What is the Best Diet for People With Liver Cirrhosis?

• The liver is the 2^nd largest organ of the body that performs multiple tasks to keep the body fit & fine, right from producing proteins, cholesterol, and biles to absorb vitamins, minerals, and even carbohydrates. It also helps in breaking down the toxins of alcohol, medications and natural byproducts of metabolism. Keeping it in shape means your health is totally fit & fine.
• No doubt it functions a lot from inside the body, but we can feel it asking us, “I am doing a fine job. Isn’t it your duty to maintain my good health? I give you all the nutrients to do physical work, I filter the wastage and throws it out. Are you not going to see that I function normally?” Looks odd, but if you eat a healthy diet, you remain rich as ‘health is wealth.’

• If you keep eating the unhealthy diet like fried foods, junk foods, pile up the salt, your liver gets more prone to be ambushed by bad bacteria and thus causing some infection and even the liver becomes non-functional or slows down. When it malfunctions your health also deteriorates and it begins misbehaving with all the organs of the body and weakens you making the situation more grim.
• A healthy diet is needed to keep up good health of the liver which is directly proportional to your own health. So better opt for foods like fresh fruits, veggies, whole grains, and proteins are needed in required amount & types. You need a certain amount of calories depending on your age. It’s a very nice idea if you have a multi-vitamin diet. Some persons who have cirrhosis might not be getting enough of minerals and fat-soluble vitamins (vitamin A, D, E, and K), which are required by the body to function normally.
• Diets which have a high fat may cause digestion problems for people with cirrhosis. The body absorbs (breaks down) fats using biles, which is a yellowish-green fluid produced by the liver. If the liver is damaged, the production and supply of bile are affected. Keep one thing in mind, it is important not to avoid fat entirely because the body requires a certain amount to remain healthy. Moderation and a good selection are the key points. For your dietary fat, better select foods like nuts, avocados, and plant oils. All these foods help the liver to stay healthy and function normally. If your body is diagnosed with liver cirrhosis you need to keep a check on your diet that provides you healthy tips like;

1. Almonds

If you want to keep your liver healthy and functioning normally eat all kind of nuts, especially almonds. These nuts give you protection against NAFLD (Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease). Nuts possess anti-oxidants, unsaturated fatty acids, and vitamin E, all these nutrients reduce inflammation and oxidative stress. Just eat a handful of almonds or walnuts daily, these can maintain a healthy liver that functions enthusiastically. Nuts also have calories so keep a check on how much you eat, get advice from an expert dietitian. 

Other Sources: All nuts – except coconuts, which contain saturated fat.

2. Blueberries

There are many berries that can be an excellent food for your liver like cranberries, strawberries, boysenberries, blackberries, cherries, currants and sultanas. Many studies have displayed that whole cranberries and blueberries, as well as their extracts or juices, can help keep the liver in a healthy condition. Consume these fruits for 3, 4 weeks and you will feel the difference in your liver’s health. Blueberries enhance the immune system cell response and have lots of anti-oxidant enzymes. These anti-oxidants reduced the scars in the liver. These kinds of anti-oxidants curb the growth of cancer cells present in the liver. Adding these berries in your daily diet can make your liver stay healthy and never run the risk of acquiring any infections.

Recommended Dosage: 2 servings of fruit every day. 1 serve is equal to 1 medium piece of fresh fruit, 1 cup of diced fresh fruit, or 2 tablespoons of dried fruit. These serves should be had 4 to 5 serves per week of blueberries or the other sources which are listed above.

3. Oats

Oats have immense soluble fiber content, and above all, they are whole grains meaning they have hoards of vitamins & minerals in them. Thus, a regular dose has to be included in your diet that can keep your liver health in a perfect condition. It has special fiber, which is a tool that makes digestion easy. Oats and oatmeal are quite rich in compounds called beta-glucans that appear to help reduce the amount of fat stored in the liver, which also helps in protecting the liver. However, more studies are needed to confirm this. Persons who are on the lookout to add oats or oatmeal to their diet should stand for whole oats or steel-cut oats, rather than prepacked oatmeal. Prepacked oatmeal may contain fillers such as flour or sugars, which don’t carry the same benefits.

Other Sources: Brown rice, couscous.

Recommended Dosage: Oats are always a part of the ‘breads and cereals’ food group, which includes whole grain bread, breakfast cereals, crackers, pasta, rice, and noodles. You should have 4 to 8 serves of breads and cereals daily, the rest depends on how physically active you remain during the day. 1 serve is equal to 2 slices of bread, 1 cup of cooked pasta, rice, noodles or couscous, 1 cup of cooked porridge or 1 and 1/2 cups of breakfast cereal flakes. Aim to include 1/2 to 1 serve of oats, brown rice or couscous every day.

4. Soybeans

Soy has a high-quality protein that contains no animal fat or cholesterol, but a low saturated fat which is high in fiber and is famous for making digestion easier. Scientists report that in obese people soy protein may significantly reduce fat accumulation and triglycerides in the livers. Soy helps in restoring the partial function of that organ’s key signaling pathway. Fat gets accumulated in the liver, and with obese persons, the transportation of fat to adipose tissue becomes sluggish to the point that the liver becomes a dumping ground for excess fat and starts stinking. In such cases adding soy protein like tofu and soy yogurt, appears to alleviate some of the stress on fatty livers, by moving that fat from the liver to outside the body.

Other Sources: Soy milk, soy yogurt, soy custard, soy ice cream, tofu, and soy-based substitutes.

Recommended Dosage: 1 to 4 servings per day (soy milk on your cereal, tofu in your evening meal and/or soy ice cream for dessert).

5. Tea

• Just take tea, black or green doesn’t matter. It contains anti-oxidants and a cup of tea can save damage to the body’s different cells. Tea is widely beneficial for health, but evidence has shown that it has particular benefits for the liver.  Drinking 5 to 10 cups of green tea a day was connected with improved blood markers of liver health. In non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients found drinking green tea, which is high in antioxidants for at least 12 weeks in a continues way regularly improved liver enzyme levels and may also reduce oxidative stress and fat deposits that accumulate in the liver.
• In addition to this thing, another review was conducted and it was found that people who drank green tea were less likely to develop liver cancer. The lowest risk was visible in people who drank 4 or more cups every day. For example, one study found that black tea extract reversed many of the negative effects created by a high-fat diet in the liver, also enhanced blood markers of liver health. But still, some people, especially those who have liver problems, should remain alert before consuming green tea as a supplement. They should better consult a doctor before proceeding.

6. Pumpkin

Not like vitamin A, beta-carotene appears like a fresh air carrying fragrance when consumed in high amounts and pumpkin has lots of vitamins in it like B6, C, E, folate, and potassium. It also has low kilojoule of fiber, is fat-free and this fiber makes the digestion an easy process. Beta-carotene and other carotenoids in pumpkins enhance the tissue health of the liver, and also help in detoxifying the liver.

All the above-mentioned veggies and fruits help in preventing your liver from getting cirrhosis. So as your liver keeps functioning all the time, it becomes our duty to keep it healthy and work more enthusiastically.