Have you ever had jaundice? This liver problem makes your skin and eyes pale yellow which also happens to be its first prominent sign. This yellowness is due to a yellow pigment ‘bilirubin’ which is released when red blood cells break down(an indication of poor liver health). This is not a serious problem and can be easily controlled with diet and medicines. While doctors would hand over a list of foods to eat for healthy liver, we have a list of foods to avoid for a healthy liver. To begin with, you need to cut ties with oily, junk and meat until you fully recover. That is a small-term sacrifice for long-term benefits. Wondering what to eat when you have jaundice? Here are some diet tips to follow when you have or are recovering from jaundice:
Diet Check Is Very Important During Jaundice
Your liver is responsible to process foods that you eat or drink. Your diet plays a very important role in prevention and recovery from any ailment including the liver. Your liver has been given the responsibility to metabolize the food that you eat and makes it digestible for the intestine. Different foods have different metabolizing rates. Some are easy while some require the liver to work extra. During jaundice, your liver becomes weak and therefore, eating liver-friendly foods is the best thing you can do for faster recovery.
Also Read: Indian Diet For Jaundice Patients: What To Eat, Explains Nutritionist Nmami Agarwal
Foods To Avoid In Jaundice
Liver detoxification can aid jaundice. One must not eat anything that may pressurize your ailing liver. Here are some foods that need to be strictly prohibited from the diet of a jaundice patient.
Fat
In India, the person diagnosed with jaundice is put on a no-oil diet. Also, the blunt food, the better. Any kind of oil, butter or fatty ingredient is a no-no. These can cause fat accumulation in the liver which hampers liver health. Saturated fats such as butter, dairy, meat, etc. are particularly bad for your liver. On the other hand, unsaturated fats like olive oil are considerably healthy but they also need to be consumed in moderation during jaundice.
Sugar
You need to get over your sugar craving during jaundice. This could be difficult for sweet lovers but sugar is detrimental for jaundice. Processed sugar items like refined sugar, syrups, etc. also need to be cut down as these also trigger fat buildup in the body which increases liver damage risk. Limit artificial sweeteners, refined sugar, etc. If you crave sugar, try to eat low-fat, low-sugar yogurt to not put a strain on your liver.
Salt
Eating high in salt causes water retention and liver damage. This is primarily because of the sodium present in it. You must cut down your salt intake to promote liver recovery. Instead of salt, you can add onion powder, garlic powder or oregano to improve taste without increasing salt. Also, these foods should be avoided in summer:
Also Read: Jaundice Care: Here’s What Causes Jaundice In Newborn Babies
Iron
Iron is bad for the liver when you have jaundice. While its intake is important, it should be in limits. Excess of Iron can cause liver cirrhosis. Protein has iron in it which means that you must watch out for protein in your diet. Also, go for lean proteins like chicken and fish(but without saturated fats).
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