Nutrition during Dengue – By Celebrity Nutritionist RYAN FERNANDO

I got dengue in 2015. I got admitted and I checked myself out in 1 day flat as the doctors were only administering drips to me.

Dengue virus is a viral disease that is spread by mosquitoes. There is no specific treatment for dengue fever.

Fever reducers and pain killers can be taken to control the symptoms of muscle aches and pains and fever.

When an infected mosquito bites a human, the dengue virus enters the bloodstream, it binds to platelets and replicates, leading to the multiplication of the infectious virus. The infected platelet cells tend to destroy normal platelets, which is one of the major causes of the drop in the platelet count in dengue fever.

Our blood comprises of 3 types of cells which are in liquid form known as plasma. Our red blood cells carry oxygen, and white blood cells provide immunity by fighting infection. The third type of cells are platelets. Platelets are smaller than red blood and white blood cells.

Dengue fever can result in a drop in your white blood cell and platelet counts. The average platelet count in the body ranges from 1.5 to 4 lacs; this can go down to as low as 20,000 to 40,000 in the case of dengue patients.

Dengue symptoms often go unnoticed because they mimic those of the flu. People with mild symptoms of dengue are known to confuse it with other illnesses that cause fever and joint pain. This is why it’s essential to look out for the below if you suspect dengue:

High fever (40°C/ 104°F ) accompanied by at least two of the following symptoms:

Headaches
Pain behind eyes
Nausea, vomiting
Swollen glands
Joint, bone, or muscle pains
Rashes

Dengue symptoms are often confused with symptoms of diseases like malaria, typhoid, or leptospirosis. While there is no vaccine or specific medication for dengue fever, doctors can diagnose dengue with a routine blood test and other lab tests in complicated cases.

Your doctor will also ask investigative questions about any international trips to places that are dengue hotspots to narrow their diagnosis.

THIS IS MY ADVICE FOR YOUR DIET AND SUPPLIMENTS

#1 Vitamin D supplement of 60,000iu. My preference is Abbott Labs Arachitol Nano Bottle Oral Solution (5ml each). Do once a week. *

#2 GLUTAMINE 5 grams in orange or musambi or pomegranate juice 100 ml mix 5 grams of glutamine. Do this 2 times in a day in the first week and then taper. Contact my team at www.quanutrition.com for more information on how this amino acid will help raise your platelet count.

#3 AVOID FISH OIL or OMEGA 3 or better don’t have fish during 2-4 weeks of dengue and its recovery.

#4 AVOID CLA tablets or conjugated linoleic acid suppliment.

#5 REDUCE fried foods

#6 Better to be veg but focus on good Veg proteins.

#7 Add a Curcumin extract or Haldi or Tumeric Capsule to the diet. Do not take more than ½ grams, as turmeric has a blood thinner effect. Better to talk to my dietitian at www.quanutrition.com and get bespoke advice on a plan to have your blood tests with us to advise for or against turmeric.

#8 Make black tea two times a day. Add a little ginger to it.

#9 The Papaya leaf extract does work. Take 1 tablet with each meal or as advised by your naturopathy dr or English medicine dr.*

#10 Take Evion Vitamin E 400 mg every day or as advised or not advised by your dr. *

#11 Take Vitamin C naturally via Kiwi, oranges, amla, or a supplement of 1000mg per day. You can go up to 3 grams a day or 3000mg. I personally did 3000 mg every day.*

#12 Drinking half a cup of wheatgrass daily with few drops of lime daily can considerably increase platelet counts.

#13 Dehydration is a huge issue. So take an ORS solution twice a day and make sure you hydrate well.

#14 Soups really work well. The ones with the spices help blast the virus out of your body. This is an ancient belief. There is little research on garlic, turmeric, capsaicin, and other molecules found in spices used in soup. Plus, it’s the best way to get some nutrition into you.

#15 I would do a good multivitamin in the morning with ZINC and Selenium.*

#16 No alcohol. Don’t be an IDIOT. Alcohol cannot kill viruses in the blood. It only destroys your stomach lining. EAT RAISINS INSTEAD. They are the BAAP of wine but not fermented, and the grape in a dehydrated state is known to improve blood profiles.

#17 Eat home-cooked organic as best as you can. You will bounce back soon.

#18 Eat Brussel sprouts. I ate it and recovered without any joint pains. You may get smelly farts, but it’s worth the NO PAIN scenario.

#19 Amla, have 1 tablespoon of organic dehydrated powder. I can’t eat it raw. It hurts my tongue.

#20 NO ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS. NO PROTEIN POWDERS WITH ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS. It affects the platelets.

There is a lot more one can do. It’s important to eliminate foods that you are allergic to so that you don’t end up hurting your ALREADY invaded body.

Don’t offer 2 battlefronts. One battlefront is your ignorance on what foods normally harm your body, and the other battlefront is the dengue virus.

Know your soldiers and ammunition and go to war knowing that your body’s immune system and feeding it right is the way to win the battle.

Finally, don’t be stupid. Continuously test your platelets and talk to your dr. If they drop too low or you see gums bleeding or nose bleeds, rush your backside to the nearest hospital.

Once you are out of danger, get in touch with a dietitian to get your act and body back in shape, not to mention your blood.

*PLEASE CONSULT WITH YOUR DOCTOR OR PHYSICIAN FOR CORRECT SUPPLEMENTS AND OR MEDICINES> THIS GUIDELINE IS TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU CAN DO IN THE DIET SPACE OR NUTRITION SPACE THAT YOU MAY NOT BEAWARE OF. PLEASE DO NOT TAKE ONLY MY ADVICE AND HURT YOUR HEALTH> GET PROFESSIONAL HELP WITH THE DR>

Share this information with others and TAG me on your social media #ryanfernando #quanutrition. We will ask a dietitian to reach out to you.

Ryan Fernando is an Award-winning celebrity Sports Nutritionist with 2GUINNESS world record and 2 Olympic medals under his belt. His client list include Olympic wrestler Sushil Kumar, cricketer Shikhar Dhawan & bollywood superstars Aamir Khan & Abhishek Bachchan. He is Chief Nutritionist at QUA Nutrition Signature Clinics.

Reference:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4228873/

Nutrition, Supplements, and Vitamins in Platelet Function and Bleeding

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/circulationaha.109.880211

https://ashpublications.org/blood/article/126/3/286/34522/Dengue-virus-pirates-human-platelets