Liver Cirrhosis Diet

[Abrielle]

Can anyone offer some advice on eating with liver cirrhosis.

[AyrshireK]

You would be better trying to seek individualized input from a liver specialist dietician as dietary requirements totally depend on what stage of cirrhosis the patient has and what symptoms are present plus whatever the underlying cause of the cirrhosis is.

For example, my hubby was diagnosed as malnourished and suffering from muscle wastage and he therefore needed a diet where he ate little and often throughout the day with snacks every 2 - 3 hours (no long gaps) and a high protein/high carb diet plus a large carbohydrate rich supper to prevent his body using muscle for fuel. Whilst following this he has subsequently developed cirrhosis induced diabetes and so has to follow guidance for both conditions.

This kind of diet isn't going to be advisable for someone who perhaps had fatty liver or NASH as the underlying cause of their cirrhosis.

Some people have advanced Hepatic Encephalopathy are told not to eat too much red meat or meat based protein as this can lead to a high level of ammonia build up.

Little and often is usual guidance, reduce salt to prevent fluid build up.

As you can see it totally depends on your individual circumstances, state of liver disease, symptoms present etc. Guidance from a dietician should be sought - we had excellent guidance from a liver specialist dietician and when the diabetes came along too we got a phone consultation with her to update how we should manage both.

The British Liver Trust has some more general guidance at:- britishlivertrust.org.uk/in...

Katie

[Hidden]

• multiple small meals through the day for steady energy. Breakfast is important.

• 60 to 70% of your calories from complex carbohydrates e.g. whole wheat breads, pastas, brown rice, barley, quinoa, potatoes, corn, legumes such as black beans, chickpeas, lentils, etc. Don't add sauces like butter, ketchup etc.

• 20 to 30% of calories from lean animal protein or vegetable protein.

• 10 to 20% of calories from polyunsaturated fat e.g. walnuts, sunflower seeds, flax seeds or flax oil, fish, such as salmon, mackerel, herring, tuna and trout. Corn oil, soybean oil and safflower oil.

• plenty of fresh fruits & vegetables.

• avoid processed foods.

• no more than 2 or 3 cups of coffee daily.

• a vitamin D supplement might be helpful if you don’t get much sun. A moderate dose of Co-enzyme Q10 may also be helpful.

If you go to Dr John McDougall’s website (see the link below) and check out his diet and add some lean meat to it I believe that you would have a good diet for someone with cirrhosis (or anyone for that matter who wanted to adopt a healthy diet). Ebook versions of books that he has written are currently free to download along with various with other resources.

drmcdougall.com/

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

You mention coffee like it could be depremental, which im confused about as I was told coffee (proper coffee though lol) is actually good for liver health etc.... I have 3 big cups in the morning out of my cafetiere, pondering on my decking, looking at the wild rabbits roaming free in the field, the Telegraph in one hand, cup in the other and fresh croissants in Le basket, basking in the devine Lutonian sunshine 😆......well something like that lol.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

The metabolism of caffeine is slowed in people with cirrhosis resulting in higher concentrations of caffeine in the blood. One cup is the recommended intake. Two cups is probably okay spread well apart. You would have a high tolerance to caffeine and like the alert feeling it produces however anyone with cirrhosis shouldn't be drinking 3 cups in the morning! Spread them out.

I don't have cirrhosis but I have serious liver related health issues. I like a strong coffee not long after waking but if it's too strong it produces an unpleasant feeling which can last for hours.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Each to there own I suppose, I dont have any caffeine apart from the morning as I suffer from insomnia hence me on here now at 2:30am, and with my liver being like it is im not aloud to take anything to help aid my sleep its a bloody nightmare, but nobody to blame but myself though. There's only so many sheep you can count 🐑🐑🐑

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Please do not link to additional websites on our forum.

The British Liver Trust would only ever advocate discussing appropriate and safe diet advice with a patient's medical professionals and registered dietitian.

[Kristian]

It does very much depend on where someone is with progress of the disease. As katie said, it is very much worth getting specific individual advice from your medical team.

As a general rule of thumb, just eating a normal healthy diet should suffice. However, if that is a problem then eating little and often is the key. Towards the later stages then you'll probably find you'll need to eat more carbohydrate to help keep up your energy and reduce the need for your body to take it from its stores in the muscles. A snack before bed of some biscuits or toast is good for that.

If you find that you are losing muscle mass then you'll also possibly be told to consume more protein. Fish, eggs, chicken and lots of other things are good to provide that, even cheese, lol. But, if it gets to that stage, then the advice of a dietician will be really helpful. In the main though, if eating a normal meal is a problem, then eating less but more often is the way to go.

It would probably not be too appropriate to give much advice here about what to actually eat. The advice to eat lots of cake won't be appropriate to most for much of their time with cirrhosis. However at the very late stages that may actually be advised. It was for me, as it was a good way of getting quick and easy release energy. Basically the advice I got was, "don't worry, the cirrhisis will kill you way before we have to start worrying about clogging of the arteries", lol. So as you can see, advice will vary with the stage of disease you are at and our individual circumstances.

[Hidden]

Good afternoon Abrielle,

As AyrshireK suggests, please ask your liver consultant or GP to refer you to a specialist dietitian for individualised advice.

Also, please do not consider any supplements without discussing with your own doctors first.

Best wishes,

Trust9

[Millie09]

Hi abrielle ,

As to what Katie states in her reply to you , I was much the same as her hubby 12 years ago when diagnosed with alcohol liver cirrhosis, malnutrition etc .. less than 47 kg on discharge . I was under a nutritionist at the liver clinic , I had to eat a high diet of protein , low salt , infant I never used salt and still don’t to this day , I use herbs or spices which I find is really good and you actually get used to the taste

My High protein was needed due to muscle wastage .. it’s now so very different ., I can no longer eat big meals or should I say a normal size meal due to pain and acid reflux, plus I need some sort of high carb on waking , mostly porridge . Then through the day I graze on whatever my body wants , Greek yogurt with fresh fruits are nice . Plenty of fresh veg regardless of what stage you may be or how tolerant your tummy is , I only eat chicken now , occasionally lamb , I do like my batch seeded loaf and I do have proper butter 🧈 😋, but not too much lol , even though I’m now 3 stone heavier in the last 2 yrs due to meds for other chronic illness, lack of mobility due to either fatigue or pain or even lack of sleep due to years of insomnia , I do have a treat though every night , I don’t smoke or drink or even drive to go out anywhere so I see nothing wrong in indulging in a yummy ice cream 🍦..

Me personally if you remove whatever caused the cirrhosis in the first place ( obviously not the genetic issues ) then your liver should remain stable . Love Linda x

[Bluegirl52]

There is a forum on Health Unlocked that addresses a diet for fatty liver. I think the whole point is to eat things that are easy for the liver to process and not make it work harder than it need to.

[cammeag]

Hiya. Katie is almost always right😊. Same with this. I have decompensated liver and the same eating plan as her hubby. It seems like an insurmountable problem but there’s a leaflet you get from dietician at hosp or your local gp can order it. It’s called Diet and Liver Disease, even it’s diet plan seems too much at first. Use it just a base and build your own likes into it while discarding what u cannot cope with. Do not be disheartened many here have risen to most problems people present. Your in caring hands 😊