Cirrhosis is a late stage of liver disease characterized by scarring of the liver that replaces healthy liver tissue. The more scar tissue on the liver, the less effective it is in doing its job of helping you fight infection, making protein, digesting food, cleaning the blood and storing sugar for energy. You need a working liver to live. Good nutrition cannot prevent you from getting cirrhosis; however, if you have an early stage of liver disease, you might prevent its progression to cirrhosis by several treatment methods. One method is to keep your weight in the normal range.
Cause
Cirrhosis is usually cased by alcohol abuse, but some people get it from certain medicines, infections, chronic hepatitis or from some diseases, such as cystic fibrosis. Drinking too much alcohol regularly usually causes some damage to the liver, but this does not always lead to cirrhosis. You increase your chances of developing cirrhosis by drinking between 32 and 48 ounces of beer, 4 and 8 ounces of liquor or 16 and 32 ounce of wine per day for more than 10 years, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.
Prevention
The best way to prevent cirrhosis is to drink in moderation, get a hepatitis B vaccine, practice safe sex and see a doctor regularly if you have early liver disease or hepatitis. Once you have early liver disease, it is important to control your weight because being overweight can worsen liver disease. You should also stop drinking alcohol if you have early liver disease. Once you get cirrhosis, you can slow down its progression by giving up alcohol and by avoiding acetaminophen, naproxen and ibuprofen -- all medications that can damage the liver.
Diet
Once you get liver disease and cirrhosis, you may not be able to get the proper amount of nutrients from food. A dietitian can help design a special diet for you so that you can get the right nutrients and calories. If you are malnourished from the disease, you might benefit from folic acid and B-complex vitamins. Most people with liver disease need to decrease their salt intake to avoid fluid retention. This involves avoiding processed foods, bacon, canned soups, soy sauce, potato chips and table salt. You may also need to drink fewer liquids. Good foods to eat are fruits, vegetables and whole grains. You need protein, but too much could be bad for you. You might need to eat soy instead of meat. You should also avoid shellfish.
Vitamins and Minerals
Once you have cirrhosis, itching might be one of your symptoms. If so, vitamin K might bring relief. However, if you have blood-clotting problems because of the liver disease, then vitamin K could worsen the problem. Foods that contain vitamin K are green, leafy vegetables. Cirrhosis could lead to a zinc deficiency that might cause appetite loss, irritability, slow wound healing, nausea and diarrhea. Zinc is likely safe if you take no more than 40 milligrams per day. Talk to your doctor before starting any supplement program.
References
- National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse: What I Need to Know About Cirrhosis; October 2010
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Cirrhosis; September 2009
- Drugs.com: Liver Disease Diet
- MedlinePlus: Vitamin K; July 2011
- MedlinePlus: Zinc; July 2011
- MedlinePlus: Alcoholic Liver Disease; December 2010
