Liver Disease Diets

A Healthy Diet, a Healthier Liver, a Healthier You

So, what should you eat to ensure that your liver can function normally?

If you’re a liver patient, your diet is adjusted to meet your individual needs. Talk to your doctor about what’s best for you. Still, here are some general food tips for a healthy or healthier liver:

• What to avoid: Don’t eat foods high in fat, sugar and salt. Stay away from a lot of fried foods including fast food restaurant meals. Raw or undercooked shellfish such as oysters and clams are a definite no-no.
• Talk to your doctor about alcohol and your liver health: Depending on the state of your liver, you should avoid alcohol. If you’re allowed alcohol, limit it to no more than one drink a day if you’re a woman and two drinks a day if you’re a man.
• Eat a balanced diet: Select foods from all food groups: Grains, fruits, vegetables, meat and beans, milk, and oil.
• Eat food with fiber: Fiber helps your liver work at an optimal level. Fruits, vegetables, whole grain breads, rice and cereals can take care of your body’s fiber needs.
• Drink lots of water: It prevents dehydration and it helps your liver to function better.

How you should eat if you have…

Bile Duct Liver Disease Diet

Bile is a liquid made in the liver that helps break down fats in the small intestine. Bile duct disease keeps bile from flowing to the small intestine.

Diet Recommendations:

• Use fat substitutes
• Use kernel oil (i.e. canola, olive, corn, sunflower, peanut, flax seed oils) because it needs less bile to break down fats than other types of oil

Cirrhosis Liver Disease Diet

Cirrhosis is the scarring and hardening of the liver.

Diet Recommendations:

• Limit salt and foods that contain a lot of salt
• Talk to your doctor about how much protein to have in your diet

Fatty Liver Disease* Diet

Fatty liver disease is the buildup of fat in liver cells. Please note that fatty liver disease has been newly renamed to steatotic liver disease.

Diet Recommendations:

• Limit foods that are high in calories
• Eat foods that have fiber

Hemochromatosis Liver Disease Diet

Hemochromatosis is the build-up of iron in the liver.

Diet Recommendations:

• Do not eat foods that have iron
• Do not use iron pots and pans
• Do not take pills with iron
• Do not eat uncooked shellfish

Hepatitis C Liver Disease Diet

Hepatitis C is a disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis C virus.

Diet Recommendations:

• Limit foods that have a lot of iron
• Do not use iron pots and pans
• Limit salt and foods that contain a lot of salt

Wilson Liver Disease Diet

Wilson disease is the build-up of copper in the body.

Diet Recommendations:

• Limit foods that have copper such as chocolate, nuts, shellfish and mushrooms
• Do not use copper pots

*Fatty liver disease has been newly renamed to steatotic liver disease.

Last updated on February 13th, 2024 at 11:27 am