Nagpur: Since the past eight years, dietitians Jayashree Pendharkar and Disha Rukhiyana have been advocating the use of home-made nutritive powders for Neuro surgery patients on ryle’s tube. It has treated 6,720 patients with over 500kg of these powders are being used in the hospital daily.
‘JRT feeds’, started eight years ago by Pendharkar and Rukhiyana to offer a natural alternative to patients who are on nasogastric (nose to stomach) tubes, called ryle’s tubes, has been a hit. Patients, who were earlier forced to rely on protein powders from pharmacies, can now ingest feeds made of sprouts and cereals.
These feeds are to be given every two hours by mixing it in water. “Neurology patients are mostly unconscious and are fed through nasogastric tubes. If the patient is required to be on ryle’s tube for a longer period of time, a small incision is made at the jejunum part of the stomach, where the tube is inserted. The ryle’s tube feed is put into the syringe inserted into the tube,” says Pendharkar.
Pendharkar and Rukhiyana have devised six formulations, which when taken according to the diet chart, provide a balance of all nutrients required to remain healthy, and are easily digestible.
Pravin Raut, a resident of Old Subhedar Layout, was faced with the problem of maintaining weight of his bed-ridden brother after the latter met with an accident in 2016. Protein powders, watery dal weren’t giving desired results and had weakened his brother’s immunity system. “We started providing him the feed, and he is now stable and has acquired adequate weight. He is responding well to medicines and it shows on his face,” says Raut.
Pushpa Raut’s mother-in-law has been in bed since the past two and half years, surviving paralysis and brain haemorrhage. “It is plain impossible to be making dal or rice every two hours. These feeds have made it very easy for me to take care of my mother-in-law and is very effective. It is hassle-free and I have also suggested to many people in my village to try it,” says the Higanghat resident.
“We make these feeds by sprouting pulses and even cereals. We then roast it and mix it before churning. We also enhance it with milk powder. Plainly serving soya milk, juice or dal water is not going to provide adequate nutrition to the patient,” says Rukhiyana.
Pendharkar says the feeds will also prove incredibly effective if given to patients of oral cancer but laments at the lack of willingness of cancer hospitals in the city to make these feeds available to their patients.
