|  | Conditions Treatments | Digestive Health

Diet for Obstructive Jaundice

Jaundice is a disease of the liver resulting in a yellowish discoloration of the skin and the whites of the eyes. Jaundice can be caused by different factors, but one of the main causes of jaundice occurs where the bile ducts become blocked, or obstructed. This can happen where a gallstone becomes lodged near its opening. While obstructive jaundice is most often dealt with by surgery, adhering to a specific diet can help reduce the risks posed by this disease and help minimize the time spent healing.

  1. Obstructive Jaundice

    • Obstructive jaundice impedes the flow of bile from the liver into the intestinal tract. Where this occurs, the flow of bile becomes "backed up," resulting in an increase and subsequent accumulation of the chemical bilirubin within the liver. While gallstones are the most common cause of obstructive jaundice, other causes can include the presence of worms, complications from previous surgeries, inflammation of the bile duct or malformation during infancy.

    Obstructive Jaundice Diet

    • According to the medical professionals at WrongDiagnosis.com, obstructive jaundice is best treated through medical means, supplemented with adherence to a specific diet. The best diet for obstructive jaundice will be relatively low in protein, as dysfunction in the liver will impair your overall ability to digest proteins. Additionally, as the liver is largely responsible for releasing the bile that breaks down fatty foods, you would do well to stick to a lower-fat diet while suffering from obstructive jaundice. There is no sense overloading your body with fats when it is unable to properly digest them at the time. Instead of proteins and fats, the main focus of your obstructive jaundice diet should be consumption of high-fiber, natural carbohydrates--this includes all manner of fruits and vegetables along with natural carb sources like oats, sweet potatoes and whole grains. To keep your diet as balanced as possible, each meal should consist of a whole grain, a fruit, a vegetable and a small amount of both protein and healthy unsaturated fats. Unsaturated fats are found in foods like olive oil, peanuts, coconuts, avocados, almonds and walnuts.

    Keeping Calories High

    • Although you are on an altered diet, it will nevertheless be important to keep your caloric intake up so you do not inadvertently lose weight while following your obstructive jaundice diet. Since you will be decreasing consumption of proteins and fats, be sure to increase consumption of carbohydrates. A reasonable balance while on an obstructive jaundice diet would be eating 50 to 60 percent of your calories from carbs, 20 to 25 percent from fat and 20 to 25 percent from protein. This will allow your body to remain functioning optimally even in the presence of disease, increasing your ability to cope with the treatment for obstructive jaundice and reducing the amount of time you spend in recovery.

Digestive Health - Related Articles