Marmite and cirrhosis

[wurzle]

Serious question. Next to tabasco, Marmite is one of those foodstuffs that I really couldn't do without. I know the vit B12 in it is very good for your liver but I'm also aware that it's full of salt. I've been avoiding asking this question probably because I know what the answer will be but I really need to be more careful with my nutrition. Is marmite a definite no-no or is a little ok? Probably a question for the nutritionist but not always easy to get a call back from the liver clinicians/nurses

[Oscar21]

I was diagnosed with cirrhosis over 10 years ago and whilst I appreciate that a good diet is essential. a treat now and again does us good. I don’t have marmite often but if I fancy it I have a slight scraping on toast. Life goes on and I am not depriving myself of all treats, as life would be very boring. That’s my motto.

[wurzle in reply to Oscar21]

well I was being a bit blasé about my salt intake thinking as long as my ascites doesn't come back it's fine but I've since read that it also leads to further degredation of the liver over time so thought I'd try and cut reduce my intake. Maybe 1 slice a couple times a week

[Oldbits]

My hubbie was told "a treat once a week is ok, otherwise the diet gets boring" . He was decompensated at that time. Did you know there is a low salt version? It has a blue lid. Not sure how much less salt it has though.

[wurzle in reply to Oldbits]

yes I've seen those. Might give it a try

[Cat-B]

sorry definitely No way too much salt! Unless you actually want ascites ( believe me having had 15.5 L and two weeks later 17.5 l of fluid drained you DO NOT want that!) The high protein, no salt diet and high calories is the only way to allow your liver to heal. If you can heal your liver enough you can treat yourself to marmite in the future. Good luck

[Liver007123 in reply to Cat-B]

does that include salt in things already I do like hummus but it has a little salt in it as do a few things I eat But I never add salt to any meal I make is this good enough or not ?

[Cat-B in reply to Liver007123]

sadly it means no salt, so no processed foods, you need to cook or make everything from scratch using herbs and pepper instead of salt, it’s hard work to begin with, but even my friends don’t notice there’s no salt in anything lol

[Cat-B]

be careful of low salt products, they often replace sodium with potassium ( which is actually more dangerous) !

[wurzle in reply to Cat-B]

found that out to my cost with Lo-Salt

[Cat-B in reply to wurzle]

if you’re on spironolactone it’ll push your potassium into the danger world, I think it should be taken off the market! People think they are doing the right thing.

[wurzle]

yes they don't warn you about that until you end up with hyperkalemia

[pushthrough]

I eat very little to no salt during the day and splurge a little during dinner. I still consume less than what was recommended for each day. However if you consume over 1000 mg in one sitting you will likely get ascites. I clearly remember leaving the hepatologist after getting the news and said I want chik fila one more time. I ate their delicious fried chicken sandwich and my ankle swelled which had not occurred before. I later found out that sandwich had over 1,400 mg of salt. Just don’t go nuts with the salt and watch out for salt substitutes like potassium because they can be just as bad.