Diet for chronic hepatitis

Nutrition for inflammatory liver disease is one of the conditions for recovery. Let's consider the features of the diet for chronic hepatitis, prohibited and permitted products, recipes for healthy dishes.

Chronic hepatitis is a disease that significantly worsens a person's quality of life. A long-term progressive course of the disease can cause disability and even lead to death. The danger of the disease is in its asymptomatic course in the initial stages. As a rule, people seek medical help when the pathology has transformed into cirrhosis and other life-threatening complications.

Chronic inflammatory liver disease can be of different etiology. It causes organ dysfunction, which leads to structural destructive changes at the tissue and cellular levels. The pathology takes a chronic form if it lasts more than 6 months and belongs to the category of polyetiological lesions.

There are several causes of the disease:

• Viral infections (hepatitis B, C).
• Alcoholism, long-term contact with toxic and medicinal substances (toxic, drug-induced hepatitis).
• Disruptions in the functioning of the body's immune system (autoimmune inflammation).

The disorder is asymptomatic, which significantly complicates its diagnosis. But there are a number of signs that allow you to identify advanced liver damage:

• Constant fatigue and easy exhaustion.
• Nausea, vomiting, flatulence, heartburn, belching.
• Yellowness of the mucous membranes and skin.
• Discomfort and heaviness in the right hypochondrium, especially after fatty foods.
• Darkening of urine and lightening of stool.

Progressive course of the disease and lack of treatment provoke cirrhosis and primary liver cancer. The patient suffers from gastrointestinal bleeding due to blood clotting disorders and dilation of the veins of the intestine and esophagus. Elimination of these complications is a long and complex process, so it is very important to start treatment in a timely manner. Therapy is based on eliminating the root cause. But for all types of the disease, the patient is prescribed a special diet that alleviates the symptoms of the disease and improves the results of treatment.

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Treatment of chronic hepatitis with diet

Elimination of advanced diseases that cause complications in many organs and systems is a long process that requires professional medical care. Treatment of chronic hepatitis with diet is a standard method of therapy. The patient is prescribed not only therapeutic nutrition, but also recommendations for changing habits and lifestyle in general.

Patients with chronic liver inflammation are prescribed diet No. 5. If the disorder worsens, a lighter form of the diet is used - No. 5a. The diet is based on careful mechanical processing of products and an increase in the number of meals.

The main characteristics of therapeutic diets for hepatitis:

Characteristic	Diet No. 5	Diet No. 5a
Indications	Chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver failure	Exacerbation of chronic hepatitis
Number of meals	5	6
Caloric content (kcal/day)	Up to 3000	Up to 2700
Method of preparation	Steaming, boiling, baking, stewing
Food consistency	Liquid, puree, solid	Liquid, puree, strained
Salt (grams/day)	4-5
Liquid (liter/day)	1.5-2

In addition to the above recommendations, hepatitis is an absolute contraindication to smoking and drinking alcohol. The patient should not allow excessive stress on the liver.

The essence of the diet

Dietary nutrition implies strict adherence to medical recommendations. The essence of the diet for chronic liver inflammation lies in minimizing the traumatic and irritating effects on the organ. All patients must give up alcohol. Since about 70% of ethyl alcohol entering the human body is processed by the liver, causing disruptions in its functioning and fatty degeneration. Nutrition should be regular, an orderly regime of food intake will help synchronize the internal rates of digestion. It is necessary to avoid overeating, especially before bedtime.

Nutrition for chronic (active) hepatitis – diet No. 5A:

• Avoid spicy, fried, fatty and sweet foods.
• Meals must be steamed, boiled, baked or stewed; eating fried foods is contraindicated.
• The diet should not include foods with coarse plant dietary fiber (cabbage, mushrooms, onions, leafy greens, garlic).
• Allowed foods: lean meats and fish, boiled and fresh vegetables, cereals, fruits, dairy products.

Diet for inactive hepatitis – diet No. 5 according to Pevzner:

• The daily diet should contain no more than 80g of fat, as excess fat can cause bile stasis in the liver.
• It is better to eat the products boiled or baked; they can be steamed or stewed.
• It is allowed to consume non-acidic fruits and berries, fresh vegetables, and greens.
• Allowed foods: lean meats, fish, poultry, cereals, dairy products and foods that do not cause flatulence.

A properly selected diet will help alleviate painful symptoms and speed up the recovery process. Therapeutic nutrition minimizes the use of drugs and restores normal liver function.

Diet 5 for chronic hepatitis

Restoring liver health in advanced inflammatory processes consists of a set of treatment procedures. Diet 5 for chronic hepatitis can be used for cholecystitis and gallstone disease. The main goal of nutrition is to normalize the function of the liver, bile ducts and bile secretion. A gentle diet involves eating thermally processed food, which has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the intestines and stomach.

Diet 5 is physiologically complete. Patients should avoid foods rich in nitrogenous extractive substances, cholesterol, oxalic acid and essential oils. The diet should include food with high lipotropic factors and dietary fiber. All dishes are steamed or boiled, there should be five meals daily.

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Diet for drug-induced hepatitis

The medicinal form of the inflammatory process in the liver occurs due to the long-term use of hepatotoxic drugs. The diet for drug-induced hepatitis implies a gentle diet to restore the organ's cells. The liver parenchyma is involved in many processes in the body, they are responsible for the synthesis of proteins, cholesterol, lipids and phospholipids, remove endogenous elements from the body and participate in bile formation. Medicinal metabolites contribute to the development of inflammation, provoke cirrhosis, liver failure and cell necrosis.

The diet is similar to the nutritional rules recommended for other forms of the disease:

• Give up alcohol and nicotine.
• Minimize consumption of sweets and baked goods.
• The diet should not include fried, spicy, smoked, salted or pickled foods.
• It is necessary to choose products with the lowest possible levels of fat and cholesterol.
• Eat vegetables and fruits rich in fiber every day.
• Avoid foods with saturated fats and trans fats.
• Consume a minimum of sugar and salt, drink at least 2 liters of liquid per day.
• It is better to steam, boil, bake or stew foods.

Most often, drug-induced hepatitis is diagnosed in women; men are less susceptible to this form of the disease. The disorder develops due to long-term use of drugs that neutralize the enzymatic system. Today, every third drug can cause hepatitis. The simultaneous use of several drugs increases the risk of developing the disease.

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Diet for alcoholic hepatitis

Inflammatory liver damage due to prolonged alcohol consumption leads to alcoholic hepatitis. It is a toxic form, but unlike the viral form, it is not transmitted from person to person. Intoxication causes an inflammatory process that destroys the liver and disrupts its functioning. The disease can last for a long period of time and not manifest itself in any way, which complicates the process of diagnosis and treatment.

Dietary rules for alcoholic liver disease:

• Complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages.
• Avoid fatty, fried, salty, strictly marinated and smoked foods.
• The diet should contain a lot of protein foods: meat, legumes, dairy products, fish.
• You need to eat small portions, 4-5 meals a day.
• For vitamin therapy, it is better to use fresh vegetables, fruits and greens, herbal infusions and decoctions.
• The products are prepared using gentle heat treatment with minimal addition of vegetable oils and fats.

A diet for alcoholic hepatitis can help alleviate painful symptoms. As a rule, therapeutic nutrition is prescribed in combination with other methods of therapy. The prognosis depends on the form and stage of the lesion, the presence of concomitant diseases and compliance with medical recommendations. If the disease is advanced, the only treatment method is a liver transplant.

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Diet for autoimmune hepatitis

An inflammatory liver disease of chronic nature, of unclear origin is autoimmune hepatitis. This disease is most often found in young female patients. Without proper treatment, it leads to severe and irreversible damage to the organ. A diet for autoimmune hepatitis should be used from the first days of damage. This will minimize the destructive effect on the liver and alleviate painful symptoms.

If the disorder appears against the background of normal health, it can proceed asymptomatically. Very often, hepatitis is diagnosed at late stages with serious changes in the liver parenchyma, insufficiency and cirrhosis. Diet table No. 5 according to Pevzner is used for treatment. Choleretic products, fresh pastries, fatty, fried, sweet, alcohol are completely excluded from the diet. Unsweetened pastries and yesterday's bread, cereals, pasta, vegetables, fruits, berries, lean meats, fish, poultry and dairy products are allowed.

In addition to dietary nutrition, patients are prescribed corticosteroid hormones, which stop the inflammatory process. If diet therapy and medications are not effective, then the option of liver transplantation is considered.

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Diet menu

When following a therapeutic diet, many patients face the problem of creating a daily diet. The diet menu should be varied and consist only of permitted products.

Sample menu for chronic hepatitis:

Monday

• Breakfast: protein omelette with herbs and herbal tea.
• Snack: apple or any other fruit.
• Lunch: boiled chicken fillet with buckwheat and tomatoes.
• Snack: a handful of dried fruit and green tea.
• Dinner: baked fish with rice and vegetables.
• Second dinner: a glass of kefir with croutons.

Tuesday

• Breakfast: low-fat cottage cheese with banana, tea.
• Snack: biscuits, fruit juice.
• Lunch: vegetarian vegetable soup with boiled cereal and vegetable salad.
• Snack: fruit puree with dry biscuit.
• Dinner: mashed potatoes with minced chicken meatballs.
• Second dinner: a glass of kefir or herbal tea with crackers.

Wednesday

• Breakfast: vegetable salad, herbal tea.
• Snack: croutons from yesterday's bread with compote or juice.
• Lunch: beetroot soup, oatmeal with young boiled beef.
• Snack: any fruit.
• Dinner: fish baked in sour cream with any porridge.
• Second dinner: low-fat yogurt with crackers.

Thursday

• Breakfast: herbal tea, 1 egg and ½ grapefruit.
• Snack: yogurt and any fruit.
• Lunch: noodle soup with light chicken broth and fresh vegetable salad.
• Snack: a handful of dried fruit or nuts.
• Dinner: boiled pasta and baked chicken.
• Second dinner: a glass of kefir with dry biscuit.

Friday

• Breakfast: oatmeal with apple and a spoonful of honey, herbal tea.
• Snack: banana and yogurt.
• Lunch: vegetable soup, pasta casserole with minced meat.
• Snack: a glass of fruit juice and a biscuit.
• Dinner: baked fish with rice and vegetables.
• Second dinner: green tea with crackers.

Saturday

• Breakfast: low-fat cottage cheese with sour cream, herbal tea.
• Snack: any fruit.
• Lunch: buckwheat, fish cutlets with tomato sauce.
• Snack: a handful of nuts and dried fruit.
• Dinner: boiled chicken fillet with vegetable salad.
• Second dinner: a glass of kefir and biscuits.

Sunday

• Breakfast: protein omelet with sour cream, herbal tea.
• Snack: yogurt and any fruit.
• Lunch: rice soup with chicken, stuffed peppers.
• Snack: fresh carrot salad with sour cream and flax or sesame seeds.
• Dinner: boiled beef, baked eggplant with cheese.
• Second dinner: banana and herbal tea.

Diet recipes for chronic hepatitis

In order for the therapeutic diet to be not only effective, but also varied, there are recipes for delicious dishes that are prepared from permitted products.

Diet recipes for chronic hepatitis:

Fruit puree soup

• Apples 1 pc.
• Dried apricots 50 g.
• Potato starch 5 g.
• Honey 30 g.
• Ground cinnamon, vanilla sugar – 0.1 g.
• Water 500 ml.

Peel and core the apples, wash. Put the apples and chopped dried apricots in a saucepan with water. Cook the fruit over low heat until done, add honey, cinnamon and vanilla sugar.

Dilute potato starch in a small amount of fruit broth. To prepare the puree, it is better to use a blender or rub the fruit through a sieve. Mix the puree with the diluted starch and bring to a boil, cool.

Steamed omelette with herbs

• Egg whites 2-3 pcs.
• Milk 30 ml.
• Butter 3-5 g
• Dill or parsley

Separate the whites from the yolks, add milk and beat until smooth and fluffy. Finely chop the greens and mix with the future omelette. Grease the baking dish with butter and pour the whites and milk into it. The dish can be cooked in a microwave, in a water bath or in the oven. The finished omelette has a light yellow color.

Pumpkin casserole with apples

• Peeled pumpkin 150 g.
• Apples 100 g.
• Egg 1 pc.
• Sour cream 5 g.
• Butter 5 g.
• Honey 1 tbsp.

Peel and seed the pumpkin and apples, grate and fry over low heat with butter. Grind the resulting puree with a blender, add the egg, honey, sour cream and mix thoroughly. Pour the entire mixture onto a baking sheet with baking paper or place in a baking dish greased with butter. Bake until golden brown.

What can you eat with chronic hepatitis?

When treating liver diseases, the patient is prescribed a special diet aimed at restoring the affected organ. The diet should be complete, containing all the substances necessary for the normal functioning of the body. Treatment involves reducing the content of fats, salt, and giving up alcohol and nicotine.

Let's consider what you can eat with chronic hepatitis:

• Meat and fish dishes prepared from lean meats, poultry, and fish.
• Various porridges, especially oatmeal and buckwheat.
• Fresh, baked and stewed vegetables.
• Fresh fruits and berries, compotes, teas, soups and other dishes made from them.
• Low-fat dairy products: cottage cheese, kefir, milk, hard cheeses and eggs.
• Various dried fruits and nuts.
• Vegetable, olive and butter oil (no more than 6-8 g per day).

In addition to eating the above products, you need to drink at least two liters of liquid per day. The diet is divided into five meals. Food should not be cold or hot, that is, served only warm with a minimum amount of spices.

What should you not eat if you have chronic hepatitis?

Inflammatory liver disease requires dietary restrictions. Diet therapy is necessary to ensure a gentle diet, correct and improve metabolic processes, and reduce dystrophic and destructive processes. The treatment is based on diet No. 5, according to which the energy value of the diet should not exceed energy expenditure. The daily diet should contain 4-6 g of carbohydrates, 1.2-1.4 g of fats, and up to 2.3 g of proteins. These proportions are calculated for each kilogram of the patient's weight.

Let's consider what you can't eat with chronic hepatitis:

• Fatty meat, fish and poultry.
• Kidneys, liver and brains.
• Broths, canned goods, pickled products.
• Full-fat dairy products.
• Hot spices and seasonings.
• Mustard, pepper, horseradish.
• Sorrel, green onions, garlic, mushrooms, spinach.
• Sour fruits and berries, red currants, cranberries and gooseberries.
• Chocolate, ice cream, baked goods and other sweets.

Products that stimulate the secretion of the stomach and pancreas, fried foods, and dishes with high cholesterol and purine content are excluded from the diet. Products with oxalic acid and nitrogenous extractive substances are prohibited.

Diet Reviews

Nutrition for inflammatory liver diseases is used to restore the function of the organ and the entire body. Numerous positive reviews of diet No. 5 and 5A indicate that a properly composed diet not only alleviates painful symptoms, but also speeds up the recovery process.

A diet for chronic hepatitis should be used from the first days of the disease and throughout the therapy. This has a beneficial effect on the diseased organ, improves its functioning and can be used for any form of inflammatory damage to the liver and gastrointestinal tract.