IS THERE AN OPTIMAL DIET FOR THOSE WITH HEPATITIS/LIVER DISEASE?
Unfortunately, a person cannot expect to walk into the doctor’s office and request “a diet for liver disease.” Such an across-the-board diet simply does not exist. Many factors account for the unfeasibility of a standardized liver diet, including variations among the different types of liver disease (for example, alcoholic liver disease versus primary biliary cirrhosis) and the stage of the liver disease (for example, stable liver disease without much damage versus unstable decompensated cirrhosis). One’s other medical disorders even if unrelated to their liver disease, such as diabetes or heart disease, must also be factored into any diet. Each person has her own individual nutritional requirements, and these requirements may change over time.
Most people with liver disease find that eating multiple small meals throughout the day is the best approach, as it maximizes energy levels and the ability to digest and absorb food. However, if one insists on eating three meals per day try to follow the saying – “ eat breakfast like a king, lunch like prince and dinner like a pauper”.
It is important to keep in mind the difference in calorie content among different food groups. While protein and carbohydrate each supply 4 calories per gram, fat supplies 9 calories per gram. It is also important to know that 1 gram of alcohol is equivalent to 7 calories. So alcohol actually supplies more energy in the form of calories to the body than protein and carbohydrates, and just slightly less than that supplied by fat. However, while alcohol may provide a person with some degree of energy, it has absolutely no nutritional value. Therefore, alcohol has been said to provide “empty calories.”
All contents of this article are Copyright © Melissa Palmer, MD
Melissa Palmer, MD is the author of " Dr. Melissa Palmer's Guide of Hepatitis and Liver Disease". (Published 2004. Penguin Putnam).
The offices of Melissa Palmer, M.D. are located at:
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