Low Protein Diets for Liver Disease

The liver is the processing plant of the body, responsible for the breakdown of most everything that passes through the digestive system. Thus, dysfunction of the liver affects your body in numerous ways, making it more difficult to cull nutrients from ingested foodstuffs and forcing the liver itself to work harder to perform tasks that would be routine to a liver in normal working order. One method of easing the strain on the liver is to adhere to a low-protein diet.

Liver and Low-Protein

• The liver serves as the body's holding device for all ingested nutrients. After entering the digestive system, nutrients eventually end up in the liver, where they are further broken down and stored until sent back into the bloodstream as energy. When the liver is healthy, this process flows smoothly. As nutrients enter, they are broken down in a timely fashion and dispersed back into the body without much ado. If the liver is damaged, however, its efficiency decreases, and it is possible for nutrients to get "backlogged" without recourse as the liver falls behind in its work. This causes further damage to the liver, resulting in a degenerative cycle. Because protein is one of the most difficult macronutrients for the liver to process, limiting protein consumption is often suggested to ease the liver's daily workload, ensuring timely functioning.

Following a Low-Protein Diet

• Note first of all that a low-protein diet is not to be confused with a no-protein diet. Your body needs protein to repair and rebuild damaged tissue, so do not think that if low protein is good, no protein must be better. Strive to consume at least 40 to 60 grams of protein daily on your low-protein diet so your body will not be stymied by your attempts to help the liver.

  Four ounces of beef has 22 to 30 grams of protein. Four ounces of chicken contains a little more than 30 grams of protein. One cup of milk has eight grams of protein. Spread your protein intake evenly across all your meals. If you eat three main meals a day, aim for 15 to 20 grams of protein per meal. Usually this means eating no more than two ounces of meat in any particular meal, along with a cup of milk or the trace protein amounts found in other foods. For example, a serving of some veggies contains a gram or two of protein. Keep this protein content information in mind when planning your portions.

  Second, know that you do not have to dramatically change your eating habits to maintain a low-protein diet. The best way to get yourself in a low-protein mind-set is to reconsider your daily menu, treating meat products as side dishes rather than the main course. This will naturally lower your daily protein intake without undue disruption of your ordinary diet.

  Finally, in following a low-protein diet, remember that by cutting protein you also are cutting total daily calories. If you are trying to maintain weight, remember to replace those calories with calories from healthy carbohydrates and fats. Healthy carb choices include fruit, vegetables and limited whole grains. Healthy fat choices include natural fats (such as from avocados and coconuts) and an assortment of oils such as olive, flax, fish, coconut and macadamia nut. One tablespoon of olive oil has 120 calories, so it should not be difficult to replace the missing calories.