Diet and cirrhosis

Having cirrhosis or advanced liver disease usually means you will need to make some changes to your diet. As well as generally eating healthily you may need to follow special advice to make sure you get enough energy (calories) and protein, and not too much salt. This is important to stop you from becoming malnourished and losing muscle mass.

Around 2 in 10 people with compensated cirrhosis are malnourished, but this increases to more than 5 in 10 people with decompensated cirrhosis.

For specific advice on your diet, ask your doctor to refer you to a dietitian. When you see a dietitian, the advice you receive will be specific for you. The guidance here is more general and you shouldn’t make any changes without first discussing them with the professionals looking after you.