SNE NETWORK.CHANDIGARH.
Homemade dal-roti along with medicines can prove to be highly effective in saving the liver of patients suffering from Alcoholic Liver Disease (ALD). This shocking revelation has come to light in the latest research of the Hepatology Department of PGI Chandigarh.
Experts of the Hepatology Department of PGI conducted this research in collaboration with experts from the Department of Dietetics. In this research, patients of alcoholic liver disease were given high protein home-made food along with medicines, which gave surprising results.
Research revealed
The research found that patients who were given home-made nutritious food along with medicines had faster liver recovery and their mortality rate was reduced by 30 percent compared to patients undergoing normal treatment. This important research of PGI has been published in the prestigious Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology Hepatology.
High protein diet is beneficial
Dr. Sunil Taneja of the Department of Hepatology, Principal Investigator of the research, said that it is generally believed that liver patients should not eat too much, but this is not true. If liver patients are given good and nutritious food, then the effect of medicines can be even better. A high protein diet is especially beneficial for patients of alcoholic liver disease, because due to alcohol addiction, they often lose their desire to eat, which leads to a lack of nutrients in the body and the disease takes a serious form. This condition is called acute chronic liver failure, which is difficult to control with medicines alone.
Dr. Taneja said that in such a situation, along with quitting alcohol, patients are advised to eat high protein and high calorie food. It re-strengthens the damaged muscles and improves liver functions.
Thus, along with reducing the mortality rate, the need for patients to come to the hospital again and again is also reduced. By consuming a high protein diet prepared at home, the score of the disease starts coming down rapidly. Such patients are advised to give food items like almonds, cheese, egg, lentils and soybean.
Alcohol is damaging the liver of youth
Doctors have expressed concern over the rapid increase in liver problems among the youth. Alcohol consumption has been found to be the cause of about 80 percent of such cases. They say that it is a matter of serious concern that the young generation is rapidly ruining their health due to addiction. If we look at the data of the last few years, the number of liver patients has increased by about 10 percent. The number of such patients in the OPD of PGI has increased from 250 to 700.