If you have chronic liver failure, you're most likely not absorbing the nutrients you need from your food. That's because chronic liver failure causes several other symptoms, including fat malabsorption, decreased appetite and an altered metabolic rate, that can change your diet and your nutritional status, according to the University of Virginia Health System. If you have chronic liver failure, your physician might recommend that you follow a special diet designed to improve liver function.
Causes
Your liver performs some of the most important tasks in your body, helping to digest food and eliminate wastes from the digestion process, according to the National Library of Medicine's MedlinePlus. Chronic liver failure can result from viruses such as hepatitis, from too much alcohol consumption or from a disease in which your own immune system attacks your liver. Regardless of the cause, chronic liver failure can threaten your health.
Diet Basics
Your liver serves a key role in digesting the protein that you consume in the form of meat, eggs, dairy, nuts and beans, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. If your liver can't do its job properly, you can't digest this protein properly, and waste from it can accumulate in your bloodstream. This waste potentially can affect your brain. Chronic liver failure patients need to follow a low-protein diet to avoid this problem.
Protein
You can't cut out all protein, because your body needs protein to rebuild its tissues and help provide energy, according to the Ohio State University Medical Cente. Your doctor will tell you how much protein you can eat, based on how well your liver continues to function. You may be able to eat more protein if you get it from vegetable sources, such as grains and beans, than if you consume animal protein, such as meat and milk.
Salt and Fluids
You also need to worry about fluid retention if you have chronic liver failure, according to the Ohio State University Medical Center. Too much salt can result in excess fluid in your hands, feet and abdomen, which may feel uncomfortable. You should steer clear of processed foods such as canned soups and frozen dinners unless they say "low salt," and you shouldn't add extra salt to your food, either. In fact, you might want to consider placing your salt shaker out of reach. If you continue to retain fluids, you may need to restrict what you drink.
Considerations
Because alcohol can damage your liver further, you need to avoid all alcoholic drinks, even if your liver damage didn't stem originally from excess alcohol consumption, according to the Ohio State University Medical Center. You may also need to take vitamins or other nutritional supplements if your physician tells you that you're deficient in particular nutrients. Chronic liver failure patients often suffer from folate and iron deficiencies.
