Management of Arsenicosis by Intake of Proper Foods and Vitamin C Supplementation

摘要

Arsenicosis, a disease caused by toxicity of arsenic, has been reported as a severe global health threat for the millions of peoples who are bound to use arsenic contaminated ground water as the main source of drinking water. Arsenicosis can be managed by using synthetic remedies. But, most of these synthetic remedies have side effect and/or are costly for the people of poor countries where arsenicosis is more prevalent. Hence, research on an alternative strategy for management of arsenicosis is important for public health. In this study, as a strategy to manage arsenicosis, a diet regime containing proper foods and vitamin C supplementation was suggested to follow for six months by arsenicosis patients who were selected from three study areas located in northwestern districts (Nawabganj and Rajshahi) of Bangladesh. It was found that the suggested diet regime can cause significant reduction of urinary arsenic excretion, enhancement of blood hemoglobin level, and improvement of keratosis condition in investigated arsenicosis patients after following the diet regime for six months, indicating a positive role of diet regime on betterment of health condition of arsenicosis patients.