Oct 24, 2014 07:18 AM EDT
CIRRHOSIS OF THE LIVER DIET: HIGH-CALORIE, HIGH-PROTEIN, SODIUM-RESTRICTED DIET

Cirrhosis of the liver diet includes limiting your sodium intake to nearly 2,000 milligrams a day or less. The liver disease is characterized by fluid retention known as Ascites that holds up water from the legs to the abdomen so too much salt must be avoided or limited as per the doctor's advice.

Consuming too much salty foods could make the disease worse and develop further complications. People with Cirrhosis must avoid all sources of salt including salt used in cooking and salt added during eating such as canned goods, soy sauce and tomato sauce.

It may be a big challenge to adjust on cirrhosis of the liver diet. More often patients need to change their lifestyle and eating habits to alleviate condition of the patients. Fastfoods, processed foods and red meats are all high in sodium and must be prevented and patients should opt for a vegetarian diet.

Cirrhosis is a debilitating disease affecting 400, 000 Americans. It is a slowly progressing fibrosis or scarring of the liver caused by excessive alcohol intake and other liver diseases (Hepatitis, fatty liver, cystic fibrosis) leaving the organ damaged and unable to perform its tasks.

Since changing lifestyle could make life of the cirrhosis patient lighter, cirrhosis of the liver diet must be taken seriously. Alcohol must be totally avoided to prevent further damage to the organ. Calories must be increased because patients often lose appetite and experience severe weight loss and vomiting.

Eating small frequent meals of four to seven times a day is recommended to compensate for the lost nutrients. Patients are encouraged to eat at least two to three hours in between including high nutritional drink, fruits, cereal, crackers, toast and teacake.

Cirrhosis of the Liver Diet also includes high amount of protein consumption that must be taken from vegetable sources including fish, poultry and legumes.

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