Fueling Recovery, Saving Lives: How Food Fights TB

“A meal can be as powerful as medicine when it comes to beating tuberculosis.”

🔬 Breakthrough from the RATIONS Trial

A landmark study in Jharkhand (2019–2022) proved that nutritional support significantly enhances TB treatment outcomes:

• 2,800 pulmonary TB patients and 10,000+ household contacts participated.
• New TB cases dropped by 48%.
• Mortality among severely underweight patients (under 35 kg) fell to just 7%.
• Nutrition uplifted both patients and their families.

💰 Economic Benefits Backed by Data

A companion economic modelling study found:

• 361,000 deaths and 880,000 new TB cases can be averted by 2035 with 50% coverage.
• Just $167 per DALY (disability-adjusted life-year)—a high-impact, cost-effective strategy.

🎯 Targeting Makes It Smarter

The study suggests focusing on high-risk household contacts, especially in low-resource settings.
This targeted nutrition approach is more effective, financially efficient, and easier to implement.

📉 Nutrition as Prevention

• Better nutrition improves BMI, reducing the reactivation of TB.
• Improved recovery rates and lower transmission risks make it a double win.
• Nutrition helps contain the disease before it spreads.

🧭 Policy Takeaways

Policymakers must:

• Integrate nutrition support into TB programs.
• Prioritise underweight and high-risk families.
• Support families, not just individual patients, for long-term success.

💡 Final Word

TB is not just a medical challenge—it’s a nutrition emergency too.
The RATIONS trial shows that nutrition can break the chain of infection, death, and poverty.