Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is a type of viral infection that affects the liver; sporadic in Europe, is instead quite frequent in other parts of the world, such as, for example, Africa and India.
The initial symptoms of hepatitis A usually show up within two months and are similar to those of influenza; include: fever (usually not above 39.5ºC), joint and muscle pain, sickness and exhaustion, and diarrhea.
These can be followed by other related symptoms such as: jaundice, dark urination and pale stools, itching, swollen and tender liver. Adults and the elderly tend to have more severe manifestations. In most cases, the liver fully regains overall functionality.
The correlations between diet and hepatitis A are of two types:
- Diet as a means of infection
- Diet for functional recovery of the organ and support during healing.
Diet and Contagion
In Italy, hepatitis A is mainly contracted by eating raw foods, sometimes alive, such as bivalve molluscs (mussels, oysters, clams, cockles, etc.); these, contaminated by sewage (often abusive), can induce infection.
The infection can also occur through the ingestion of contaminated water (of water-polluted groundwater) or of raw vegetables, irrigated with polluted water (rivers, canals, waste, etc.).
In 2013, a hepatitis A epidemic associated with the consumption of frozen berries from Eastern Europe was recorded in Italy and other European countries.
Diet in Hepatitis A
Since the liver is an organ with a multitude of different functions, its impairment in the case of hepatitis can be quite debilitating. Among the various, this organ deals with secreting bile juices aimed at digestion. Synthesizes various plasma proteins intended for the transport of blood lipids (lipoproteins). Furthermore, it deals with the metabolism of most of the circulating molecules, from nutrients to drugs.
To reduce the burden on the liver and facilitate the remission of hepatitis A, it is necessary to follow some basic dietary rules:
- Abolition of ethyl alcohol: when necessary, it is the most important change for subjects diagnosed with hepatitis
- Elimination of junk or junk-food foods and beverages: as they are rich in saturated or hydrogenated fats (with trans-conforming chains), refined sugars, food additives (sweeteners, preservatives, etc.) and toxic molecules deriving from combustion (acrylamide, formaldehyde, acrolein, polycyclic aromatics etc). Junk foods include:
- packaged sweet and savory snacks, potatoes and other fried foods, hamburgers and other fast-foods, sweet drinks (carbonated or not), coffee, etc.
- Limit refined foods: many processes such as, for example, refining and bleaching flour, are based on chemical-physical mechanisms that deplete the food of fibers, vitamins and minerals (up to 78%). Recall that many vitamins are coenzymatic factors necessary to support very important cellular processes; moreover, these are often stored in the liver which, if suffering, could fulfill its function in an incomplete manner.
- Avoid excessive meals or prolonged fasting beyond 12-14 hours. The liver is responsible for the glycemic maintenance which, in the case of fasting, requires a significant metabolic commitment for the neoglucogenesis starting from the amino acids.
- In the case of celiac disease, meticulous abolition of gluten: this should be excluded regardless of hepatitis A. In fact, it is harmful to intolerant people, in which it causes an increase in the inflammatory state. It is absolutely necessary that, in the case of hepatitis A, the celiac disease treats dietary hygiene by eliminating even the smallest exposures to cereals and gluten-containing derivatives (wheat, spelled, spelled, rye, barley, oats and sorghum).
- Do not drink tap water, if of doubtful quality: it is a problem that arises mainly when the source does not enjoy drinking water; heavy metals and toxic inorganic chemicals may be present, all compounds that the diseased liver is unable to process optimally.
- Eliminate unnecessary drugs and food supplements.
- Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables: consume them with every meal; being able to choose, place the fruit at breakfast and in the secondary snacks, avoiding to insert it for lunch and dinner so as not to increase the glycemic load too much (since cereals and legumes are already present).
- Use foods of vegetable origin with the following characteristics: fresh, better if "alive" and from agriculture respectful of a rigid disciplinary. It is advisable, if possible, not to deprive them of the skin.
- Favor the intake of useful molecules for the liver: among these, all the vitamins with an antioxidant function (provitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E) and the other molecules that intervene in a similar way (zinc, selenium, phenolic substances, chlorophyll, etc.) stand out. ). Moreover, there are foods that contain active hepato-protectors; the main ones are the artichoke and the milk thistle, thanks to the contribution of cynarin and silymarin.
- Increase the fraction of polyunsaturated fats (both essential omega 3 and omega 6, both non-essential like omega 9) to the detriment of others; the most recommended foods are: blue fish (mackerel, mackerel, bonito, anchovies, sardines, etc.), cold-pressed vegetable oils (extra virgin olive oil, linseed, walnut seeds, etc.) and oil seeds (almonds, sesame, etc.).
