Tuberculosis is no longer considered incurable if it is tackled in the early stages. An all round scheme of dietetic and vitality-building programme along natural lines is the only method to overcome the disease. As a first step, the patient should be put on an exclusive fresh fruit diet for three or four days
He should have three meals a day of fresh, juicy fruits, such as apples,grapes, pears, peaches, oranges, pineapples, melons, or any other juicy fruit in season. For drinks, unsweetened lemon water or plain water either hot or cold may be taken. If losing much weight on the all-fruit diet, those who are already underweight may add a glass of milk to each fruit meal.
After the all-fruit diet, the patient should adopt a fruit and milk diet. For this diet, the meals are exactly the same as the all-fruit diet, but with milk added to each fruit meal. The patient may begin with two pints of milk the first day and increase by half a pint daily upto four or five pints.
The milk should be fresh and unboiled, but may be slightly warmed, if desired. It should be sipped very slowly. The fruit and milk diet should be continued for four to six weeks. Thereafter, the following diet may be adopted.
Breakfast : Fresh fruits as obtainable and milk. Prunes or other dried fruit may also be taken , if desired.
Lunch : Steamed vegetables as available, one or two whole wheat chappatis and a glass of butter milk.
Dinner : A bowl of raw salad of suitable vegetables with whole wheat bread and butter. Stewed fruit or cooked apple may be taken for dessert.
At bedtime : A glass of milk.
The chief therapeutic agent needed for the treatment of tuberculosis is calcium. Milk, being the richest food source for the supply of organic calcium to the body, should be taken liberally. In the diet outlined above at least two pints of milk should be taken daily.
Further periods on the exclusive fruit diet followed by fruit and milk diet should be adopted at intervals of two or three months depending on the progress. During the first few days of the treatment, the bowels should be cleansed daily with a warm water enema and afterwards as necessary.
The patient should avoid all devitalised foods such as white bread, white sugar, refined cereals, puddings and pies, tinned, canned and preserved foods. He should also avoid strong tea, coffee, condiments, pickles and sauces. The patient should take complete rest – of both mind and body. Any type of stress will prevent healing.
Fresh air is always important in curing the disease and the patient should spend most of the time in the open air and should sleep in a well-ventilated room. Sunshine is also essential as the tubercle bacilli are rapidly killed by exposure to sunrays. Other beneficial steps towards curing the disease are avoidance of strain, slow massage, deep breathing and light occupation to ensure mental diversion.