Diet therapy for liver disease.

The simple form of jaundice can be cured rapidly by diet therapy and exercises. Recovery will, however, be slow in serious cases which have been caused by obstruction or pressure in the bile ducts. The patient should rest until the acute symptoms of the disease subside.

The patient should be put on a fruit juice fast for a week. The juice of lemon, grapes, pear, carrot, beet, and sugarcane can be taken. A hot enema should be taken daily during the fast to ensure regular bowel elimination, thereby preventing the absorption of decomposed, poisonous material into the blood stream. The fruit juice fast may be discontinued after the severity of the disease is over and a simple diet may be resumed on the following lines:
* On rising: A glass of warm water mixed with two teaspoons of lime juice.
* Breakfast: One fresh juicy fruit such as apple, papaya, grapes, berries and mangoes . One cup wheat dalia or one slice of whole wheat bread with a little butter.
* Mid-morning: Orange juice.
* Lunch: Two small chapattis of whole wheat flour, a cup of strained vegetable soup, a steamed leafy vegetable such as spinach, fenugreek or carrot and a glass of buttermilk.
* Mid-afternoon: Orange juice or coconut water.
* Dinner: Two whole wheat chapattis with a little ghee or butter, baked. Baked potato and one other leafy vegetable like spinach and fenugreek, a glass of hot milk with honey if desired.

All fats like ghee, butter, cream and oils must be avoided for at least two weeks, and after that their consumption should be kept down to the minimum. Digestive disturbances must be avoided. No food with a tendency to ferment or putrefy in the lower intestines like pulses, legumes, etc., should be included in the diet.