Dr. Abid Ali, Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist

20/04/2025

This World Liver Day, April 19th, the message is "Food is Medicine".
Today is ! Your liver works hard every day to keep you healthy—so let's return the favour! for your liver, helping prevent disease and support overall well-being. Small choices, like eating more whole foods and reducing ultra processed foods, can make a big difference.

13/10/2024

Fact sheet on sodium reduction: key facts, overview, recommendations, actions and WHO response.

23/06/2024

🌟 Don't let gut problems hold you back! 🌟
Expert GI doc here to tackle bloating, pain, & more.

We diagnose & treat IBS, Crohn's, colorectal cancer, & other digestive issues(e.g difficulty in swallowing, bloating, Constipation, H.Pylori, jaundice, Hepatitis A,E,B,C, chronic liver disease, bleeding PR.)😊
Your gut health is our priority! ❤️
Let's get you feeling your best! ❤️
Book your consult now!

20/04/2024

12 Low-Sugar Fruits You Should Be Eating, Recommended by Dietitians
Fruit contains sugar but it is also packed with fiber and other essential nutrients

Fruits contain sugar, but they are also nutrient-rich. If you’re watching your sugar intake, learn which fruits have lower sugar levels than others.

04/03/2024

Today is World Obesity Day.

1 in 8 people are now living with obesity.

It affects:
🔸 the heart
🔸 the liver
🔸 the kidneys
🔸 the joints
🔸 the reproductive system

07/12/2023

Table sugar is harmful to health. It's linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, arthritis, fatigue and memory loss.

Make a goal to quit sugar, starting with putting less/no sugar in tea and also eating less sugar rich foods like soda, cake, doughnuts and sweets.
#

05/12/2023

These 5 lifestyle habits could significantly reduce your risk of serious diseases & increase the longevity

These 5 lifestyle habits are:

1. Calorie restriction
2. Aerobic exercise
3. Strength training
4. Adequate protein intake
5. Sleep

Calorie restriction (CR)
· CR means taking fewer calories, or reducing carbohydrate intake,
· Prefer complex carbohydrates over empty calories,
· CR can be achieved by reducing “feeding window”- by consuming foods within a shorter period of time. Simplest method is delaying breakfast time and having dinner earlier.
· Intermittent fasting (IF) is another method to reduce calorie intake. The commonest type of IF is 16:8 (having food during 8-hour eating window, and fasting for the remaining 16 hours).

Aerobic exercise
· Brisk walking, running, cycling, swimming are common forms of aerobic exercises,
· For these activities to be effective, the HR should increase to about 75% of maximum HR,
· Continue these activities for a minimum of 20 minutes per day and on 5 days a week.

Strength training (ST)
· Can be done by using self-body weight, resistance bands, dumbbells or machines;
· Can be done at home or gym,
· Aim for about 2-3 ST sessions per week (30 min per session).

Adequate protein intake
· For adults (>18 years of age), the recommended protein intake is 1 gm, 1.3 gm, and 1.6 gm per kg body weight for people engaged in minimal, moderate and intense physical activity, respectively.
· Adequate protein intake along with ST helps to preserve muscle mass and prevent sarcopenia,
· Animal-source proteins are preferable (over plant-sourced proteins).

Sleep
· Aim for 7-8 hours of night sleep,
· Afternoon nap (if you take), should be lesser than 30 minutes.
Take home message: Incorporate these 5 lifestyle habits to prevent serious diseases and live longer and healthier.

22/11/2023

Things that your liver will love you to do*

1⃣Brisk walk at least 150 minutes a week
2⃣Run at least once a week
3⃣ Black coffee, no sugar, 3 cups a day
4⃣Avoid alcohol (including Homeopathy) & to***co
5⃣Sleep for at least 7 hours in a day
6⃣Avoid herbal supplements
7⃣Get your hepatitis B vaccine shot/booster
8⃣Limit added sugars & ultraprocessed food
9⃣Avoid sugar sweetened beverages
1⃣0⃣Lose weight
1⃣1⃣Follow a Mediteranean diet (sans alcohol)
1⃣2⃣ Whole eggs - 5/wk in cardio-metabolic disease
1⃣3⃣Whole eggs - 7/wk if no cardio-metabolic disease
1⃣4⃣ Include fermented food portions in daily diet
1⃣5⃣Listen to real clinical doctors

*based on published scientific evidence
Credit. The Liverdoc twitter handle. Excellent job sir

04/11/2023

Useful Dietary Supplements & When

OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS
- in people with high triglycerides, as adjunct to standard treatment (supportive)
- in people with metabolic disease and high risk of cardiovascular events (conditional)
- in people who have dietary practices which are inherently deficient in omega-3s and can cause clinically apparent deficiency (no seafood/ fish intake)
- for vegetarians, algal sources of omega-3 (high quality, contains DHA, EPA) rather than other plant sources (low quality, contains ALA)

ZINC
- in people with clinical deficiency or at risk of clinical deficiency; eg: inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, post bariatric surgery
- vegetarians and especially vegans (high intake of legumes and whole grains contain phytates that bind zinc)
- people with alcohol use disorder
- children with sickle cell disease
- people with Wilson's disease (high copper load), zinc helps to reduce copper levels in body
- for childhood acute diarrhea for 10 to 14 days

VITAMIN C
- in chronic smokers and people on "limited food variety" such as elderly and people with mental illness

MAGNESIUM
- in people at risk for deficiency; eg: older adults with limited food intake, on medications that can reduce magnesium absorption, alcohol use disorder, chronic kidney disease, chronic inflammatory bowel disease, post intestinal removal surgeries

S-ADENOSYL- L-METHIONINE (SAMe)
- in patients with liver disease and cholestatic features, meaning jaundice associated with severe itching, to reduce itching (conditional)

VITAMIN D
- groups at risk of vitamin D deficiency and documented vitamin D deficiency; eg: people with limited sun exposure and poor intake of vitamin D rich foods, people with diseases associated with fat malabsorption (such as chronic liver disease, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic pancreatitis), in those with gastric bypass surgery.

CALCIUM
- in post menopausal women older than 50 years [to prevent bone loss] who cannot target 1,200 mg per day of calcium intake through diet
- individuals who avoid dairy products (lactose intolerance, vegans and those with milk-allergies) who are not consuming calcium fortified foods

CARNITINE
- in premature infants and those with primary carnitine deficiency (genetic disease)
- in patients with end-stage kidney disease with[out] hemodialysis

Apparently healthy adults who are not part of special 'diet or disease' groups do not require any herbal and dietary supplements.
Source; TheLiverDoc # Twitter