Healthy Eating in Liver Disease
Good Nutrition in Liver Disease helps to:
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Prevent your muscle from wasting and helps to keep you strong
Helps any wounds heal more quickly
Helps recovery from operations and helps to fight infection
Helps to prevent ascites (fluid collecting around your middle) from getting worse
It is important that you try to have regular meals with carbohydrate snacks in between meals
Your liver has an important role in storing a small supply of spare energy. Your body uses this store
of energy between meals or during short term fasting (e.g. overnight) and this energy is then replaced
after your next meal.
If your liver is not working properly and you have symptoms such as jaundice (yellow skin colour),
ascites (fluid around your middle), oedema (fluid in your ankles, legs or arms) or confusion
(encephalopathy) then your liver is not able to replace this store of energy once it has been used.
When this happens your body has to find alternative stores of energy between meals and during short
term fasting. The easiest source of energy is from your muscles. If this happens regularly your
muscles will get weaker and waste away.
This is why it is important to have regular meals and snacks in-between - so we can help preserve
your muscles and keep you strong.
Carbohydrate foods are those which give us energy, below are some examples and you should try to
include some of these at each meal:
Bread (wholemeal, wholegrain and granary varieties are better)
Potato (boiled, mashed, jacket etc)
Breakfast Cereal (high fibre e.g. bran flakes, Shreddies, Weetabix, porridge are better)
Pasta
Rice (basmati or brown varieties are better)
Chapattis (made with wholemeal flour are better)
Protein is what our bodies use to build and repair our body tissues e.g. muscles
It is important when you liver is not working properly that you have enough protein to prevent your
muscles from further breakdown and to help re-build muscles lost.
You should aim to have at least 3-4 serving/day. You can choose from the following sources:
Meat and Poultry
Fish
Cheese
Eggs
Pulses (baked beans, peas, beans, lentils, Dahl)
Quorn, Tofu, and Soya
Fruit and Vegetables
Try to include fruit and vegetables in your diet; they are an important source of vitamins and minerals.
If your weight and appetite are normal then try to aim for 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day.
What is a portion?
3-heaped tablespoons of vegetables
2 satsumas
1 tablespoon of raisins
1 cereal bowl of mixed salad
1 medium glass of orange juice
1 apple, banana or pear
Ideas for cutting down the fat in your diet
Use low fat alternatives e.g. low fat yoghurt, semi-skimmed milk, low fat margarine
Grill, bake, steam rather than fry
Avoid high fat take aways e.g. fish and chips, creamy curries etc.
Cut visible fat off meat and reduce the amount of oil used in cooking
Choose plain biscuits rather than chocolate or cream cakes
How to cut down on sugar
Don’t add any sugar to drink or in baking– try using an artificial sweetener
Use no added sugar drinks or diet squashes/pops
Reduce sugary sweets
Ideas for snacks between meals:
Some plain biscuits
A few crackers, slice of toast, small sandwich
A scone, crumpets, a slice of malt loaf
Portion of fruit
Glass of semi skimmed milk
Bedtime Snacks
It is a good idea if you have a larger snack before bed as it is normally a long time before breakfast.
Some ideas for bedtime snacks are:
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Bowl of cereal and a 300ml glass of semi-skimmed milk
Hot Chocolate/Horlicks/ Ovaltine with 3-4 plain biscuits
2 slices of toast and 300ml of semi-skimmed milk
Sandwich and 3 biscuits
Slice of fruit cake and a glass of semi-skimmed milk
Packet of crisps, chocolate bar and a glass of semi-skimmed milk
Suggested meal plan
Breakfast:
Cereal and semi skimmed milk
Toast and a banana
Beans or boiled egg on toast
Mid Morning Snack:
Couple of plain biscuits
Fruit
Glass of semi-skimmed milk
Lunch:
Sandwich with meat/fish/egg/cheese
Jacket Potato with beans/cheese/tuna/meat
Pasta/Noodles with meat/cheese/fish
Dessert:
Low fat Yoghurt/Rice Pudding
Fruit and custard
Mid afternoon snack:
Crackers and cheese
Malt loaf
Crumpet/ scone
Evening Meal:
Meat/fish/tofu/Quorn with potato/chips and vegetables
Meat/fish/lentil curry with rice/naan/chapatti
Meat/Lentil/bean stew and rice/potato
Pasta and sauce with meat/fish/quorn/beans and cheese
Dessert:
Fruit and ice cream
Crackers and cheese
Low fat yoghurt
Bedtime Snack:
Bowl of cereal and a glass of semi-skimmed milk
2 slices of toast and a banana
Scone with Jam and a Hot Chocolate
Additional Information and contact details
Dietitian:
Contact Details: