Hepatitis: what you can eat and what you can’t. What foods are useful for restoring the liver during hepatitis? What can you eat

01.11.2023 Brain damage

The diet for hepatitis B should be gentle and balanced. The main task is to ease the work of the liver by including only simple and light dishes in the menu, giving up bad habits and normalizing the drinking regime. During the acute and chronic phases, you should adhere to different diets, carefully monitoring your well-being.

Diet during exacerbations

Hepatitis B is an infectious disease that affects the liver. Since this organ takes an active part in the digestion process, it is necessary to be especially careful when choosing dishes in order to reduce the load and reduce the amount of harmful substances entering the body. It is especially important to monitor your diet during exacerbations. The following must be excluded from the menu:

  • heavy and fatty foods;
  • alcohol;
  • sweets;
  • pickles;
  • smoked delicacies.

It is important to eat often, but in small portions. It is preferable to boil or stew food; it is ground to facilitate digestion. During this period, pureed soups with vegetable broth, semi-liquid porridge with water, baked fruits and vegetables whipped in a blender are recommended. It is necessary to limit the amount of salt and sugar, ideally they are completely excluded.

Drinking regime is very important. During exacerbations, carbonated drinks and packaged juices, strong tea and coffee are prohibited. Instead, you need to drink more pure still water, herbal tea, homemade berry fruit drinks, and unsweetened dried fruit compote. During attacks, doctors recommend giving up food for 1-2 days, trying to drink plenty of fluids and rest.

What to eat for chronic hepatitis

The diet for hepatitis B that has entered the chronic phase may be more varied. Your doctor can explain what you can eat during remission. The main task is not to provoke exacerbations, stabilize the condition and successfully resist the disease. The list of permitted products is expanding, nutrition is becoming more varied and interesting. Dietitians recommend preparing food at home, without visiting restaurants and fast foods, where it is impossible to accurately control the composition and quality of dishes.

Stop list: prohibited products

The attending physician should explain what you should not eat if you have hepatitis B. It takes into account the individual condition of the patient, the presence or absence of other chronic ailments.

During exacerbations, fresh bread and baked goods, meat, fish and mushroom broths, fatty fish and meats, cream, country milk, and fatty cottage cheese are prohibited. Fried, smoked and cooked over an open fire foods are completely excluded from the diet.

During the chronic stage, the list of permitted foods expands, but many prohibitions remain in force. It is not recommended to eat sour fruits: citrus fruits, kiwi, unripe apples. All types of chocolates, ice cream, and baked goods made from fatty dough (puff pastry or shortbread) are prohibited. It is necessary to limit the amount of sugar, salt and hot spices. Nutritionists do not recommend eating too cold or hot foods, which can provoke an exacerbation.

It is up to the doctor to decide what you should not eat if you have hepatitis. If any product provokes a deterioration in the patient’s condition, it is removed from the diet permanently or temporarily. Dietary food can be diluted with tasty, but not very healthy dishes in minimal quantities. For example, baking lovers can occasionally treat themselves to unleavened fruit pie, dry cookies or yeast-free buns. For those who cannot give up sausages, you can eat high-quality milk sausages 1-2 times a week, supplementing them with a vegetable side dish.

Sample menu

A patient with hepatitis B, whose diet is sufficiently balanced, can eat tasty and varied. Nutritionists recommend thinking through the menu for the week in advance, including different dishes. Before going to bed, you can drink a glass of kefir or homemade yogurt, eat an apple or other fruit.

Days of the week Breakfast Dinner Afternoon snack Dinner
Monday Oatmeal with water, mint tea Fresh vegetable salad, pea soup, steamed chicken, apple compote Yogurt Vegetable stew
Tuesday Cheesecakes with sour cream, chicory drink Vinaigrette, meatball soup, potato casserole, lingonberry drink Baked apple Cod with vegetables
Wednesday Omelette with croutons, tea with milk Green salad, chicken broth, cutlet with mashed potatoes, dried fruit compote Banana Buckwheat porridge with milk
Thursday Cottage cheese with berries, herbal tea Green bean salad, broccoli cream soup, cabbage rolls, cranberry jelly Kefir with herbs Shrimp pasta
Friday Wheat porridge, green tea White cabbage salad, pea soup, steamed pike perch, fruit jelly Cherry tomatoes Cottage cheese casserole
Saturday Cheese sandwich, rosehip drink with honey Vegetable salad, beetroot soup, rabbit stew, apple juice carrot juice Turkey fillet with cauliflower
Sunday Oatmeal, mint tea Carrot salad, lean cabbage soup, cod soufflé, cherry compote Apple pie Rice with vegetables

The diet after hepatitis may be more varied, but the general principles remain the same. It is important to avoid heavy and fatty foods, eat small portions, and completely give up bad habits. Food must be freshly prepared and cannot be stored in the refrigerator for a long time.

The basis of the diet for hepatitis should be dishes based on fresh vegetables, cereals, lean poultry and lean sea fish. You can prepare dozens of delicious dishes from this set, which will help make your food as tasty and varied as possible.

Treatment of hepatitis B with diet therapy will help avoid frequent attacks. It is important to stick to the chosen menu constantly, avoiding failures. When deciding which foods to include in your diet, you should consult with your doctor: he will select dishes taking into account the individual condition of the patient.

If you do not adhere to a strict diet for hepatitis C, the load on the already damaged liver will be enormous, which will accelerate the process of its damage.

The result is cirrhosis or liver cancer. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully adjust the patient’s diet in order to provide optimal conditions for possible recovery and productive treatment.

So, the basic principles of nutrition for a patient with hepatitis C:

  • Providing the body with a sufficient amount of protein (at the same time, during an exacerbation of the disease, its amount should be reduced to a minimum, but not completely removed from the diet);
  • Saturating the body with carbohydrates to provide energy;
  • Exclusion from the diet of fried and fatty foods and dishes;
  • The use of various spices (except salt and sugar) should not be allowed in the menu;
  • Do not allow heavy meats or fish on the menu of a patient with hepatitis C;
  • Completely abstain from all alcohol and drugs if you have hepatitis C.

In general, doctors recommend adhering to diet number 5 both during remission and during periods of acute disease. This diet will ensure that the body receives all the necessary minerals, vitamins and trace elements in the right quantities.

Features of the diet for hepatitis C

The basic rules of nutrition for hepatitis C include the following:

  1. The daily calorie intake should be 3100 kcal. It is this amount that allows the body to provide decent conditions to fight the virus;
  2. The patient’s diet should have the following ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates - 100/100/450, respectively;
  3. Salts - no more than 10-15 grams per day.
  4. It is worth remembering that with hepatitis C you need to eat in small portions five to six times a day. In this case, all food should be approximately the same temperature.
  5. Dishes in the diet of a patient with hepatitis C should be prepared either by steaming, or by stewing and boiling. Avoid fried foods completely.

During an exacerbation, it is necessary to transfer the patient to a more strict diet - table 5a, which involves reducing the daily amount of salt to 7-8 grams, and reducing fat to 70 grams. instead of 100.

What foods are prohibited for hepatitis C?

In case of exacerbation of viral hepatitis C, it is necessary to completely avoid the following foods:

  • Fried fatty meats (and all fried foods in general);
  • Marinated or smoked dishes;
  • Rich meat and mushroom dishes, which have an increased level of carcinogenicity, thereby poisoning the body even more;
  • Do not eat spicy vegetables (onions, peppers, radishes, radishes);
  • Fresh baked goods and any fats of confectionery origin;
  • Sour fruits;
  • Chocolate;
  • Hot strong coffee and tea;
  • Any carbonated drinks;
  • Alcohol in any form is strictly prohibited if you have hepatitis C.


A patient with hepatitis C is strictly prohibited from eating all these foods.

What can a patient with hepatitis C eat?

Despite the large number of forbidden dishes, the diet of a patient with hepatitis C can be quite varied and, importantly, tasty.

So, the menu of a patient with hepatitis C may include the following products:

  1. Milk and dairy products are low-fat;
  2. Hard cheese (mild and low-fat);
  3. You can eat lean meats and fish;
  4. Any cereals and porridges with water or milk;
  5. Fruits and vegetables, fresh or boiled (stewed, blanched, baked);
  6. You can eat nuts, seeds, dried fruits;
  7. Herbal infusions, green tea, compotes, jelly, water;
  8. Yesterday's baked goods;
  9. Marmalade, jelly, mousse, caramels.

What should be the diet for exacerbation of hepatitis C?

During the period of relapse, a patient with hepatitis C is completely transferred to a strict diet - table 5a. Recipes for dishes with this diet imply cooking only by steaming or by baking/boiling.

With such a gentle diet, the ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates should be: 80/70/350. At the same time, the calorie content of the total daily diet must be reduced from 3100 to 2300-2500.

The menu of a patient with acute hepatitis C should consist of the following dishes:

  • White crackers;
  • Vegetable light soups;
  • You can eat ground porridge;
  • Puréed lean meats or poultry;
  • Grinded cottage cheese with sugar;
  • You can boil grated vegetables;
  • Freshly squeezed fruit juice diluted with a little water;
  • Rose hip decoction;
  • Compote or jelly;
  • Tea, water.

Diet number 5a involves recipes for preparing dishes with thorough grinding. This will provide a mechanical and chemical sparing regime for all organs of the gastrointestinal tract of a patient with hepatitis C for the period of treatment.

It is worth remembering that fasting during acute hepatitis C is not recommended at all.

Diet during rehabilitation after hepatitis C

If the treatment was successful and the patient is on the path to full recovery, it is necessary to provide the body with decent conditions to consolidate the result and completely restore liver function. In this case, it is necessary to transfer the patient again to therapeutic diet number 5. It also implies the daily norm of fat, protein and carbohydrates in the patient’s body in the ratio 100/100/450. Moreover, 50 of the total carbohydrate intake should be simple, that is, ordinary sweets can be consumed.

During the recovery period and after suffering from hepatitis C, the total daily calorie intake should be equal to 3100. In this case, you can no longer grind the dishes and reduce meals to 4-5 times.

Patients who have had hepatitis C or are carriers of it can follow a less strict diet. However, you still need to completely eliminate alcohol.
In any case, meals should be healthy and frequent. During periods of prolonged remission or after an illness, you can consume some of the 5 foods prohibited in the diet. However, in small quantities.

And it is worth remembering that your health and well-being are solely in your hands. Stay healthy and happy!

Useful video about hepatitis C

It is an infectious disease that is transmitted by the fecal-oral route and is characterized by liver damage.

With hepatitis A, just like with other hepatitis, the liver suffers, that is, it cannot cope with its functions.

Diet for hepatitis A is one of the therapeutic measures that plays a major role in the treatment of the disease.

Basic principles of the diet

A diet for hepatitis A should provide favorable conditions for the liver, normalize the functioning of the affected organ and biliary tract, ensure good bile secretion, and also facilitate and stabilize the functioning of other organs of the digestive tract that are involved in the infectious process of hepatitis A.

In addition, the diet is designed to regulate fat and cholesterol metabolism, as well as the function of glycogen storage in the liver.

According to the table of treatment tables according to Pevzner, the diet for hepatitis A corresponds to table No. 5. General characteristics of the table per day:

  • proteins 90-100 g;
  • fats 80-100 gr.;
  • carbohydrates 350-400 gr.

The energy value of the table corresponds to 2800-3000 kcal.

It should be noted that when following a diet, the amount of animal fats should be reduced, as they increase the load on the liver and bile ducts by 2 times.

Diet

Meals for hepatitis A should be divided, up to 5-6 times a day in small portions.

Firstly, the principle of fractionation is associated with the absence or decrease of appetite in the patient and is intended to stimulate appetite, and, secondly, small but frequent portions of food do not create an increased load on the liver, thereby ensuring its normal functioning and the ability to fight infection.

Salt restriction

The amount of salt consumed for hepatitis A will have to be limited to 4 grams. per day. This is primarily due to the fact that sodium chloride causes fluid retention in the body, and, consequently, edema. And secondly, the fluid that is retained in the body bypasses the urinary system, thereby minimizing the process of detoxification (removal of toxins and decay products of the causative agent from the body).

Temperature

The optimal temperature regime in the diet for hepatitis A corresponds to other treatment tables, that is, the food temperature should be within 15-60 °C (neither cold nor hot). This spares the liver as much as possible, does not irritate the stomach and stabilizes the functioning of the pancreas.

Liquid

For hepatitis A, you should drink 2 to 2.5 liters of free fluid in the form of rosehip decoction and medicinal herbs, fruit drinks, and weak tea. This amount of liquid, on the one hand, ensures detoxification of the body, and on the other hand, stimulates the patient’s appetite.

Alcohol

With the described disease, alcohol consumption is excluded for at least 6 months. The liver is not yet able to function normally, all its forces are aimed at restoring damaged hepatocytes, so alcohol will only aggravate the course of hepatitis A.

Prohibited Products

The diet for hepatitis A prohibits foods that force the liver to work harder, cause increased bile production and significant secretion of the pancreas.

Products that irritate the stomach and promote increased gas formation and fermentation in the intestines are also not welcome. All these products (extractives, purines, refractory fats, fried foods) create additional stress on the affected organ and should be excluded.

The list of prohibited products includes:

  • fresh bread, pastries, especially muffins, fatty and fried pies, pancakes, pancakes;
  • strong and rich broths from meat, fish, poultry, mushrooms and soups made from them, as well as okroshka;
  • fatty and stringy meats: pork, old beef, lamb, poultry, chicken with skin;
  • fatty fish: salmon, tuna, halibut, mackerel, cod, smelt, sardines.
  • any canned fish and meat, all types of sausages, meat and fish snacks;
  • smoked and salted foods (ham, herring, etc.);
  • pork, lamb lard, margarine, mayonnaise, spreads;
  • all types of poultry, except chicken, offal;
  • eggs, hard-boiled or fried;
  • seasonings: pepper, horseradish, mustard, vinegar;
  • vegetables: green onions, garlic, sorrel, radish, radishes, spinach, legumes, as well as pickles and pickled vegetables;
  • caviar, mushrooms in any form, especially salted and pickled;
  • strong tea, coffee, cocoa, sweet carbonated drinks, especially cold ones;
  • ice cream, pastry creams, cakes, pastries, chocolate;
  • high-fat milk, cream, sharp and salty cheeses;
  • all dishes prepared by frying.

Authorized Products

Products that are allowed to be consumed while following a diet for hepatitis A must have two qualities.

Firstly, food should be easily digestible, and secondly, it should have a gentle effect on the liver and digestive tract, that is, not overload them with work.

In addition, food should contain large amounts of lipotropic substances (dissolving fats), pectin, and vitamins. Food should not cause a feeling of fullness in the stomach and heaviness in the abdomen, moderately stimulate bile secretion and the formation of pancreatic and gastric juices.

Lecithin, which is formed due to the consumption of lipotropic substances, promotes the removal of fats from the liver. Food should be boiled, steamed or baked.

The list of permitted products includes:

  • yesterday's or dried bread, dry uneaten cookies (biscuits, crackers):
  • soups prepared with vegetable broth, with the addition of cereals and noodles, as well as milk soups, vegetarian borscht and cabbage soup, beetroot soup;
  • lean meat: veal, lamb without tendons and membranes, white chicken meat without skin, rabbit meat and meatballs, quenelles, steamed cutlets prepared from them;
  • Milk sausages are allowed in small quantities;
  • vegetarian pilaf without frying vegetables;
  • crumbly porridge from buckwheat, oatmeal, semolina, millet;
  • boiled pasta, vermicelli;
  • low-fat varieties of fish: perch, hake, flounder, navaga boiled or baked;
  • protein omelettes, soft-boiled eggs are allowed no more than 2 times a week;
  • puddings, casseroles, soufflés made from cottage cheese, pasta, rice, rolls, cabbage rolls, stews;
  • vegetables: beets, carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkin;
  • fresh and boiled sweet and ripe fruits and berries in the form of purees and compotes (strawberries, apples, bananas, melon, strawberries, peaches);
  • milk and vegetable sauces, sour cream sauce, fruit sauce;
  • Dill and parsley are allowed as seasonings;
  • sweets: pastille, honey, jam, meringues;
  • boiled seafood;
  • appetizers: squash caviar, jellied fish, herring soaked in milk;
  • low-fat milk and fermented milk products, cottage cheese, mild and unsalted cheeses;
  • refined oil, vegetable salads seasoned with vegetable oil;
  • weak tea with milk or lemon, herbal teas, rosehip infusion, bran, freshly prepared juices from vegetables and non-acidic berries and fruits.

The need to follow a diet

Diet for hepatitis A is practically the only therapeutic measure for this disease.

Compliance with the treatment table reduces the severity of symptoms of the disease and speeds up the healing process. In addition, the diet for hepatitis A stimulates the patient’s appetite, which is often absent with this infection.

The diet also stabilizes and normalizes the functioning of not only the liver, but also the entire gastrointestinal tract. The high content of vitamins in food improves mood, improves vitality and stimulates the immune system.

Consequences of not following the diet

If the diet is not followed, the following complications may develop:

  • hepatomegaly (enlarged liver);
  • transition of the disease into a fulminant form, which is dangerously fatal;
  • liver failure.

There are viruses that, upon entering the body, cause irreparable damage to a certain organ, for example, hepatitis C seriously affects the liver. If the disease is not detected in time, it quickly becomes chronic, and therapy will take a long time. Along with drug treatment, diet is very important for hepatitis C. It can reduce the load on the liver and at the same time fill the body with nutrients, vitamins and minerals.

The liver is the main organ that facilitates the digestion of food by producing enzymes that break down fatty foods and protect the body from harmful toxins.

With hepatitis C, liver cells suffer greatly; the remaining healthy ones cannot cope with heavy loads, so they need to be helped by taking only healthy foods.

Following a diet will help stop the spread of the disease and speed up the treatment of even the chronic course of the disease, and in its acute form it will reduce the likelihood of complications.

Among the mandatory conditions for following the diet are the following:

The diet should be followed for two years, about 3 kg of healthy food should be eaten per day, and if a patient with hepatitis is obese, then no more than 2 kg is recommended.

It’s easy to get used to such a diet, especially if you know that eating these foods stimulates a speedy recovery.

What should you not eat if you have hepatitis C?

First of all, you need to exclude smoked, fried and canned foods, and in addition, you are not allowed to take foods from the list below:

It’s difficult to give up your usual foods, but by doing it gradually, you can really help your liver recover.

Required amount of nutrients

Therapeutic nutrition involves following table number 5, while food consumption must be balanced, and a certain amount of nutrients must be consumed per day.

Their approximate dosage is given in the table:

ProductsAmount consumed per day, in grams
carbohydrates450
vitamin C200
proteins, fats100
a nicotinic acid20
iron15
carotene and salt10
vitamin B 24
vitamin B 12
phosphorus1.6
calcium0.8
magnesium, vitamin A,0.5

According to diet No. 5, you should consume at least 3100 Kcal per day per day.

Diet tables for different manifestations of hepatitis C

Liver-restoring products are different for each diet and are consumed in a certain amount for each phase of the disease.

Diet during exacerbation

It maintains the normal state of the body and improves well-being. When followed, the pain in the right side is reduced and the energy deficit is replenished. All the foods listed above are recommended for consumption, and the consumption of fat and salt is reduced.

During the acute stage, you should follow a strict diet, and after treatment of hepatitis, you can switch to a more relaxed food consumption schedule.

Alcohol is completely avoided, as it has a strong toxic effect on liver cells. During moments of exacerbation of the disease, even many foods cannot be consumed, and the person must follow a more gentle diet No. 5a.


It provides for a reduction in the consumption of salt and fat, the latter only up to 70 grams. Proteins are consumed up to 80 grams, and carbohydrates up to 350. Meals are carried out according to a clear schedule, it should be fractional. The daily calorie content of all consumed foods does not exceed 2400-2500 calories.

Food is boiled or steamed. It needs to be ground to a puree. It is advisable to consume more liquid, along with water, drink jelly, freshly squeezed juices, decoctions and compotes.

During an exacerbation period, soups with vegetable broth, low-fat dairy products, non-acidic berries and fruits, rice and buckwheat porridges are welcome.

You should not eat: fatty meat and fish, salted, canned and smoked foods, fatty broths and dairy dishes, drink strong tea, coffee and alcohol, and also refrain from adding spices and herbs to food.

Diet for chronic hepatitis C liver

The advanced form of this disease significantly worsens the quality of life; it is difficult for a person to carry out his usual activities; a diet will help relieve pain.


As the disease progresses, the patient may become disabled or even die. In the first stages, the disease in chronic form can be asymptomatic, and table No. 5 is prescribed during the course of the disease, both at the beginning and in severe cases.

While following the diet, you need to give up bad habits; the patient’s diet should contain the same foods as in diet No. 5a, and eggs, mushrooms, canned food, and fatty foods are among those prohibited.

Recipes for patients with hepatitis C

Various vegetable broths can be prepared as first courses. Barley soup is useful for baking.

Barley itself has an enveloping, antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory effect.

Pearl barley soup is prepared from 200 grams of cereal, 350 grams of potatoes, 120 grams of carrots and 100 grams of sour cream. For taste, add herbs and butter.

Preparation of the soup is as follows:

For the second course, you can cook steamed cutlets and boil vermicelli. Cutlets are prepared from 100 grams of bread, 500 grams of veal, a little butter and finely chopped herbs.

Cooking cutlets:

  1. the meat is washed under running water and then dried; dipping it with a paper towel will speed up the process;
  2. the meat product is cleaned of veins, fat and films;
  3. twist the meat and soak the bread in water or milk, then squeeze it out and combine with the minced meat;
  4. Balls are formed from the finished minced meat, which are similar in shape to cutlets; they should be steamed.


For dessert you can prepare pumpkin with prunes. The latter has a laxative effect, which is especially important for those who suffer from constipation.

The preparation is as follows:

  1. The pumpkin is peeled, grated and boiled in milk; as soon as it is clear that the vegetable is almost ready, semolina is added to it.
  2. The prunes, along with the pumpkin, are cut into pieces and boiled.
  3. Dried fruits are added to the prepared porridge, and egg whites are added to it. Honey is added for sweetness. Everything is mixed and after laying out in the form is baked.

Before serving, the dessert is brushed with low-fat sour cream.

Following a diet for hepatitis C can ease the work of the liver; the diet should be designed so that it includes only approved foods. It is best to discuss the correct preparation of food and its intake with your doctor.

Video

Judging by the fact that you are now reading these lines, victory in the fight against liver diseases is not yet on your side...

Have you already thought about surgery? This is understandable, because the liver is a very important organ, and its proper functioning is the key to health and well-being. Nausea and vomiting, a yellowish tint to the skin, bitterness in the mouth and unpleasant odor, dark urine and diarrhea... All these symptoms are familiar to you firsthand.

But perhaps it would be more correct to treat not the effect, but the cause? We recommend reading the story of Olga Krichevskaya, how she cured her liver...

About the disease

Hepatitis C is an inflammation of the liver tissue, which is provoked by an RNA-containing hepatotropic virus. Tropicness means orientation; The pathogen targets the liver. It penetrates into its cells - hepatocytes - where it carries out a chain of sequential reactions with the aim of replication (reproduction) of new viral particles.

In addition to hepatocytes, the virus is found in immunocompetent blood cells - monocytes and lymphocytes.

It is prone to mutations and has several main genotypes that respond differently to drug therapy.

It has a destructive (cytopathic) effect on cells, and its persistence (preservation) in hepatocytes leads to their damage as a result of an immune reaction.

How can a virus enter the body? To do this, it uses three mechanisms:

  • parenteral (contact with blood of the skin or mucous membrane when their integrity is violated, blood transfusion (blood transfusion) from an infected donor or carrier);
  • sexual (transmission of the pathogen through genital secretions during unprotected sexual contact; the presence of abrasions and other damage to the mucous membrane that may bleed is also important);
  • vertical (infection of a child in the womb or during passage through the birth canal).

Symptoms of hepatitis C may not appear immediately. The latent period of chronic infection is often observed, and its duration depends on many factors, including the condition of the liver and the body as a whole (concomitant diseases, immunodeficiency).

In its acute form, the disease can be erased, but even with a clear clinical picture, without laboratory testing it is impossible to differentiate hepatitis C from other infectious and non-infectious inflammatory lesions of the liver. Among the main features are:

  1. Constant, unmotivated weakness, fatigue.
  2. Lack of appetite, nausea.
  3. Increased body temperature.
  4. Enlarged liver (hepatomegaly).
  5. Heaviness and pain in the right upper abdomen.
  6. Joint pain.
  7. Jaundice coloration of the skin, mucous membranes and sclera.
  8. Skin itching.
  9. Dark urine, gray feces.

The definitive diagnosis of hepatitis C is never made by clinical manifestations alone, even if complications such as cirrhosis, portal hypertension and chronic liver failure have developed.

Confirmation requires specific laboratory methods that detect antibodies to the pathogen (ELISA, or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) or its RNA (PCR, or polymerase chain reaction). Based on the results of ELISA, you can verify the duration of infection based on the class of antibodies detected.

Immunoglobulins M are signs of the acute phase of infection, and immunoglobulins G prove the chronic course.

This is important, first of all, for therapeutic tactics. Additional information is provided by general clinical and biochemical blood tests, ultrasound examination of the abdominal organs, and liver biopsy.

Diet principles

Nutrition for hepatitis C is an important aspect of treatment, the main goal is to reduce the load on the liver, which is achieved thanks to several rules:

Diet characteristics

Patients with hepatitis C are usually prescribed therapeutic diet No. 5 according to Pevzner. The energy value of the daily diet is 2800 kcal and contains: proteins - 80 g (animal - 60 g), fats 70-80 g (vegetables - 30 g), carbohydrates 350-400 g. Salt - up to 10 g. Drinking regime - 2 liters of water.

You should eat boiled, steamed, baked, pureed warm food.

What can you eat if you have hepatitis C:

  • among vegetables, preference is given to tomatoes, beets, potatoes, onions, bell peppers, carrots, cucumbers;
  • the best porridges are buckwheat, semolina, oatmeal, rice;
  • vegetable and fruit soups with cereals and pasta are shown;
  • you need to choose fish and meat with a low fat content;
  • boiled egg yolks, steamed egg white omelettes;
  • milk, cheese, kefir, cottage cheese;
  • butter can be either butter or vegetable;
  • yesterday's bread, drying;
  • fruit drinks, freshly squeezed juices, tea, compotes;
  • marshmallows, honey, marmalade;
  • bananas, raspberries, sweet apples.

What not to eat if you have hepatitis C:

  • bean, pearl barley, barley cereals;
  • sour fruits;
  • pickled cucumbers, tomatoes, garlic, green onions, radishes, radishes;
  • fatty meats and fish;
  • broths from fish, meat and mushrooms;
  • hot pepper and mustard;
  • fresh baked goods, chocolate, sweets with food coloring;
  • strong coffee, tea, alcohol.

A seasoning known for its taste properties, ginger, is prohibited for hepatitis C, as it has an adverse effect on secretory processes in liver tissue.

Alcoholic drinks are completely excluded - their effect on hepatocytes can significantly accelerate the course of the disease.

It is worth consulting with your doctor and stopping all medications that have hepatotoxicity, which the patient can refuse. If drugs with such an effect must be taken, their dose and combination with other medications are adjusted.

You should eat slowly, eating exactly as much as is required to satisfy your hunger, at least 5 times a day. The diet for patients with hepatitis C at first glance contains many restrictions, but thanks to them the liver recovers faster.

There are many recipes and even sample menus that can be used when planning your diet.

Hepatitis C and excess weight

Excess body weight is an additional burden on the body, including the liver. It has been proven that the results of antiviral therapy are better in people who are not obese. Exhaustion and weight loss in patients with hepatitis C are observed during the formation of cirrhosis; with compensated liver function, this manifestation is absent.

A diet implies nutrition that is balanced in calorie content and composition. It is worth giving up easily digestible carbohydrates (sweets, baked goods, white sugar), or limiting their amount. Otherwise, treatment table No. 5 is already a sufficient measure to normalize weight.

In addition to diet, patients are given an individual regimen of physical activity. Exercise should not cause excessive fatigue or worsen symptoms. With hepatitis C, patients can eat without starving, which leads to regulated weight loss and the absence of sharp fluctuations in eating habits.

The value of proper nutrition in the treatment of liver diseases is not at all exaggerated. In fact, a balanced diet has detoxifying and fortifying properties, replenishing the body's need for certain nutrients.

It is extremely important for the patient to know what diet is necessary for hepatitis C and to follow its principles to quickly normalize the condition of the liver.