What to Eat and What to Avoid for a Speedy Recovery from Malaria

Malaria is one of the concerning disease conditions affecting millions of individuals worldwide. The eradication of malaria is one of the top priorities of several healthcare organizations and programmes globally. It’s a vector-borne disease condition that affects humans due to a parasite. The plasmodium parasite is responsible for the spread of malaria in humans through the bite of an infected mosquito. An infected female Anopheles mosquito transmits malaria in humans after biting a malaria-infected person. High fever, shaking chills, and headaches are some common symptoms of malaria. The severe symptoms of malaria include extreme fatigue, multiple convulsions, abnormal bleeding, difficulty breathing, impaired consciousness, bloody or dark urine, and yellowing of the skin and eyes.

In the year 2021, about half the population of the world was at risk of malaria. Estimated malaria cases globally were 247 million, while estimated fatalities the same year were 6,19,000. So, to spread awareness about the disease condition and its prevention World Malaria Day is observed on the 25^th of April every year. Global health awareness day aims to draw global attention to the immense efforts that are taken to eliminate malaria and encourage action to minimize suffering and deaths due to malaria. This year – 2023, the theme of World Malaria Day is “Time to deliver zero malaria: invest, innovate, implement.”. WHO will make efforts to emphasize the third “i” i.e. “implement” part of the theme to reach marginalized populations with available effective tools and strategies for beating malaria. Generally, the treatment for malaria involves antimalarial drugs. However, the right treatment coupled with a healthy diet can work wonders in promoting recovery from malaria. Although there is no specific diet for malaria, nourishing your body with all essential nutrients can help you heal. Adequate nutrition can strengthen your immune system and help your body fight the disease. It helps promote your recovery from malaria without causing harm to other organs, such as the liver, digestive system, and kidneys. Here’s everything about dietary measures to follow for a speedy recovery from malaria.

6 Dietary Measures Specifying What to Eat and What to Avoid to Beat Malaria

When down with malaria and receiving treatment for the disease infection, including certain nutritious foods in your diet and avoiding certain foods can help you heal quicker. Smaller nutritious meals throughout the day can help malaria patient experience speedy healing. Here’s a list of diet tips that tell you all healthy dietary measures for a speedier recovery from malaria.

1. Eat Healthy Foods Providing Instant Energy

In malaria, you experience high fever, which boosts your body’s metabolic rate (BMR). So, your calorie requirements increase. You may experience a reduced appetite and decreased tolerance due to high body temperature. In such circumstances, calorie intake is a big challenge for the patient to meet the calorie needs of his body. So, prefer to eat nutritious foods that offer you instant energy. You may go for fresh fruit juices, coconut water, glucose water, sugarcane juice, lemon juice mixed with sugar and salt in a glass of water, and electoral water. It re-energizes you in a few minutes.

2. Boost Your Protein Intake

You experience muscle loss and weakness in malaria. Protein is the building block of our body, as every tissue and cell needs this nutrient. The massive tissue loss calls for an increased dietary protein requirement. Going for a diet high in proteins and carbohydrates can help promote tissue repair and building processes. So, enrich your diet with milk, green vegetables, buttermilk, nuts, curd, legumes or sprouts, eggs, and fish to help meet your body’s protein needs.

3. Fill Up on Fluids

You need to compensate for the fluid losses of your body when down with malaria. Also, water helps in flushing out toxins from your body and promoting speedier healing. So, keeping your body hydrated is essential by increasing your fluid intake. You may drink 3 to 3.5 litres of healthy fluids and plain water daily. So, drink nutritional coconut water, fruit juices, and lemon water. You can also eat fruits and vegetables having high water content, such as watermelon, cucumber, and oranges. This will not only help compensate for the fluid loss but also help you feel energetic.

4. Enrich Your Diet with Vitamins

Loss of electrolytes and water in malaria can make you feel extremely weak. Vitamins are essential for improving your health and immunity. So, include foods and fluids rich in vitamin A and vitamin C in your diet. Go for apples, carrots, berries, oranges, sweet lime, pineapples, grapes, beetroots, and lemons, among others. Vitamin B helps boost your immunity. For the vitamin B needs of your body, you can have green vegetables, peas, avocadoes, legumes, beans, milk, eggs, cheese, seeds, and nuts. If you find eating these solid foods a challenge, you may have them in form of juice, soup, daal, curries, and other fluid forms or soft food preparations.

5. Regulate your Fats Intake

Although fats are vital macronutrients that we need for various body functions, make sure that you consume them in moderation when down with malaria. Excessive intake of fried and fatty foods when ill can make you suffer from indigestion that may further worsen your condition. It may also make you suffer from nausea and diarrhoea. So, limit your intake of fats. Certified nutritionists can help you keep your consumption of fats in check and incorporate healthy fats into your diet. Foods containing healthy fats are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which offer anti-inflammatory benefits. This helps minimize inflammation in your body and supports healing.

6. Foods to Avoid When Suffering from Malaria

• Avoid eating foods high in fibre, such as thick-skinned fruits, leafy greens, and whole-grain cereals. Prefer to eat light, nutritious foods that are easy to digest.
• Stay away from pastries, chips, fries, and maida preparations.
• Do not eat junk or fried foods, processed foods, pickles, sauces, and spicy, oily foods that can cause heartburn and digestive issues.
• Avoid excessive intake of caffeinated beverages. So, refrain from having tea, cocoa, and coffee in excess.

Now that you know what foods to eat and what to avoid for a smooth, speedy recovery from malaria, let’s spread the word this World Malaria Day to help a maximum number of malaria patients worldwide benefit from it. Consulting certified nutritionists, such as health experts at Health Total, can help you have a customised balanced diet comprising the right fruits, vegetables, cereals, pulses, milk, sugar, honey, fish, and other suitable nutritious foods. Our diet plan not only helps you receive adequate nutrition and maintain fluid balance when suffering from malaria, but also helps eliminate nutritional deficiencies, improves your weight, strengthens your immune system, and lowers or prevents potential health risks. So, think no further, reach out to us at Health Total and nourish your body with all essential nutrients to enjoy a smooth, quick recovery from malaria with our personalized diet plan.

Sign up for a FREE consultation with Health Total experts to get more tips for improving your health and healing with nutrition and diet when dealing with malaria or managing any other health condition. Call toll-free at 1-800-833-171709 and Book Free Consultation!