Crash diets may fuel Tuberculosis, say Doctors

Dr Sai P. Haranath, senior consultant pulmonologist and critical care specialist at Apollo Hospitals, said, “The diets are unscientific and many a times not suitable for the body type. There are loss of vitamins and minerals, which affect the growth of cells. Compromising on cell-based immunity allows the TB bacteria in the lungs to activate, resulting in active tuberculosis. Many patients come with complaints of cold or viral infections if they are on a prolonged diet regime. This is because the respiratory system is attacked first.

They are on heavy antibiotics but most of them do not understand that recurring cold and cough over a period of two weeks can be TB. Some of them in the higher strata of society are not ready to accept that they have TB.” The flip side of these unscientific diets is that they affect the albumin levels in the blood, which are lowered as the proteins required by the body are restricted or limited. Also, those who consume high proteins tend to damage other organs, as they do not eat carbohydrates.

With 80 per cent of women suffering from anemia, dieting lowers albumin levels in the blood making the body prone to infections. With the blood count being low, these people have problems during treatment. The count has to be improved and their medicine dosage is reduced due to which the treatment is prolonged. Often they can’t cope with side effects of drugs.

Nutritionist A. Usha Sree said, “The first effect of any unscientific diet is on the hemoglobin levels, which see a huge fall. And this affects all the other parts of the body as sufficient nutrients do not reach the organs.” A case to point is that of 30-year-old mother Sujatha Reddy (name changed) who was on fruits, vegetables and also meal replacement juices for six months. While weight loss was evident, she began to feel chronic fatigue and also suffered from severe pains in her legs. For the next two months, she underwent various tests and it was found that she was suffering from tuberculosis in the bone because the bone-mineral density was affected due to her diet.

Senior chest physician Dr P.N. Reddy said, “These erratic, unscientific diets are proving to be a major hazard as an otherwise healthy individual in the family is getting affected. One patient in the family makes others prone to the disease and there are more and more carriers of latent tuberculosis in the society.”

Recent studies have shown that there are 10 lakh people in India who have TB, but are not coming to hospitals for treatment because it has not been identified. These people are spreading the infection further.

Meanwhile, Bariatric surgery of sleeve gastrectomy, opted for by obese patients for weight reduction, also makes them susceptible to Tuberculosis, stated doctors. As the sleeve gastrectomy is a new procedure, it is carried out for patients with uncontrolled diabetes and body mass index of more than 35. It is the last resort when medication and other therapies fail.

Dr C. Vijay Kumar, senior pulmonologist, said, “While it helps to reduce the body fat and subsequently the weight, the flip-side is that due to the reduced size of the stomach, the body does not get the required micro-nutrients. Patients must then depend on multi-vitamin drugs. Whenever they stop taking them, the latent bacteria tends to affect them.”

Also, the stomach produces acids which are known to kill bacteria. It is now being researched if in sleeve gastrectomy, when the stomach is reduced in size, these acids are being produced in adequate quantities. While the cases have been few, doctors have been pointing out at the negative effects of this surgery.