Diet Treatment for Jaundice

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 juice fast for a week. The juices of oranges, lemons, grapes, pears,
carrots, beets and sugarcane can be taken. A hot water enema should be taken daily during this period to
ensure regular bowel elimination, thereby preventing the absorption of decomposed, poisonous material
into the blood stream. Juice fast may be continued till the acute symptoms subside.

Diet for Jaundice:

After the juice fast, the patient may adopt an all-fruit diet for further three to five days. In this regimen, he
should have three meals a day of fresh juicy fruits such as apples, pears, grapes, oranges and
pineapples, but no bananas. Thereafter a simple diet may be resumed on the following lines:

Upon arising: A glass of warm water with juice of half a lemon.

Breakfast: One fresh juicy fruit such as apple, pear, mango, papaya, or some grapes, or berries. One
cup wheat broken wheat or one slice of whole meal bread with a little butter.

Mid-morning: Orange or pear juice

Lunch: Raw vegetable salad, two small wheat tortilla of whole wheat flour, a steamed leafy vegetable
such a. Spinach, fenugreek or carrot and a glass of buttermilk.

Mid-afternoon: Coconut water or apple juice.

Dinner: One cup strained vegetable soup, two wheat tortilla of whole meal, baked potato and one other
leafy vegetable like fenugreek seeds, spinach, etc.

Before retiring: A glass of hot skimmed milk with honey if desired.

All fats like clarified butter, butter, cream and oils must be avoided for at least two weeks, and after that
butter and olive oil may be included in the diet but their consumption should be kept down to the
minimum. A light carbohydrate diet, with exclusion of fats, best obtained from vegetables and fruits should
be taken.

The patient should take plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit juices. Dandelion leaves, radishes with
leaves, en dive should be added to the daily raw vegetable salad. Raw al3ples and pears are especially
beneficial. Barley water, drunk several times during the day, is considered a good remedy for jaundice.

One cup of barley should be boiled in six pints of water and simmered for three hours.

Digestive disturbances must be avoided. No food with a tendency to ferment or putrefy in the lower
intestines like pulses and legumes should be included in the diet. Drinking a lot of water with lemon juice
will protect the damaged liver cells.

The jaundice patient can overcome the condition quite easily with the above regime and build up his sick
liver until it functions normally once again. A recurrence of liver trouble can be prevented with reasonable
care in the diet and life style, with regular, moderate exercise and frequent exposure to sunshine, fresh air
and adequate rest

Research has shown that the liver has an excellent capacity to regenerate itself provided all essential
nutrients adequately supplied. Diets high in complete proteins. Vitamin C. And B vitamins, particularly
choline. And vitamin E can hasten its regeneration. Even after recovery, it is essentialities to maintain the
diet for a long period to prevent recurrence of the trouble.

TREATMENT CHART FOR JAUNDICE

A - DIET

I. Raw juice diet for 3 to 5 days. Oranges, lemons, sugarcane and carrots may be used for juices. During
this period, the bowels should be cleaned daily with lukewarm water enema.

II An all-fruit diet for further 3 to 5 days, with three meals a day at five-hourly intervals.

III. Thereafter, adopt the following diet: -

1. Upon arising: A glass of lukewarm water mixed with half a freshly squeezed lime and a teaspoon of
honey.

2. Breakfast: Fresh fruits and a cup of fresh toned or skimmed milk, sweetened with honey or jaggery.

3. Mid-morning: Lemon or Carrot juice.

4. Lunch: Raw vegetable salad, steamed vegetables, whole wheat wheat tortilla and a glass of buttermilk.

5. Mid-afternoon: Coconut water or sugarcane juice.

6. Dinner: Vegetable soup, boiled vegetables with limejuice dressing and whole wheat wheat tortilla.

7. Before retiring: A glass of skimmed or toned milk.

Food especially beneficial: Limejuice. Pear, lemon. Barley water.

Coconut water, sugarcane juice and radish leave Juice.

Avoid: Fried and fatty foods, too much butter and clarified butter, meats, tea, coffee, pickles, condiments
and pulses.

B - OTHER MEASURES

1. Drink plenty of water with lemon juice.

2. Adequate rest.
3. Avoid digestive disturbances.
4. Moderate exercise

Healthy Diet and Treatment for Jaundice in Kid

For children, it is important that the parent monitor the condition carefully and you can feed your child
some specific types of food that are likely to help with the condition.

Diet for Jaundice: Any food that is heavy, difficult to digest or likely to create gas is to be avoided. Some
pulses and legumes are responsible for such digestive distress and should be avoided at this time

Hydration is particularly important during jaundice as the body passes toxins out through the urine.
Increase the quantity of water being consumed by your child and you may also give him or her some
lemon juice which will contain some electrolytes. These will help give your child an energy boost.

Foods like baked potatoes and leafy vegetables are generally easy to digest and should be promoted
during this time. All heavy foods that are greasy and oily should be avoided. The liver helps to digest fat
through the excretion of bile and when the liver is infected, you should avoid any food that contains
excessive amount of fat as this may not be efficiently digested. Processed and canned foods should also
be avoided. All drinks should be of fresh fruit origin if possible. Aerated drinks are usually full of sugar but
provide no nutritional benefit and should be avoided. Some doctors also recommend a juice fast during
the period of jaundice infection. Juices are easy to acquire energy and nutrition from and also do not
hinder the bowel movements at all. It is essential to consume light meals. You may feed your child
regularly through the day rather than at fixed meal times. Make sure that your child consumes a few
glasses of juice every day.

It is also important that the diet is followed for a long period after the infection has passed. This is the
period that allows the liver to regenerate. During this period, sufficient quantities of vitamins and
minerals should be sought from a healthy diet that is based on fruits and vegetables.

Jaundice, if treated and careful precaution is taken since beginning, no afraid. Otherwise, this is a very
dangerous because there is a variety of bacterial attack in the important parts of the body. Jaundice is
affected mainly in brain and lever. some time it happens to associate in the blood which is very
dangerous. You have to see a good specialized doctor and take his advice. Though it is cured fully, you
have to be very strict in your food at least for one year because the lever is affected and recovering it may
happen slowly. You can take plenty of water preferably boiled and lemon juice daily which encourage the
function of lever. If you are a non vegetarian, avoid this completely for one year and use vegetarian food.
Intake of fruits in your food may be more and more useful for speedy recovery. Avoid smoking, or any
kind of tobacco use or alcohol till one year

Signs and Symptoms of Jaundice and Treatment of

Jaundice Disease
By Pat | December 8, 2008

How Is Jaundice Caused And Information On Jaundice

Prevention?

HOW IS JAUNDISE CAUSED?

Jaundice, or the disease of yellow skin and eyes is a serious disease that cannot be neglected. If you wish to
understand how jaundice is caused, you will have to go to the root of the problem and start your understanding
process from there. At the core of jaundice lies the liver. So the first thing to understand is that the liver is the organ
that has to be checked in order to get a handle on jaundice.

Symptoms Of Jaundice And Liver Disease Treatment

The discoloration, or yellowing caused in jaundice is totally due to a high level of bile pigments that are released in the
blood, generally as a result of liver disease of some kind. Basically, the process works this way. The liver produces bile,
a fluid that is essential in aiding the liver in its most important function – that of processing waste. The liver is
generally the first place that all chemicals in the body pass through – this would include all nutrients and drugs.

After processing them, the liver sends out whatever chemicals that are required for further body function into the
body as a fluid called bile. One of the essential chemicals passed into the body in this procedure is called bilirubin,
and it is bright yellow in color. Due to a malfunction of the liver, in certain cases bilirubin tends to get stuck inside the
body instead of being released out. When this process continues for a long time, then this yellow discoloration starts
to show up in the skin and the whites of the eyes as well. Basically, this is an indicator that the amount of unprocessed
bilirubin in the blood has risen to unacceptable heights and is now showing up as a discoloration. This is what we
commonly call jaundice.

It is also good to know that the normal amount of bilirubin in the blood can be measured quite accurately. Up to 0.2
mg/dL and 1.2 mg/dL is what the normal bilirubin count should look like. Only when this count begins to exceed 3
mg/dL or higher, does it start showing up in outward signs. It is also at this point only that this disease can be
detected as well. Since you are now aware that the liver is at the root of jaundice, you should also make it a point to
take good care of this organ. Once afflicted, there is no guarantee that the jaundice will not return, just as there is no
guarantee that your liver will recover fully.

Jaundice
What is it?
Jaundice is a yellowing of the skin, whites of the eyes, and body fluids. It is caused by an increase in the amount of
bilirubin in the blood. Bilirubin is a yellowish pigment that is produced from the breakdown of heme, primarily from
hemoglobin and red blood cells (RBCs). Bilirubin is transported by the blood to the liver, where the liver processes it,
allowing it to be excreted in bile. Bile is a thick, yellow-green-brown fluid that is secreted into the upper small
intestine (duodenum) to get rid of waste products (such as bilirubin and excess cholesterol) and to aid in the
digestion of fats. Jaundice may arise from increased breakdown of red blood cells, inherited changes in bilirubin
metabolism, liver disease or damage, and whenever there is interference with bile excretion.

Examples of common conditions that may cause jaundice

• Acute hepatitis: liver inflammation due to a variety of causes including hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E viral
infections, alcohol abuse, and some medications and toxins.

• Obstruction of the bile ducts inside and/or outside of the liver: may be due to a stone, damage and
scarring, or biliary atresia, a congenital condition associated with abnormal development or the bile ducts.
It leads to the back-up and pooling of the bile behind the obstruction and to the increase of bilirubin in the
blood. Gallstones can block bile ducts and pancreatic cancer can sometimes lead to a blockage in the bile
ducts outside of the liver.

• Hemolytic anemia: an abnormal hemoglobin variant, malaria, an autoimmune process, hemolytic

disease of the newborn, and any other conditions that lead to a significant increase in the destruction of
red blood cells and to an increase in the production of bilirubin.

• Gilbert’s syndrome: a mild inherited condition associated with decreased bilirubin conjugation due to a
decrease in enzyme activity. Those affected may have temporary jaundice during times of illness or stress
and increases in their unconjugated bilirubin levels.

• Cirrhosis: can cause jaundice in its late stages.

 • Physiologic jaundice of the newborn: the liver of a newborn infant has not fully developed its ability to
metabolize bilirubin yet, so newborns frequently go through a brief period of jaundice right after they are
born. Newborns with jaundice are carefully monitored and generally improve within 48 to 72 hours. If the
jaundice persists or is severe, however, the infant may be treated and evaluated for other causes (such as
hemolytic disease of the newborn; click here for more information).

Examples of more rare conditions that may cause jaundice

• Crigler-Najjar syndrome: an inherited condition that may lead to severe unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia
(high bilirubin concentrations); a gene mutation leads to a deficiency in an enzyme necessary for
bilirubin conjugation.

• Dubin-Johnson syndrome: an inherited disorder that causes the retention of conjugated bilirubin (and
other compounds that turn the liver black) in liver cells; patients may have intermittent jaundice.

• Rotor’s syndrome: an inherited conjugated hyperbilirubinemia that causes intermittent jaundice; similar to
Dubin-Johnson without the retention of other compounds or a black liver.

• Pseudojaundice: the skin of a person may turn yellowish when they eat large quantities of carrots, squash,
or cantaloupe due to the presence of beta-carotene; this is a temporary and benign condition that is not
related to bilirubin or bile.

Jaundice
Overview | Tests | Treatment | Related Pages

Tests
The goal of testing is to determine the cause of the jaundice and to evaluate the severity of the underlying condition.
Initial testing is usually focused on the liver. Specific additional tests, such as viral hepatitis testing and/or testing to
evaluate increased RBC destruction, may be ordered along with or following the initial tests based on the patient’s
clinical findings and the doctor’s suspicions of the cause of the jaundice.

Laboratory Tests

Testing may include:

• Liver Panel

• ALT (Alanine aminotransferase)

• ALP (Alkaline phosphatase)

• AST (Aspartate aminotransferase)

 • Bilirubin, Total (conjugated and unconjugated), Direct (conjugated) and Indirect (unconjugated)

• Albumin

• GGT (Gamma-glutamyl transferase)

• Hepatitis A

• Hepatitis B

• Hepatitis C

• CBC (Complete Blood Count)

• Reticulocyte Count (if CBC is abnormal)

Non-Laboratory Tests

Imaging tests and liver biopsies may be used to help evaluate the status and structure of the liver, gallbladder, and
bile ducts. Testing may include:

• Abdominal ultrasound

• CT (Computed tomography) scan

• Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP, an imaging of the pancreas and bile ducts)

• Liver biopsy

Treatments
Jaundice in newborns must be treated if it becomes severe as deposits can cause permanent brain damage. In all
other cases, it is not the jaundice that needs to be treated but the underlying condition. When/if the condition
resolves, then the jaundice will resolve as well. If an obstruction is present, surgery may be necessary.