Recently, people who can’t eat because of illness and fever abound. What should I do in this situation? Do you want to avoid all kinds of high protein food? Today, let’s talk about fever and nutrition.
Why don’t doctors let some patients with fever eat more high protein foods?
In fact, this proposal is not completely unreasonable.
First of all, eating too much food in protein may lead to an increase in body heat dissipation and an increase in inflammatory reaction, and doctors may be worried that it will affect their health. For example, some children will become more inflamed after eating beef and mutton.
Secondly, when the patient has a high fever, his appetite is poor and his digestion and absorption ability is reduced. Compared with soft starchy foods, large pieces of beef, whole boiled eggs and other foods are much more difficult to digest. They need more stomach acid, more protease and more bile to help them.
Thirdly, food intolerance and other adverse reactions are more likely to occur in the disease state. When you have a fever, not only does the body’s digestion and absorption ability decrease, but the intestine may also be inflamed, the barrier function decreases, and the microbial balance is disordered. Some undigested products enter the body, which may lead to adverse reactions.
For example, some foods are fine when eaten at ordinary times, and they will be uncomfortable when they are sick. For another example, some children are sensitive to high-quality protein foods such as chicken, eggs and milk when they have a fever, and cough after eating them, or the sputum in their throats will increase and they will gasp after eating them, and so on.
Folk say that "fish makes fire and meat produces phlegm" can probably be explained by these reasons, but these adverse reactions are not limited to animal food. If you eat dried nuts, fried peanuts, potato chips, fried beans and other indigestible plant foods, you may also have adverse reactions.
Therefore, it is generally correct to give priority to digestible starchy foods when you have a fever and loss of appetite.
However, it should also be noted that, on the other hand, being hungry for several days in a row is not conducive to physical recovery. Especially at present, it is also a very nutritious thing to continue the war with mycoplasma virus and various bacteria. If you really can’t eat for two or three days or even longer, just drink some soup, or eat too little although you eat some rice, it will hinder your recovery.
What do fever patients need to supplement in their diet?
What to eat depends mainly on the patient’s appetite. On the premise that the food is fresh and nutritious, if they really want to eat it, they don’t have to stop it deliberately. If you don’t want to eat, you should find ways to supplement energy, protein and multivitamins.
1. Eat as much staple food as possible.
Staple food is the main source of energy. If you don’t eat enough staple food, even if protein eats enough, it will be regarded as a waste of heat and won’t really make up for the body. If you can’t eat rice and steamed bread, you can also eat thick rice porridge, soft noodle soup, mashed potatoes, yam paste, etc. You might as well eat it several times a day. At this time, as long as it is easy to digest food and the patient can eat it, you can try it.
2. Add diversified ingredients to the staple food within the range acceptable to patients.
Such as vegetables, fruits, milk and bean products. If you can’t eat fruits and vegetables directly, you can steam them, stew them soft, cut them into pieces, and press them into mud. You can chop up the leaves and cook them in soft soup or porridge.
3. protein food should be supplemented step by step.
When you lose your appetite, don’t directly give large pieces of meat, whole boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, etc. For example, eggs can be made into egg flowers or custard first, meat can be chopped into minced meat, and it can also be stewed in a pressure cooker or electric cooker. If you really don’t want to eat meat, you can drink the oil-free broth first, and then try to add the stewed minced meat to porridge and noodle soup.
According to the patient’s appetite, from less to more, slowly increase protein food, and gradually increase the variety. It is not too late to eat "hard dishes" until your appetite is better and your digestion ability is stronger.
4. If the food intake continues to be seriously insufficient, some nutritious products can be supplemented.
Including protein powder products. These products can be added to porridge, yam paste and lotus root paste to make semi-liquid food. In the case of indigestion, you can also consult professionals to use products that help digestion and benefit the gastrointestinal tract, such as compound digestive enzyme products and probiotic products.
5. Appropriate vitamin supplementation
The consumption of vitamins increases in the process of fever, which can supplement vitamins C and B, as well as vitamins A and D. In the process of disease stress and inflammatory reaction, the consumption of vitamin C will increase; When you have a fever, the metabolic rate is accelerated, the energy consumption is increased, and the demand for B vitamins will also increase.
In addition, vitamin D is also very important for normal disease resistance, and vitamin A is not only necessary for anti-inflammatory reaction, but also essential for the repair of respiratory tissue injury. Patients may feel uncomfortable after taking large compound nutrient pills, so they can use small tablets and capsules, as well as powdered nutritional supplements.
6. Stay away from foods with low nutritional value, indigestion, allergies and intolerance.
For example, it is necessary to avoid fried, fried and smoked foods, too hard foods and processed foods with high sugar and oil. Foods that are easily allergic or intolerant should also be avoided.
7. Seasoning is not greasy or irritating, but attention should be paid to promoting appetite
As long as the blood pressure is basically normal, there is nothing wrong with adding a little salt, chicken essence and monosodium glutamate at this time. Because after a fever and sweating, it is necessary to supplement electrolytes such as sodium salts and amino acids. Appropriate addition of sodium salt is beneficial to the production of gastric acid; Adding umami amino acids can increase the motivation of intestinal cells and increase the appetite of patients.
Several delicious and digestible semi-liquid recipes
If your family has a poor appetite and can’t figure out what to eat at the moment, here are some semi-liquid food choices that are easy to digest and delicious for your reference:
1. Naixiang Yam Mud
Steaming soft yam, grinding into mud, and adding milk powder to make milky yam mud. You can try soy milk powder if you can’t eat milk powder. If you don’t have yam, you can also try mashed potatoes. If you want to eat salty, add a little salt or chicken essence and a few drops of sesame oil to make salted mashed potatoes.
2. Yogurt lotus root starch is soft and frozen
Lotus root starch washed with hot water, mixed with cold yogurt, and stirred into a semi-frozen state. Nutritional supplements such as total nutritional powder can also be added. If it is only lotus root starch itself, the nutritional value is too low.
3. Yogurt mash soup
Mix the hot mash into the cold yogurt and stir well to warm the yogurt.
4. Fried rice in egg congee
Some areas have the habit of eating fried rice. You can cook porridge with fried brown rice, add a little salt, add a little egg liquid, and stir it into fine egg flowers.
5. Green vegetables, tofu pudding and millet porridge
Add half a spoonful of sesame oil to the soft boiled millet porridge, cut one into finely chopped vegetables, add two spoonfuls of smashed lactone tofu, cook together for a few minutes, and finally add some salt and chicken essence.
6. Soft noodles with chopped green vegetables, chicken soup and egg flowers
People who like to eat pasta can use degreased chicken soup, add fine noodles, cook into soft hot soup noodles, and add egg flowers and chopped vegetables.
7. winter melon soup, chopped green vegetables and wonton
Use degreased chicken soup, add thin slices of wax gourd and cook for a few minutes, add small wonton with thin skin and chopped green vegetables and cook until soft.
8. Hawthorn jujube apple pear soup
A few slices of dried hawthorn or two hawthorns, a few dates with stones removed, an apple with stones removed and diced, a pear with stones removed and diced, add half a bowl of water, and cook them in a pressure cooker with a quick porridge cooking procedure. Or put the lid on the electric cooker and simmer. Less water, less sugar, let the water in the fruit seep out and become soup.
Text/Fan Zhihong (director of China Nutrition Society, chief expert of science communication hired by China Association for Science and Technology)
