Diet

[craiggstaples82]

Hi Everyone, i am new and posting on behalf of my father, he is mid 50s and has late stage liver disease and excessive fluid on his stomach. Just wondering if anyone can recommend how much salt u would advise to have with each meal, he been told to keep to a low salt diet, but i am stuggling to make him a meal plan with any less than 1.5g of salt per meal. He is concerned and believes he should only be having 0.5g per meal which seems a little excessive. Also does anyone have a posts relating to meal ideas. One last thing is he ok drinking very cold water, i have been told the best way to hydrate urself is to drink room temp water. And i worry he is not getting the most out of the 1.5 litres he has been restricted too is it is to cold to get straight into his blood stream. Many thanks in advance

[Bolly]

I believe the salt recommendation for someone with advanced liver disease is less than 5g of salt per day and aim for no one meal to contain more than 1.25g of salt.

Re the fluid, again others on here say between 1.5 to 2 litres of fluid a day, no more.

But I'm no expert.

I've not heard anyone discussing the temperature of the fluid before, but hopefully more members will be along soon.

Is the cause of your father's liver failure ALD or something else?

[craiggstaples82 in reply to Bolly]

Yes ALD but has been influenced by very agressive chemo about 30 years ago which has been proven to cause liver disease and other organ related faults in later life. Thanks for the reply. Any recommendations on a menu or food plan for him.

[bantam12 in reply to craiggstaples82]

Has he seen a dietician ? they have given us a whole load of info for my husband who is on low salt, phosphate and potassium diet. There are also some low salt cook books available.

Ice lollies work quite well when on restricted fluids.

[craiggstaples82 in reply to bantam12]

She came around the hospital with a leaflet on what he can eat, but when we asked for more details and menu ideas she said she would return with in 24hrs, but hasnt as yet 4 days on. Plus he is eating hospital food which im sure might not be unhealthy but im not convinced its what he should be eating. How much salt do u restrict him to per meal???

[bantam12 in reply to craiggstaples82]

Might be an idea if you can arrange it to have a proper appt with the dietician so you have time to ask questions and pick up the leaflets. My husband has stage 4 kidney failure so is restricted on lots of things but to be honest we don't follow it all the time, he just makes sure he is as aware as poss to the salt content of things we buy. I never cook with added salt and he steers clear of foods obviously high in salt.

Its not easy but you can only do your best.

[MisterX in reply to craiggstaples82]

AS Bolly suggests the usual advice is below 5g of salt daily - bear in mind it's the sodium element that needs to be restricted, table salt (Sodium chloride) is about 40% sodium so be careful when reading nutrition info on items that already have salt in them to compare sodium with sodium and salt with salt. My understanding is that the 2-2500mg sodium restriction is still quite considerably more than what a person needs to be healthy.

On a brighter note though the taste for salt is actually something we learn from an early age and so we can be weaned off it - it takes a few weeks though. Others have recommended good salt substitutions.

I wouldn't worry too much about the temp of the water, it will quickly get to body temp and in any case it will get into the bloodstream as required.

Cheers.

[Hidden]

Hi, it's always great to have such a caring family member to look after us, you have my full admiration.

Keeping the salt intake low is a real problem, especially when it seems to be in almost everything, even sparkling water apparently , I've spent so much time trying to find a solution.

There are alternatives to salt (of sorts), 'lo-salt' although not perfect, I use very sparingly. Lemon juice and black pepper I find great on both fish and chips. There are 'pickling spices' from 'Morrisons' you can get which is a collection of herbs, seeds and spices to grind up in a mortar and pestle. I sprinkle that on almost everything, but make sure to read the label first. Mrs Dash is a commercially made salt substitute but Google will help you with a home made version.

Hope this helps a bit but really it's down to individual taste. Please let us know how you get on.

Best wishes.

Mike

[Wendy29]

So difficult when someone in hospital - food is usually not great standard and not that healthy or tasty in my opinion - easier once he gets home obviously for quick to make, healthy bites. Using fresh herbs can make all the difference even to scrambled eggs. A little bit of research on Internet will help give you ideas for quick and healthy meals you can enjoy together x