Diet in liver disease
What should I include in my diet?
• A Mediterranean Diet is a balanced diet that has beneficial effects on liver health. The Mediterranean diet is typically low in sugar and high in fibre and includes plenty of colourful fruits and vegetables, fish, whole grains, beans, peas, lentils and moderate amounts of healthy fats such as extra virgin olive oil, olives, avocados, nuts and seeds.
• Drinking a moderate amount of coffee (3-5 cups per day) has been shown to have beneficial effects on liver health, including ground, instant and decaffeinated coffee.
• Exercise is important to help keep your muscles and body strong.
What should I limit or avoid?
• Liquid sugar such as carbonated sugary drinks/sodas, lemonade, and added sugar to tea and coffee.
• Added sugars, where sucrose, fructose, maltose, maltodextrin, or any syrups appear in the first 3–5 ingredients of any food item (for example yoghurts and cereals).
• In cirrhosis, too much salt or sodium can worsen symptoms, it’s recommended to avoid adding salt to food, herbs and spices can be used to enhance the flavour of food instead. It may take a few weeks for your taste to adjust to the new flavour combinations. Unfortunately salt is salt, whether it’s Himalayan, Kosher, Rock, Sea, or Table Salt. All of these contain the same amount of sodium.
What is important if I have been told that I have cirrhosis?
• Small, frequent, and protein rich meals evenly distributed throughout the day will help preserve muscle mass. This means eating every 2-3 hours while awake or having 6 small meals every day.
• A late evening snack containing carbohydrate is recommended about an hour before bedtime, for example, breakfast cereal with milk and a banana, or a large glass of milk and 3 biscuits or 2 thick slices of toast and jam.
What if I have lost my appetite?
• You should tell your doctor if you have reduced appetite, particularly if you are feeling full on small portions. If you don’t feel like solid food try a nourishing drink, for example whole milk with added. Your doctor may recommend or prescribe nourishing oral nutritional supplemental drinks to be taken between meals to help prevent weight loss.
• Your doctor may recommend or prescribe nourishing oral nutritional supplemental drinks to be taken between meals to help prevent weight loss.
References
Manu V. Chakravarthy, Thomas Waddell, Rajarshi Banerjee, Nicola Guess, Nutrition and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Current Perspectives, Gastroenterology Clinics of North America, Volume 49, Issue 1, 2020, Pages 63-94, Nutrition and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Current Perspectives - ScienceDirect
Useful links:
99841_Nutrition_in_Cirrhosis_40pg_FINAL-2018-05-29.pdf (liver.ca)
https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/assets/info/nutrition/if-nfs-eating-well-with-cirrhosis.pdf