What to eat drink avoid

[Gomezzzzzzzzzz]

Hi little bit nervous doctors said ultrasound scan and bloods are good .....but iv drunk quite a lot last 6 years and had terrible acid reflux and pain lower ribs ,shoulder pains and felt short tempered eyes little bit strained and felt tired for last 5month......however now lost 1half stone don't drink 7months eat healthy ...chai . flax . seasome seeds.turemic 6 pints water every day etc does anyone have more tips for foods to eat and avoid....

[Kji378]

Hello - good morning 🙂

So your bloods and scan are clear and 'good' you mean no scarring, Cirrhosis, or fatty liver? Is that what you mean? Because that is fantastic! Yay! 😃

Great you have lost weight and keep in NEVER GIVE UP at stopping drinking the demons, baddies water (alcohol).

Give yourself a big pat on the back for the 7 months, 4-5 more months is a whole a year! What a milestone that is! 👏 Toot Toot 🎶 🎷

If everything is relatively stable keep eating the good stuff, I'm not sure if you are told you need those weight. Obviously it depends on your age, gender, if you need to to lose weight? You don't say. Protein, fish, eggs, chicken fish, or pulses legumes, fresh fruit and vegetables. The usual kind of healthy diet. Flax seeds, chai seeds, sunflower seeds etc all brilliant to snack on and eat.

Regarding the pain, has the GP looked into it. Do you have a consultant? Ask them.

If you want to call the British Liver Trust team here the number is

08006527330 Fridays I think they close at 3pm but usually Mon' to Fri" 10am - 3.30pm but today is 3pm (Sorry Trust if I have this wrong )

Good luck, stay positive and keep smiling!

Take good care

[Gomezzzzzzzzzz in reply to Kji378]

Thank you for your good advice...another blood check due 7weeks time will speak to doctor then about scarring etc....just to see what my next step will be.....basically thinking this was a warning ⚠️ so i will be more at ease once I have spoken to him face to face this time instead of phone call...i was15st now 13half...

[Hidden in reply to Kji378]

The Nurse Led helpline is available 10 am-3pm Monday - Friday ( except bank holidays) on 0800 652 7330

thank you !

Trust9

[Kji378 in reply to Hidden]

Ooo when did the number change, or am I getting mixed up on my contact list perhaps I've given the Argos or somewhere phone number...I have it down as BLT sorry about that 😬

[Kji378 in reply to Kji378]

Note to self - your contact list is fine your reading glssses aren't 😂 I did get number right just the times and hols. I'm going back to my corner now 😂

[Gomezzzzzzzzzz in reply to Kji378]

Hahaha Hahaha so funny 😆

[Benwillfred]

Well done you !! My dietitian said to try lactose free milk, I also avoid uncooked onions but cooked seem OK not too many tomatoes or spicy foods. Seem to be working. Try eating little and often. Good luck for the future , and try try try to stay off the alcholol !! To your liver it's POISON !!

[Zukosmile07 in reply to Benwillfred]

Little and often. Yes perfect you may even be able to eat things you thought you couldn't with the little part. Dr first everytime

[Kji378]

Ooo low fat yoghurt, a good one is called FAGE . The zero fat is good with honey and blueberries

Porridge - oatmeal another good antacid, I use chai seeds, honey, cinnamon and again blueberries in mine.

There is a lot of info failing any luck ask if you could have an email with dietician or phonecall?

Sleeping with two or three pillows, not flat helps too.

Good luck. 🙂

[Gomezzzzzzzzzz in reply to Kji378]

Thank you there is so much good advice from this website....

[Kji378 in reply to Gomezzzzzzzzzz]

(-'cod' should have been 'could' I have corrected now, sorry)

[Gomezzzzzzzzzz in reply to Kji378]

Hahaha

[Jebediah454]

Low carb diet is a great option, a great place to start is to try cut your carbs to a max of 100g per day and only have complex carbs.

Cut out sugar and saturated fats.

Don't eat too much red meats, have more fish in your diet but be careful with tuna.

There's a whole host of options you can try, realistically you need to find a diet that is best suited for your lifestyle and your goals what works for me might not work for you and so on.

Personally I find that intermittent fasting (16-8) works best for me paired with a low carb diet, I supplement with krill oil as I don't like oily fish and I try to eat sulfur rich foods to boost my intake of cysteine (an amino acid that is the precursor to glutathione). One thing I will absolutely stand by, if your liver is healthy and you're not suffering any malnutrition, a low carb diet will give you so so so much benefits, I stopped being lethargic and fatigued, my bloating dissapeared my mood lifted and my anxiety has improved also, that may also be down to giving up alcohol as well but I've seen so many positive reports of people cutting down bad carbs and having nothing but health benefits from doing so. I think the advice for someone with liver disease may be different as I believe they need to eat more carbs to counter malnutrition

[deanw41 in reply to Jebediah454]

That’s true!! 4 months carb/added sugar free. More energy,less cravings,no napping,fitness has improved and leaner. 18 months alcohol free and compensated

[Jebediah454 in reply to deanw41]

It's crazy when you cut down on carbs how different you feel. I've heard interviews where people's sleep apnea has been cured, even gum disease. Sugar and refined carbs really must run havok on our bodies, sugar is obviously second to alcohol in the destruction it can do but it's life-changing when you cut both out

[deanw41 in reply to Jebediah454]

Sugar is the devil granulated!!!

[Tippybailey in reply to deanw41]

Love that !

[Gomezzzzzzzzzz in reply to Jebediah454]

Iv been a silent reader on this sight and I've never seen anyone really give advice on what to eat properly to get through this awful liver disease situation that people have found themselves in...if that makes sense...so it's great seeing what food others are eating and recommending to help others...keep the ideas coming....

[Jebediah454 in reply to Gomezzzzzzzzzz]

When you are diagnosed with liver disease you need to discuss with your consultant really. I have not yet been diagnosed, I am in the stages of trying to figure out if I have it or not so my advice is mainly for people who are in a similar situation as me.

When you do have liver disease you need to discuss with your consultant what you can and cant eat, as I said in my post, some people with liver disease have malnutrition so I believe are normally told to load up on carbs.

Typically however the same rules applies to everyone, this is just amplified when you have liver disease - sugar is bad (especially high amounts of fructose), processed carbs are bad and saturated fats are bad - Red meat depending on the stage of liver disease is ok in moderation but generally avoided - salt is bad also especially for liver disease and those suffering with ascites, so deli meats are normally off the cards for sufferers.

Stay away from supplements promoting "liver detox" - Most people use Milk Thistle which has mixed reviews across the board, some people swear by it others don't - especially stay away from any supplements for detox or not that contain green tea extract, green tea in its normal form is good for you and possibly your liver due to its anti-oxidants, but in extract form its actually dangerous for your liver.

There are a few YouTube channels available, Dr Sten Ekberg for example. that talk about general liver health and things that may help and things that may not, they provide a LOT of valuable information, but again you need to take all of this in carefully as most of it is NOT aimed at those living with serious liver complications and is more aimed at people with either NAFLD or just generally wanting to look after their health a little better.

Takeway -

Sugar is bad (ok in moderation, bad in excess)

Fructose is bad in excess

Processed carbs are bad for everyone

Salt is bad mostly for everyone but especially people with liver disease and suffering ascites

Supplements promoting liver health are risky/bad for pretty much everyone

Your consultant will know your exact stage and all of your complications so will be able to give you a more "exact" diet plan.

******EVERYTHING I HAVE SAID IN THIS POST IS MY PERSONAL OPINION, I AM NOT A QUALIFIED DIETICIAN OR DOCTOR - AS I HAVE POINTED OUT MULTIPLE TIMES IF YOU HAVE LIVER DISEASE YOUR CONSULTANT WILL BE YOUR BEST CALL TO CONFIRM WHAT DIET IS BEST FOR YOU - IF YOU DISAGREE WITH ANY OF MY POINTS THAT IS OK, I AM NOT HERE FOR AN ARGUMENT I AM SIMPLY STATING IN MY PERSONAL OPINION FROM WHAT I HAVE RESEARCHED WHAT I HAVE FOUND******

[Gomezzzzzzzzzz in reply to Jebediah454]

Fantastic info 👌 taken on board....hope others take note. Thank you

[Margolia]

I was diagnosed with fibrosis F3-4. All my hepatologist said when discharging me is to eat 2g salt diet. When I asked about any other restrictions, she said none. I thought I would be followed by a specialist with this stage of decease but I was discharged to the hands of my family doctor. I am thinking about hiring a dietologist. Your diet would highly depend on your diagnosis, so before that just follow the general guidelines of healthy eating - less salt, added sugar, more fruits/veggies. Once you have the diagnosis, you and hopefully your consultant will tailor your diet to your needs. For instance, dietitian in the hospital assigned me high protein diet, which I supplement with protein drinks in the evening if I don't get enough protein during the day. This is to prevent muscle loss and increase it. Snacks throughout out a day and importantly bedtime meal/snack again to prevent muscle loss during the night. B12 supplement is a must for me. Again, wait for the consultation results. Good luck!

[Gomezzzzzzzzzz in reply to Margolia]

Thank you margolia your advice is really appreciated and interesting..good luck to the future