Cirrhosis of the liver: diet and its characteristics

Cirrhosis is a dangerous degenerative lesion of the liver, in which healthy organ tissues are destroyed and pass into scar tissue. This transformation reduces the functionality of the organ, the prognosis for the disease is usually unfavorable. In order for the treatment to be most effective, the life expectancy at the given disease was maximal, the diet for cirrhosis is important.

• Diet for patients with cirrhosis
• Features of nutrition
• What you can eat
• What you can not eat
• Menu for the week

When the disease the body no longer copes with the load on the digestive tract, the liver is no longer able to remove a large number of toxic substances for the body. Diet is intended to improve the state of the gastrointestinal tract, remove excess load from the liver, favorably affect the body as a whole.

The main cure for cirrhosis, hepatoprotectors, which help the body function, are most effective only if a suitable diet is observed. Cirrhosis is such a disease, the prognosis of which mostly depends on the patient's lifestyle and his efforts. It is necessary to follow the diet and comply with all the prescriptions of the doctor.

Important!Certain features of nutrition can depend on concomitant diseases.

Diet for patients with cirrhosis

There are clear rules for diets for cirrhosis and concomitant diseases. The patient will have to radically change his eating habits, the nutrition plan in this case is quite strict.

Before starting the diet, you should consult a doctor, any adjustments in terms of nutrition should be agreed with a specialist. In general, the following rules should be adhered to:

1. It is recommended to eat 5 - 6 times a day, portions should be small. At the same time, you should consume no more than 2500 - 3000 calories per day. Also, you should drink enough water, at least 1.5 liters per day.
2. With cirrhosis, you can not eat much salt, no more than 1 to 2 teaspoons per day. In addition, you need to limit the consumption of sugar.
3. The structure of food should be as light as possible, if coarse fibers are present, they should be crushed.
4. Food can be cooked only for a couple or cook, fry in any case impossible. When cooking, do not use additional spices, it is desirable to limit the amount of oil.
5. When cirrhosis is not recommended to eat too cold or hot dishes, the temperature of food should always be medium, comfortable.

These are the main dietary rules for women and men with cirrhosis. The exact number of calories needed should be calculated based on body weight and other body needs. Also recommend to spend unloading days, food during which should be as much as possible facilitated. With cirrhosis and hepatitis, it is possible to adjust the diet in accordance with the side effects of antiviral therapy.

Features of nutrition

With alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver, the diet should be as strict as possible, the main problem for people with this disease is the ability to refrain from drinking alcohol. It is worth remembering that even the smallest doses can cause a sharp deterioration in the condition.

The diet for cirrhosis of the liver with ascites also limits the intake of fluids. Total allowed to drink no more than 1.5 liters of water per day, it is also necessary to completely exclude salt and other products that can provoke fluid retention.

With decompensated liver cirrhosis, which is the most dangerous because of the almost complete cessation of normal liver function, the diet should be as strict as possible. It is necessary to exclude all products that can irritate the gastrointestinal tract, the texture of food should be most convenient for rapid digestion.

In primary biliary cirrhosis of the liver, the diet should remain the same strict. Regardless of the causes of the disease, you should limit your diet to the maximum. Do not go hungry, you need to get the necessary amount of calories, because with cirrhosis the body is already weakened. Also recommend limiting products that can trigger an allergic reaction.

With cirrhosis and diabetes, you must also limit the amount of carbohydrates, especially "fast". It is desirable to exclude the maximum sweets, do not eat a lot of sweet fruits.

After a bleeding of the esophagus and other complications of cirrhosis, one should follow the plan for a fasting day. Return to a full diet should be after consulting a doctor.

What you can eat

There is a list of foods that should be included in the diet for cirrhosis. This list can be adjusted depending on individual indications:

1. Wheat bread is made from flour of the highest grade, black is not grain bread, preferably in dried form. Also, not baking pastry without additives is allowed.
2. Vegetable vegetarian soups, preferably with mashed texture. Milk soups are also acceptable.
3. Low-fat varieties of meat and fish, chicken, turkey, rabbit, albumen omelettes and casseroles are permissible.
4. Low-fat dairy products, kefir, milk, cottage cheese, sour cream, yoghurt without additives.
5. Sweet fruits, natural marshmallows, marmalade, jelly.
6. Incubated tea, decoction of dog rose and other useful herbs, fruit and vegetable juices.
7. Butter, vegetable oil without preheating, it can be added only to ready meals.

At the same time, consumption of products of animal origin should be minimized, vegetables and fruits should form the basis of the diet.

Important!With a lack of sweet, honey is better than adding more sugar to foods.

What you can not eat

There is a list of products that must be avoided with liver cirrhosis. Their use can provoke complications.

• baked pastry, puff pastry, pies cooked by roasting;
• various broths, fatty meat varieties, canned food, offal;
• beans, spinach, sorrel, different types of onions, other vegetables and spices, irritating the gastrointestinal tract;
• smoked, canned, fatty fish;
• fatty sweets, chocolate, ice cream, sour fruits and berries;
• coffee, cocoa, carbonated and cold drinks.

In general, foods that irritate the gastrointestinal tract should be avoided, which can provoke increased gas production and other malfunctions. With cirrhosis any violation can become extremely dangerous.

Also it is worth remembering that you need to completely eliminate alcoholic beverages, it is desirable to abandon bad habits in general and start to lead a healthy lifestyle in general. In this case, the effect of treatment will be most pronounced.

Menu for the week

To make it easier to compose your own nutrition plan, you should bring a sample menu, from which you can form a diet for a week. Most dishes with diet number 5 is easy enough to cook, for convenience it is recommended to use a steamer and a multivark, if possible.

1. Breakfast. Admissible low-fat cottage cheese with a small amount of sugar or dried fruits, oatmeal or rice porridge on milk. As drinks - tea or broth of a dogrose.
2. Lunch. Toasts from bread with avocado, baked apple with honey, syrniki from fat-free cottage cheese with sour cream. Broth of dogrose or fruit juice.
3. Dinner. Vegetarian borscht, potato soup - mashed potatoes, turkey fillet, steamed, with various cereals, casserole from chicken and potatoes. Fruit or vegetable juice.
4. Snack. Protein baked omelet, carrot pancakes with sour cream, apples, oatmeal cookies. You can also just drink a glass of vegetable juice, for example, beetroot.
5. Dinner. Boiled fish, pasta, casserole from zucchini, rice porridge. Supper should be as easy as possible.

These can be dishes with a diet with cirrhosis of the liver. If after a certain dish there is a feeling of heaviness, henceforth, it is worth to abandon it or choose a smaller portion.

If you follow a diet like this, the prognosis for cirrhosis improves. It is important to listen to all the recommendations of the attending physician and not to violate the chosen meal plan.