Eating Out with Hepatitis C and Liver Disease

When diagnosed with hep C or liver disease, some people want to change their diet, especially if you tend to eat out a lot or consume fast dinners and foods such as processed meats, frozen meals, and sugary drinks; These things are really not good for your liver health.

Making changes to your diet

Upon learning of my end stage liver disease, I was placed on a strict diet of more fruits and veggies, no alcohol (that was no issue as I never drank anyway), and little to no red meat.  With a damaged liver, its functionality is limited and therefore it is struggling to filter the toxins from our bodies. If we continue to eat all the wrong things, we are only adding more stress to the liver. Those toxins could even begin to settle in the brain, causing what we call “brain fog”.

It is much easier to watch your diet if you prepare meals at home, but what happens if you are one that eats out a lot struggles with knowing what to eat? I will say, it is a hard task to learn. We all crave that big whopper with extra large fries and that supersized coke.  Sure, you can order that, but trust me, you are not helping your liver out and allowing the chance to rebuild itself if you continue to feed it this type nourishment.

Healthy eating substitutions

Here are some examples:

Say you go to Wendy’s for lunch. You are starving and want a quick meal to fill your appetite. Instead of looking at the burger menu, try looking at the chicken side of things, say a grilled chicken sandwich. And instead of getting greasy fries (not helping your liver either), look at the side salads or perhaps a chili? Then when ordering your drink, try choosing something with less sugar and no artificial sweeteners, maybe a lemonade or iced tea... better yet, how about a big glass of good ol’ water?!

Once you start learning to “look” at the menus from a different light, you will see that there really are other options available. If salads could be put on your menu, try adding some sort of protein to it like chicken or tofu.  Do your best to refrain from fried foods such as those fries and steer away from high fatty meats.

It takes time to adjust to healthier eating

It will take time for your taste buds to switch to eating healthier. I know for myself, it was a good month before my craving for sodas and french fries were changed to other liver-friendly options. I now eat more salads and chicken when I am out. The less I can consume that is harmful to my liver function, the better I feel and the more I am helping my liver heal.

My liver doctor told me this to remember: The greener it is and the more natural it is, the better.Now when I am out and needing a quick bite to eat, I try my best to locate a more healthy-type restaurant or fast food place. I find that Subway is a great option with numerous healthy choices. You will find yourself now being more choosey on dining places and it will become easier to know what is good for your liver and what is not.