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End Stage Liver Disease Diet

While a diagnosis of end-stage liver disease is never something to be considered good news, keep in mind that the battle has yet to end. You can still strive to maintain a positive attitude, using every tool available to forestall liver failure. One of your primary weapons against end-stage liver disease is a proper diet. While diet is certainly no cure, it can buy you some additional time to fight.

  1. End-Stage Liver Disease

    • The "end stage" is normally the final stage of any liver disease. At this point, it is no longer a question of whether the liver will fail, but when. In many cases, the only thing that can guarantee prolonged survival is a liver transplant. But while liver failure is considered inevitable, that doesn't mean it has to happen right away. You can put off the point of terminal failure with a proper diet.

    Waste Products

    • The liver is the body's main detoxifying organ. Its job is to filter waste products out of the blood. A proper diet can reduce strain on the liver by ensuring that there are fewer waste products to process, thus extending the organ's useful life.

    Recommendations

    • In general, an end-stage liver disease diet is much like a heart-healthy diet. Try to eat at least 1 g to 1.5 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, and minimize sodium and sugar intake. Eat a diet low in saturated fats; make sure the meats you eat for protein are lean cuts. Round out your diet with fresh fruits or vegetables with every meal.

    Sample Diet

    • A healthy breakfast for someone suffering from end-stage liver disease could consist of an egg-white omelet with low-fat cheese, a fruit salad, and some turkey bacon.

      Lunch could be a grilled chicken salad with olive oil dressing and an apple or orange on the side.

      Dinner could be heart-healthy salmon alongside whole-grain dinner rolls, broccoli and carrots.

      Sticking to mostly natural foods will reduce the strain on your liver.

    Supplement

    • Consider supplementing your diet with omega-3 fats from a commercially available fish oil. Omega 3 fats have been shown to help in improving fatty liver disease, potentially providing another buffer between you and liver failure. Taking 5g to 10g a day could provide some benefit.

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