BY ASSOC PROF DR TAN TOH LEONG
AND BY DR AZLIN ITHNIN
It takes time for your body to recover from a major disease like sepsis or septic shock and for you to regain your strength, you need to be able to eat healthy.
After sepsis, thinking about eating a balanced diet could be the last thing on your mind. But after a prolonged hospital stay, it’s important to eat healthfully.
The body’s life-threatening response to infection or damage is sepsis, which is a medical emergency that calls for prompt diagnosis and treatment, just as heart attacks or strokes. Any infection in the body, such as pneumonia, the flu, or urinary tract infections, can cause sepsis.
Following a sepsis episode, you may not have the urge to perform activities that you used to before your illness. You may just like to be curled up in bed.
Unfortunately, people who spend a lot of time in bed lose muscular mass. This is because of a number of things, which includes inability to consume calories, the body’s energy expenditure spent when it battled the disease and a lack of movement itself.
Your body is made up of cells, including your muscles. If there is weight loss or dehydration, those muscles need nutrients to repair themselves. Food aids in the reconstruction of the nutrients we need to gain muscular growth and regain lost weight. Additionally, healthy eating also supports our brain and cognitive performance.
Loss of appetite after sepsis
Given all of this, it should come as no surprise that the first stage in healing from sepsis is to assist in regaining muscle strength. Even if it’s just walking around the house for a start, exercise helps with this in some way, and so does eating well.
Unfortunately, eating healthy may not always be a major priority, especially if the survivor lives alone. It might be impossible for survivors to leave the house to collect the food they need. They might not even have the energy to cook meals, let alone consume them.
Loss of appetite is frequent after sepsis. First, you might not be building up an appetite since you aren’t as physically active. Food may taste weird.
You could feel sick at the thought of eating. Or perhaps you’re too exhausted to desire to eat. If so, grazing is typically a preferable way to eat. Grazing refers to snacking on nutritious foods or eating small meals as needed throughout the day.
In this instance, eating small portions of food at frequent intervals may help. Drinking soups or smoothies made with fruits and vegetables, can be satisfying, delectable, and healthy.
Healthy fats are crucial
Try experimenting with flavours if the taste of the food is keeping you from indulging. Herbs and mild spices can significantly alter the flavour of a dish. Your appetite may also be impacted by pain if it is present. Try scheduling your meals for a half-hour or so after taking your painkiller in this situation.
Make sure your diet and drink have a balanced array of nutrients. Now is not the time to start a particular diet that cuts out certain food groups, like carbohydrates.
Healthy fats are crucial for supplying your body with protein, which serves as the building block for muscle mass. Examples include those found in olives, nuts, fatty fish (such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel), soy, and tofu.
Whole eggs, bananas, and even peanut butter all provide protein. However, it is also important to have a balanced diet that does not focus on one specific type of food.
Also, having an occasional treat is not going to be harmful to overall health, and may bring back the normal appetite and recovery from illness faster. – The Health
