Vegetarian Diet and the Flu

pippywillow
pippywillow Posts: 253 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
So kinda strange question. My boyfriend is in prison and he's a vegetarian. He eats the same thing every day, oatmeal for breakfast and beans and rice for lunch and supper, on Fridays he has fish. Once in a while he'll get a salad or a veggie burger. But that's really all they have to offer him. He's pretty healthy, he's in good shape, he exercises regularly and all that. He's been doing this diet since 2007. But this year he's caught the flu three times, and he's wondering if changing his diet would fix that. Is it possible that they're related?

Replies

  • healthyemily93
    healthyemily93 Posts: 11 Member
    I imagine he's in very close proximity to a lot of people, in a very small space. That's probably why he's getting ill more often.
  • kramrn77
    kramrn77 Posts: 375 Member
    That and the flu vac this year didn't accurately predict the strains that would become predominant. That many people in that small a space and you get a lot of bugs passed. I wouldn't blame the diet just yet.
  • evileen99
    evileen99 Posts: 1,564 Member
    Did he have actual influenza (knocked out for a week or two) or some GI big or another respiratory virus? I have never heard of anyone getting actual influenza 3 times in one year.
  • athena2395
    athena2395 Posts: 3 Member
    No, it won't change anything. Prison is a close quarters situation, lots of people means lots of germs.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    athena2395 wrote: »
    No, it won't change anything. Prison is a close quarters situation, lots of people means lots of germs.
    yeah, i'd say this. maybe he could work on his handwashing? i've heard that increasing frequency and duration of handwashing can help.

    Besides, its not like meat they are serving is going to be all that great anyway. I'd stick with what he has going on.
  • pippywillow
    pippywillow Posts: 253 Member
    melimomTARDIS wrote: »
    athena2395 wrote: »
    Besides, its not like meat they are serving is going to be all that great anyway. I'd stick with what he has going on.

    Yeah, that's why he doesn't eat meat, it's yucky.
    evileen99 wrote: »
    Did he have actual influenza (knocked out for a week or two) or some GI big or another respiratory virus? I have never heard of anyone getting actual influenza 3 times in one year.

    It's really hard to say for sure, they didn't test him. But all the symptoms say flu, the last time was a couple weeks, this one has been 4 four days and it's not really getting better yet.
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