Diet for cirrhosis of the liver

Diet for liver cirrhosis is an integral part of therapy for this chronic and virtually incurable pathology. Cirrhosis (Greek kirros - red) is defined as "the growth of dense connective tissue in a parenchymatous organ, resulting in wrinkling and deformation of the organ, disrupting its functions."

That is, with cirrhosis, the liver ceases to fully neutralize and remove allergens, toxins and end products of metabolism from the body, provide the body with glucose for energy needs, regulate carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, and control the metabolism of essential vitamins.

A diseased liver reduces the production of bile, lipids and phospholipids, enzymes and hormones. Therefore, a diet for liver cirrhosis is designed to create a more gentle mode of its work.

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Treatment of liver cirrhosis with diet

Compliance with special nutritional rules for this disease is mandatory! And this is diet 5 for liver cirrhosis. At the same time, the diet for alcoholic liver cirrhosis, as well as the diet for biliary cirrhosis of the liver (which occurs due to damage to the bile ducts and a decrease in the flow of bile into the duodenum) is the same - table No. 5 according to Pevzner.

Diet 5 for liver cirrhosis - while maintaining caloric intake at 2500-2900 kcal per day - requires strictly limiting the consumption of fatty, fried, spicy and salty foods.

It is the absence of food in the daily diet that does not increase the production of digestive juices and bile that ensures a minimally aggressive effect on the diseased liver and helps to regulate disturbances in the mechanism of the biliary system.

But this does not mean that patients with cirrhosis should eat pureed dishes. No, nutritionists recommend bringing only meat with tendons to a more homogeneous state, as well as the coarse fiber of some vegetables. Although, during exacerbations of the disease, a pureed diet for liver cirrhosis - 5A can be prescribed.

Diet 5 for liver cirrhosis prescribes 4-5 meals a day with a limit on salt (maximum 10 g per day). The volume of liquid drunk per day should not decrease below 1.5 liters, and a glass of water in the morning (on an empty stomach) will significantly improve your well-being and that of your liver.

The daily breakdown of this diet is as follows: up to 100 g of protein (half animal), up to 70-80 g of fat (at least a third vegetable), and within 400-450 g of carbohydrates.

However, in the case of decompensated liver cirrhosis (if the liver is no longer able to neutralize ammonia), the amount of protein in the daily diet is reduced to 30 g.

Diet for ascites in liver cirrhosis

The diet prescribed by doctors for ascites in liver cirrhosis is diet 10 according to Pevzner. Its daily caloric content is 2300-2600 kcal. Due to the accumulation of fluid in the abdominal area, salt intake is reduced to 7 g per day, and liquid - to 1.2 liters. Just as with diet 5, the amount of fats (up to 70 g per day), proteins (up to 90 g) and carbohydrates (up to 350-400 g) is reduced.

And similarly, the diet for ascites in cirrhosis of the liver does not allow the use of products that can irritate the liver, the entire biliary system and kidneys. These products were listed above.

Among the foods permitted by this diet, eggs should be mentioned; they can be eaten in any form (but no more than one piece per day).

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Diet menu for liver cirrhosis

It is not difficult to create a diet menu for liver cirrhosis based on the list of foods allowed for consumption.

For example, the first option: for breakfast - oatmeal with milk, cottage cheese with sour cream and tea with a rusk. For lunch you can eat a baked apple or a fresh banana. Dinner can consist of vegetarian soup, chicken with rice and compote. For dinner, a piece of boiled fish with salad will do. And before going to bed, it is useful to drink a glass of low-fat kefir.

Another option for a diet menu for liver cirrhosis suggests having a protein omelet (steamed) with a piece of boiled lean beef for breakfast and drinking a cup of tea with biscuits. Before lunch, you can eat a curd cheese with a glass of milk. For lunch, have potato soup with croutons, a steamed cutlet with pasta, and apple and plum compote. And for dinner, you can treat yourself to a charlotte.

Diet recipes for liver cirrhosis

Speaking of charlotte, the classic German recipe for this sweet apple casserole includes white bread (as a dough), custard and liqueur.

We suggest including a dietary charlotte with rice in the recipes for a diet for liver cirrhosis. To prepare it, a glass of well-washed rice should be boiled until half-ready (drain the water and rinse the rice in a colander with cold water). Peel and core 4-5 fresh apples and cut them into thin slices.

Then grease the baking dish with oil, put half of the rice and level it, put a layer of sliced apples on top. Sprinkle them with a little granulated sugar. Put the rest of the rice on the apples - in an even layer, covering the entire filling.

Next, 150 ml of milk is mixed with one raw egg until smooth. The milk and egg mixture is poured into the contents of the mold. The charlotte should be baked in the oven at +180-190°C for 25-30 minutes.

If this dish doesn't inspire you, you can replace the rice with boiled vermicelli, and the apples with boiled and chopped chicken. Then the top of this casserole should be greased with sour cream. And everything else is as in the previous recipe.

A sincere belief that a diet for liver cirrhosis is vitally important and unconditional adherence to its recommendations will definitely give positive results. Otherwise, the well-known aphorism "A man digs his own grave with a spoon" will acquire a literal meaning...

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What can you eat with liver cirrhosis?

Diet 5 for liver cirrhosis allows you to eat: vegetarian soups with vegetables, cereals and various pasta; semi-viscous porridges (oatmeal, buckwheat, rice, semolina); dishes made from cereals and pasta. You can eat rye bread and slightly dried (yesterday's) wheat bread and crackers from it, cookies - biscuits and no rich pastries.

The preferred meats are lean beef, veal, rabbit, turkey and chicken (skinless), steamed or boiled (chopped or in pieces). You can also eat lean fish, preferably sea fish.

Dairy products should not be fatty either. It is recommended to limit whole milk consumption to one glass per day, and butter to 30 g. Vegetable oil (only refined) can be added to salads (no more than 15 g per day).

Vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, beets, zucchini, pumpkin, and cauliflower should be boiled, stewed, or baked. The range of fruits is more modest: mashed raw or baked apples (not sour), fresh bananas (1 per day), as well as fruit and berry compotes, kissels, and mousses.

What should you not eat if you have liver cirrhosis?

Given the severity of the disease, the list of what you can't eat with liver cirrhosis looks more impressive compared to the previous recommendations. So, a liver affected by cirrhosis does not tolerate:

• meat, fish and mushroom broths (during the process of cooking broths, extractive substances, proteins and fats from meat are partially transferred into them);
• sausages and canned meat;
• offal (liver, kidneys, tongue) and lard;
• fatty, salted and smoked fish, as well as canned fish and caviar;
• fatty dairy products and sharp cheeses;
• margarine and other cooking fats;
• eggs, hard-boiled or fried;
• legumes;
• mushrooms (fresh and canned);
• fresh white bread and baked goods made from sweet or puff pastry;
• white cabbage, radish, horseradish, sorrel, spinach, sweet pepper, eggplant, green and onions, garlic, dill, parsley, celery.
• vegetable pickles and marinades;
• most fruits and berries in raw form, from juices - all sour ones and especially grape.

Nutritionists have declared ready-made sauces, ketchups, mayonnaise, mustard and horseradish "outlawed" in case of liver cirrhosis; chocolate, chocolate candies, ice cream, confectionery with cream, as well as natural and instant coffee, cocoa and all carbonated drinks. Alcoholic drinks, including beer, are absolutely unacceptable.