How should the diet of mumps patients be arranged? Why should acidic foods be avoided?

Hello! Getting mumps can indeed be quite uncomfortable, especially when eating causes pain. Don't worry, paying extra attention to your diet can help you recover faster and feel much more comfortable. Let me explain this in detail.

Why is Diet Especially Important?

Mumps, simply put, is an inflammation and swelling of the 'parotid glands' located on both sides of your face, which are responsible for producing saliva. Every time we eat, especially when we see or taste something sour, the parotid glands work hard to secrete saliva. Now that they are 'sick,' making them work hard will definitely cause more pain and worsen the swelling.

Therefore, the core principle of dietary management is: to allow the parotid glands to rest properly, while ensuring your body gets enough nutrients to fight the virus.

Core Question: Why Can't You Eat Sour Foods?

This is actually the most crucial rule in mumps diet!

You can do a small experiment: Imagine you're eating a very sour preserved plum or a lemon right now. Is your mouth already watering?

This 'watering' action is your parotid glands at work. Sour foods are the strongest 'signal' that stimulate the parotid glands to secrete saliva.

Your parotid glands are already red, swollen, and painful, essentially on 'strike.' If you eat something sour, it's like forcing them to work overtime, which will:

1. Aggravate pain: Increased saliva secretion increases the internal pressure within the inflamed parotid glands, making you feel more pain.
2. Worsen swelling: Stimulating the inflamed area might make the swelling harder to subside.

Therefore, during mumps and for a short period after recovery, all sour-tasting items should be blacklisted.

Examples of sour foods to avoid:

• Fruits: Lemon, orange, tangerine, hawthorn, bayberry, pineapple, kiwi, etc.
• Condiments: Vinegar, ketchup.
• Drinks: Sour plum soup, fruit vinegar drinks, yogurt (especially very sour types).
• Snacks: Sour candies, preserved plums, pickled vegetables, etc.

So, What Exactly Should You Eat?

Remember a few key terms: mild, soft, bland, and easy to digest.

Recommended Foods (Whitelist)

• Staple Foods (Liquid or Semi-liquid)

  • Congee/Plain Porridge: The most classic choice; you can add minced meat or finely chopped vegetables to make a savory congee.
  • Soft Noodles/Noodle Soup: Cooked very soft, almost no chewing required.
  • Lotus Root Starch/Oatmeal Porridge: Easy to swallow and nutritious.
  • Steamed Egg Custard: Smooth, rich in protein.

• Vegetables

  • Choose non-sour vegetables like winter melon, cabbage, cucumber, loofah.
  • It's best to prepare them as vegetable puree or winter melon soup for easy swallowing.

• Fruits

  • Choose non-sour, juicy fruits such as watermelon, pear, cantaloupe.
  • Can be eaten directly or juiced (without added sugar or sour flavoring). Pears can be stewed with rock sugar to make a soothing and comfortable drink.

• Drinks

  • Drink plenty of warm water: This is the most important, helping the body metabolize and detoxify.
  • Mung Bean Soup: Clears heat and detoxifies, but remember not to add too much sugar.
  • Freshly squeezed cucumber juice, watermelon juice.

Foods to Avoid (Blacklist)

Besides the sour foods mentioned above, try to avoid these as well:

• Hard, chewy foods: Nuts, fried chicken pieces, hard bread, celery, etc. Chewing also causes pain in the parotid glands.
• Spicy and irritating foods: Chili, Sichuan peppercorns, ginger, garlic, etc. These can irritate inflamed mucous membranes.
• Greasy foods: Fried dough sticks (youtiao), fatty meat, barbecue, etc. Digestive ability is weaker during illness, and these can cause discomfort.
• "Fawu" (foods believed to trigger or worsen illness in traditional Chinese medicine): This is a traditional concept, such as seafood, lamb, chives, etc. Some people believe they can aggravate inflammation, so it's safer to avoid them temporarily.

Sample Daily Meal Plan

Here's a simple meal plan reference for you; you can adjust it according to your taste:

• Breakfast: A bowl of millet porridge, one steamed egg custard.
• Lunch: A bowl of very soft noodles with some finely chopped green vegetable leaves and a small amount of minced meat.
• Snack: A cup of warm pear juice, or a few pieces of watermelon.
• Dinner: A bowl of rice porridge, accompanied by a little stir-fried winter melon puree.

In summary, it's normal to feel discomfort in your mouth and have a poor appetite when you're sick. However, to recover quickly, you should still try to eat something to ensure proper nutrition. Once the swelling and pain in your parotid glands have completely subsided, you can gradually return to your normal diet. Wishing you a speedy recovery!