16/09/2024
PEOPLE WITH LIVER DISEASE: NEED TO EAT PROPERLY
With hepatitis, in addition to medication regimen, a reasonable nutritional regimen also contributes to effective improvement.
In addition, the combination of measures of rest, regulation of work, and appropriate physical activity to increase strength, fight illness, and speed recovery is essential. important and necessary.
For patients with acute hepatitis
In acute hepatitis, liver cells are destroyed rapidly and rapidly, therefore, the normal activities of the liver are disturbed, often manifested by symptoms such as: fatigue and digestive disorders: loss of appetite, indigestion, bloating, diarrhea, especially vomiting. At that time, it is necessary to have a reasonable rest and diet regimen. It is not necessary to abstain from eating too much, but on the contrary, you need to eat enough nutrients and energy. You should choose foods that are easy to digest such as: Easily absorbed starches and sugars such as rice, cereals, sugar, honey and sweet fruits. Patients are often advised to eat lots of sweet fruits such as bananas, but this does not mean "eating bananas to overcome hepatitis" as some people mistakenly think. As for proteins, you should choose types with high nutritional value but low in fat such as egg whites, because the amount of protein needed to be adequate for a normal person is 50 - 70g per day, lean meats, fish, etc. nonfat milk, tofu.
If your hepatitis is too severe, with symptoms such as drowsiness and drowsiness signaling an impending coma, you must reduce your protein intake to less than 40g per day, because substances such as ammonia (NH3) are produced from protein. If not eliminated by the liver, it will accumulate in the blood, affecting brain activity. As for fat, it should be reduced but not completely eliminated. Do not eat foods high in cholesterol such as brain, heart, liver, pig intestines, egg yolks because bile excretion may be reduced or blocked, leading to incomplete digestion of fats. Fat only uses about 10% of total energy (about 15g per day). In particular, eating lots of fresh vegetables and fruits will provide minerals and vitamins that are essential for the liver to function normally again.
When you are sick, you must completely stop drinking alcohol, beer and other alcoholic beverages until your liver completely recovers. In addition, you need to be careful when using drugs because some drugs can be toxic to the liver such as sedatives, pain relievers, anti-inflammatory drugs, even paracetamol. Therefore, when needing to use any medicine, you should consult a doctor and not take it on your own. When going to the doctor, regardless of any illness, the patient needs to clearly inform the specialist about his or her medical history. your liver disease so that the specialist can choose appropriate medication to avoid using drugs that affect the liver. If the patient has continuous vomiting or severe diarrhea, it is necessary to be hospitalized for intravenous fluids and feeding. Regarding diet, during the acute hepatitis stage, patients should divide their meals into small meals throughout the day, eat a little at a time, and should not eat too much at one time.
People with hepatitis often have symptoms of loss of appetite and vomiting in the afternoon, so they can be fed more in the morning, and in the evening, they only need to eat lightly or drink milk to avoid bloating and vomiting after eating. In addition to nutrition and medication to help improve hepatitis, patients should rest and avoid heavy work.
For chronic hepatitis
When the liver is chronically inflamed, most patients do not have any special symptoms, they still feel normal even though the liver may be more and more damaged. Some people feel tired and eat poorly. In that case, the diet needs to have a balance between sugar, protein, fat and provide adequate energy. Therefore, eating adequate nutrients and energy will help patients feel better and their bodies will be able to cope with inflammation as well as side effects caused by improved support. During this period, if the patient still feels normal eating and digestion, the patient does not need to abstain from eating excessively. Because dieting, especially foods that are too bland, will make the patient feel bored and lose their appetite, and when they eat poorly, the patient will get tired more quickly and lack the strength to function, so the liver disease will get worse. However, patients need to limit foods that are too spicy and greasy because they will cause indigestion. They should choose proteins with high nutritional value that are easy to digest such as soybeans and tofu. In people with chronic hepatitis, glycogen (a type of sugar stored in the liver) is reduced, so it is necessary to regularly provide starch and sugar such as cakes and sweet fruits; Otherwise, the patient is susceptible to fatigue and sweating due to reduced blood sugar levels.
Even if you have chronic liver disease due to any cause, you should not drink alcohol because it will make hepatitis worse. You can only take one multivitamin pill a day to provide more. vitamins and minerals necessary for the normal functioning of the liver. If chronic hepatitis is caused by alcoholism, it is necessary to supplement B vitamins and folic acid. The patient still lives normally, exercises and sports moderately and avoids heavy work.
When you have obstructive jaundice
When jaundice is caused by bile obstruction, the patient often has itching, diarrhea, and stools will have fatty deposits because bile is not sufficiently secreted into the intestines to digest fat. In addition, patients are also deficient in fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin D, and vitamin K.
When suffering from bile obstruction, patients need to do the following:
- You should not use animal fats but should only use vegetable oils, because they are easy to digest, but they do not provide enough necessary fats.
- Every month, patients need to supplement vitamin K1, vitamin A and vitamin D.
