Diet taboos for jaundice

Absolute prohibition on alcohol, strict control of high-fat and high-cholesterol food intake, and avoidance of foods/drugs that are clearly hepatotoxic. There is no unified standard for the remaining taboos. They need to be flexibly adjusted based on the specific type of jaundice (hepatocellular, obstructive, hemolytic) and current liver function status. There has never been a "one-size-fits-all" taboo list that applies to all jaundice patients.

前阵子刚碰过个28岁的小伙子，甲肝诱发肝细胞性黄疸，住院挂了一周水，胆红素刚降到接近正常值，就偷摸跑出去跟朋友撸串喝冰啤，当晚就吐得昏天暗地，转氨酶直接反弹回住院前的水平，又老老实实回来住了十天，多花了好几千不说，罪也没少受。

Speaking of which, wine is a red line that should not be touched regardless of the type of jaundice. Don't listen to the fallacy of "drinking a small amount of red wine for antioxidants". As long as the bilirubin exceeds the standard, even if it is just latent jaundice found in a physical examination, and the skin and eyes are not yellow, you can't touch half a sip of wine. The liver itself is already overloaded in processing metabolic wastes. Adding alcohol is like adding a lot of work to the workers who are constantly working. It may directly tire out the liver cells and worsen jaundice.

After talking about the iron rules that everyone must abide by, other taboos really depend on the situation. For example, many people say that people with jaundice should not touch oil at all. Last time I met an aunt with hemolytic jaundice. I heard from neighbors in the community that people with jaundice should be vegetarian. She only dared to add a few drops of oil when cooking vegetables. I lost eight pounds in half a month. During the reexamination, I was completely deficient in fat-soluble vitamins D and K, and my coagulation function showed a red light. In fact, the problem with hemolytic jaundice is that the red blood cells are destroyed too much. The bile duct itself is open, and bile can be discharged into the intestines normally to digest fat. There is no need to avoid any oil at all. Instead, you need to eat some vegetable oil and lean meat in moderation to supplement nutrition to recover.

There is also the previous saying that "jaundice requires absolute prohibition of protein", which is also an old concept in the early years. The current mainstream clinical view is that as long as there are no precursors to hepatic encephalopathy (such as confusion, slow reaction, garbled speech), you should eat more high-quality proteins such as eggs, milk, and fish in moderation to provide raw materials for liver cell repair. If you really don’t touch any protein, your liver will not even have the materials to work, which will slow down the recovery process. Of course, if there are signs of hepatic encephalopathy, protein must be strictly restricted. This depends on the judgment of the attending doctor.

But it’s different if you have obstructive jaundice. The bile duct is blocked by stones or tumors and the bile cannot be discharged. If you eat fried chicken legs or stewed pork belly, you will most likely experience abdominal pain and diarrhea shortly after eating. In this case, you need to strictly control high-fat and high-cholesterol foods. It is best not to touch animal offal, fried foods, and fatty meats.

Another question that has been debated for a long time is whether patients with jaundice can eat high-carotene foods such as carrots, oranges, and pumpkins? Most of the opinions of the older generation are that it should never be touched, saying that eating it will make the skin more yellow, and it is unclear whether it is aggravation of jaundice or a food problem. But now more and more clinicians feel that there is no need to completely ban it. After all, the yellow skin caused by carotene is deposited in the stratum corneum, and the whites of the eyes will not turn yellow. It can be easily distinguished from the "scleral jaundice" caused by elevated bilirubin. As long as the bilirubin in your review continues to decrease, it is perfectly fine to eat two or three oranges or drink a bowl of pumpkin porridge if you are greedy. At most, the palms and soles of the hands will be a little yellow, which has no impact on the body. Of course, if you can't figure out the reason for yellowing, then eat less for the time being to save yourself from worrying.

By the way, there is another "invisible taboo" that many people will not notice at all, that is, don't blindly eat so-called "jaundice-reducing remedies" and "liver-protecting health products." I once had a patient with jaundice caused by fatty liver. I read on the Internet that boiling wormwood in water can reduce jaundice. I bought a pound of wormwood and boiled it as water every day. I also took three different liver-protecting health products. Initially, I only had mild jaundice. After two weeks, my reexamination showed that the jaundice was three times the normal value. Drinking too much increased the metabolic burden on the liver and kidneys, and the unknown ingredients in the health products also damaged liver cells. If you really want to take dietary therapy or take Chinese patent medicines, you should first ask your doctor if they can be taken and whether they are suitable for your situation. It is much more reliable than trying blindly on your own.

I usually provide dietary guidance to patients with jaundice. I rarely give them a long list of things they cannot eat. Most of the time, I ask them to figure out what type of jaundice they have and pay more attention to how they feel when eating. If they don’t feel uncomfortable with bloating, abdominal pain, or nausea after eating, and the reexamination indicators are stable, except for alcohol and things that are clearly harmful to the liver, there is no need to be too harsh on yourself. After all, eating well and supplementing nutrition can provide raw materials for liver cell repair, and recovery will be faster. If you always focus on what you can't eat and what you can't touch, your nutrition will not keep up, which will slow down the progress of recovery.