LIVER DISEASES

Collaboration with the dietician is essential in cases of liver disease

In cases of liver disease the gastroenterologist – hepatologist and the dietician need to work closely together to swap information about their patients.

Dieticians are obliged to properly educate their patients and to keep a complete log on computer. By reviewing this log and taking body measurements for the patient, the dietician can prepare an eating plan and make recommendations.
On a proper diet, the fatty mass around the liver can rapidly decline and liver cirrhosis can be kept under control without any deterioration for a long time.

The liver is one of the body’s most important organs and forms part of the digestive system. Its key function is metabolism and to produce nutrients that enter the digestive tract after the intestine, in other words after digestion and absorption have taken place. It filters the blood that flows through it, which then flows through the liver cells and causes metabolism. Liver cells, unlike certain other cells in the body, like those of the heart, are much more sensitive and vulnerable to low levels of oxygen in the blood and to various diseases. As a metabolism powerhouse, it is only reasonable that various substances, medicines and alcohol will have a direct effect on the liver. There are acute types of liver disease such as acute hepatitis and chronic types of liver disease.

The most normal diseases to affect the liver are hepatitis which is either caused by a virus or by alcohol or other conditions like genetic diseases, metabolic diseases and diseases caused by the use of medicines. One problem with a significant epidemiological and clinical impact is the so-called metabolic syndrome. This syndrome is associated with obesity and is directly tied into modern lifestyles (too much poor quality food, absence of a Mediterranean diet, little walking, etc.) and entail high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and uric acid, and is also directly associated with diabetes mellitus. It has been found that a percentage of individuals suffering from metabolic syndrome also suffer liver cirrhosis.