What foods can hepatitis c carriers eat?

12 years ago my aunt had a liver transplant and recently found out that she has hepatitis c, i'm assuming she contracted it from the transplant. i have been looking for a condensed, accurate, and accredited nutritional guide for people with hepatitis c, but have come across conflicting menus. if someone can provide a condensed menu of foods one can and cannot eat if they have hepatitis c, i would be very grateful.

Everybody has their own favorites and food choices, but the basic principles are fairly simple.

There are no special foods to avoid, but people with hepatitis C should limit their alcohol intake - preferably none.

People with hep C sometimes have problems with very fatty food, and should aim for a low GI diet, with a calorie intake low enough to avoid obesity and type 2 diabetes, both of which are associated with undue stress on the liver.

These are sensible recommendations for just about anyone, hep C or not.

since your aunt is a recipient of a liver, and has hcv, the following would probably be her best type of diet:

less or no salt
no alcohol, not even rubbing.
cut out very sweets-includes artificial sweeteners, use 'stevia' found at GNC.
follow a diet geared towards people who have type 2 diabetes.
baked or broiled meats-fried is a no no due to many having fatty liver or "NASH".
no red meats, at least limit intake of red meats to 3 ounces x 1 time per week and 1 egg once a week.
avoid iron-(found in red meats, most multy vitamins and some leafy greens such as spinach.

eat fruits and vegetables, grains, chicken, turkey and fish once a week. lentils, beans, black is the best for protein.

the protein found in veggies like brown beans/black beans are much easier to digest.

nuts: some of those with hcv have a nasty bi-directional disease called gastrointeritis or diverticulitis. nuts are usually avoided in this case. peanut butter can be substituted, but used accordingly-no more than twice a week.

dairy is fine. green tea, coffee or other foods containing caffiene are good for those with liver disease, unless her liver damage is causing panic attacks.

no over the counter meds if at all possible and have her ask what her doctor prefers her to take for pain. some patients are okay'ed for tylenol, others asprin.

water, cranberry juice, palmagranate juice, orange juice, prune juice-all okay-in moderation. (except water).

no herbs except that of milk thislte, it lessens the load the liver has to handle by lowing alt and ast levels and inflamation. **please check to see if it is okay concerning the anti-rejection meds she is on....it could be dangerous combined with such medications, futhermore, other herbs can cause other organ damage if she has any bi-directional disease stemming from hcv. please make sure she doesn't fall victim to claims of cure alls regarding any expensive juice like mangosteen- it is, after all, just another juice. while good for anyone, the taste is aweful and the body will only absorb what is needed-the rest goes down the toilet.

if your aunt suffers from joint and bone pain (firbromyalgia or any other type of arthritis) many are not aware that the medications used for this particular extrahepatic (bi-directional) disease is that the meds can actually cause more pain because the liver is not proccessing fast enough. chemicals can cause joint pain itself.

now that i have that out of the way, is your aunt a cadadite for antiviral chemotherapy? if not, what contradicting issues is she or her doctor facing concerning treatment? do you know what genotype she has?

remember, there are over 150 symptoms/bi-directional associated with hcv infection. not all will experience them of course and it certainly by any means does not correlate with the degree of liver damage-any hepper can have any given symptom at any time.

hcv is very complex. it doesn't really just involve the liver-hcv has been found in all tissues and organs. the liver is mainly affected because that is hcv's host. the bloodstream is it's carrier.


thanks for being supportive!

a low-fat, low sodium and moderate carb diet avoiding chemicals like artificial sweeteners is advised. Red and processed meats should be avoided as much as possible as they are hard to digest. even hair dyes and permenants are bad since their chemicals are toxic and leach in from the scalp and go straight to the liver. Bottled water should be drunk and at least 6-8 8oz glasses every day. Janis7 has an excellent diet for HCV

Foods that work best for me are no fat, sodium, preservatives, and should be organic, and fresh. Go to www.bikersagainstthedragon.com the links page has may good links for HCV. What you find there is what I am l doing, and my liver enzymes have dropped. My digestion is much better also.