This 10 Healthy Liver Diet Principles article taken from:
Simplified Diet Manual, Eleventh Edition. Edited by Andrea K. Maher.
The type of liver disease and other conditions your patient will affect what nutritional modifications are needed.
1. Calories from a variety of foods are needed to maintain a healthy weight and help the liver function as well as it can. If weight loss is needed it should be done slowly, not more than 1 pound per week. Smaller meals and snacks throughout the day may help ensure adequate calorie intake at 25–35 kcal/kg dry weight.
2. Protein is important for liver cell repair. A malnourished patient will need adequate amounts of protein to prevent breakdown of the body’s protein stores. Dairy and vegetable proteins are easier to tolerate than animal proteins. Protein restrictions should be cautioned due to the risk of malnutrition. If a protein restricted diet is necessary, use the following guidelines for reducing protein intake from a General Diet.
3. Carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates high in fiber, whole grain foods, and a variety of fresh fruit and fresh vegetables should be encouraged. Fiber goal should be 25 grams per day. Excess calories in the form of simple, refined carbohydrates can cause hyperglycemia and more fat deposits in the liver.
4. Fat intake should be 30% or less of total daily calories. Avoid as much saturated fat and trans fats as possible to help decrease hyperlipidemia. Refer to the Heart Healthy Diet in Chapter 7. Be sure to incorporate essential fatty acids (linoleic and linolenic fatty acids). Some patients may have problems with digestion or absorbing fat, which then is lost in the stool; medium chain triglycerides (MCT) oil is absorbed more easily by the body and may be useful in meeting energy needs.
5. Sodium should be limited to maintain normal fluid and electrolyte balance. Those that have fluid retention and swelling in the abdomen wall (ascites) or the legs (peripheral edema) need a Low Sodium Diet.
6. Fluids may need to be limited (1,000–2,000 mL of fluid per day) if serum sodium levels are low or if fluid retention is not well controlled.
7. A vitamin supplement with adequate B-complex vitamins, vitamins A, C, D, E, and K, and folate may be needed. Thiamin may need to be higher in alcohoclic liver diseases. Avoid mega-vitamin supplements, especially vitamins A and D. Excess vitamin A is toxic to the liver.
8. Alcohol should be avoided to allow the liver a chance to heal, rebuild, and a chance for new cells to grow.
9. Beware of “natural” diet treatments and herbal remedies because many are quite dangerous and toxic to the liver.
10. In malnourished patients, enteral nutrition support at 1,200 calories and 45 grams of protein per day may be needed plus oral intake.
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10 Healthy Liver Diet Principles
