Ways to Heal Malnutrition From Liver Problems

Many people with liver problems also suffer from malnutrition due to the fact that they aren't eating enough of the right types of foods. The most common reason is a lack of appetite due to either a tumor or alcoholism. Sometimes people also suffer from an impaired gastric system that results in them feeling full before they have eaten an adequate number of calories.

Problem

• If you have any kind of chronic liver disease, you will probably also experience abdominal pain as well as nausea and bloating. You may also be prone to impaired digestion, and your body may have difficulty absorbing the nutrients in the foods you eat, especially fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K. In addition, you could have trouble absorbing calcium and B vitamins as well as experience lower than normal levels of magnesium, zinc, phosphorus and sodium. A zinc deficiency is especially problematic since it is essential in healing wounds, metabolizing proteins and helping the immune reaction. Low levels of zinc can also alter you appetite and taste, causing you to be even less motivated to eat.
  If you have any kind of liver problem, you are probably spending a great deal of time in the hospital and under medical supervision. Sometimes you will be asked to forego food so physicians can run tests while other times the food presented to you just seems downright unappetizing. As a result, you are probably not very very interested in eating, causing you to lose weight. To make matters worse, you may also be experiencing hyperdynamic circulation often associated with liver cirrhosis. This condition causes your body to use more nutrients and expend a great deal of energy.

Treatment

• Although some doctors will prescribe a low protein diet for patients with liver disease, not getting enough protein can be problematic. In fact, many people with liver ailments experience a lack of protein in their systems, a problem that leads directly to malnutrition. A lack of nutrition can cause changes in metabolism, body composition and function, which can, in turn, significantly shorten life expectancy. Anyone diagnosed as being malnourished should take their condition seriously and consult a dietician and possibly even an occupational therapist or physiotherapist to see what the recommended course of treatment should be. These medical professionals will probably recommend a nutritional assessment to determine which vitamins and minerals you are lacking. Then they will probably provide you a list of nutrient dense foods that will improve your deficiencies and encourage you to choose the ones you like with the goal of helping you enjoy your food so that you can become enthusiastic about eating again. You also may be encouraged to eat several small meals in order to help you digest the food you are consuming. These medical personnel may ask you to keep a journal of both your food intake and your exercise output, so they can monitor you.