the most common symptom of dengue.
• Spinach: Searching for food to eat during dengue?. Add spinach to your diet. It is an iron and omega 3 fatty acid-rich food that helps to boost the immunity system. Further, it helps to increase blood platelet count to a great extent.
• Kiwifruit: Kiwifruits are rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin E, potassium that helps to maintain the body’s electrolytes and check hypertension and high blood pressure levels.

From the above-mentioned discussion, individuals can learn about foods to eat during dengue fever.

Dengue fever symptoms include high fever to flu-like symptoms and, in extreme cases, serious bleeding and sudden drop in blood pressure and even death. If individuals start experiencing such symptoms, they must avoid the list of food mentioned below,

• Non-vegetarian Foods: While recovering from dengue fever, patients must strictly avoid non-vegetarian food. During dengue fever, individuals become weak, and their digestive system slows down. Non-vegetarian food does not easily digest; hence, patients must avoid them.
• Fried or Oily Foods: Oily foods contain an increased amount of fat and can lead to high blood pressure and cholesterol. Thus it can slow the recovery process by weakening the immunity system.
• Spicy Foods: The list of foods to avoid during fever includes spicy foods. Spicy foods can cause acid accumulation in the stomach and result in ulcers and damage to the wall. If dengue patients eat these types of food, it may hinder the recovery process.
• Caffeinated Beverages: As stated earlier, dengue fever causes dehydration; hence patients must drink plenty of fluids. Caffeine, i.e. caffeinated beverages, can stimulate the gastronomical tract, leading to nausea and diarrhoea. Further, this type of beverage can increase the production of stomach acid and cause rapid heart rate, muscle breakdown. All these side effects can hinder the dengue recovery process.