Nutrition Tips for People with Hepatitis C

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Hepatitis C harms your liver. Your liver plays many important roles. It

deals with everything you eat and drink. A healthy lifestyle can help

you feel your best and help your body cope with the hepatitis C virus.

Healthy eating and moderate physical activity can:

• give your body the energy it needs to work well,

• boost your immune system,

• help your liver renew itself, and

• decrease some of the symptoms of your hepatitis C and the side effects

of treatment, such as feeling tired and sick.

Eat well

• Choose a variety of foods from all four food groups of Canada's Food

Guide to Healthy Eating.

• Get plenty of Grain Products and Vegetables & Fruit.

• Eat at least 2 servings from the Meat & Alternatives food group (such

as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, peanut butter, and dried beans, peas and

lentils).

• Focus on lower fat choices within each food group.

• Drink 6 to 8 glasses of fluids every day.

• Keep your energy level up by eating smaller meals and snacks more

often.

Supplement carefully

• Use only herbal products that your health care provider has told you

are safe.

• Do not take more than one multivitamin per day - and you may need one

without iron. Talk to your health care provider about which vitamin and

mineral supplements are best for you.

Take care

• Avoid alcohol.

• Enjoy light to moderate physical activity, such as walking, swimming,

gardening and stretching.

• Build up slowly to 30 to 60 minutes of activity, at least 4 times a

week.

• Avoid food poisoning by storing and preparing foods safely. Wash your

hands often.

• Talk to your health care provider if depression affects your ability

to eat well.

If you have complications...

… such as cirrhosis or fluid retention, you need to pay even more

attention to nutrition.

• Get tailored advice from your doctor or dietitian.

• Eat smaller meals every few hours. This may be easier for your body to

handle and will help keep your energy level up.

• You may need to limit your intake of salt if you have swelling of the

abdomen (ascites) or legs (edema).

• Try extra-strength liquid nutrition supplements, available from your

local pharmacy. Some examples are: Boost Plus Calories®, Ensure Plus®,

Resource Plus®.

Low-Cost Nutritious Choices

Eating well doesn't have to be expensive. Low-cost nutritious choices

can be found in each food group:

• bread, rice, pasta, rolled oats

• carrots, potatoes, frozen vegetables, apples, in-season berries

• milk powder, plain milk or yogurt

• baked beans, eggs, dried beans, peas and lentils, canned fish, ground

beef

For more tips, see Appendices G and H of the full Guidelines.

Some Useful On-line Resources

Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating

Call your local public health unit  

www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hpfb-dgpsa/onpp-bppn/

food_guide_rainbow_e.html

Canada's Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living

Call your local public health unit or 1-  

www.paguide.com

Dietitians of Canada: Eat Well, Live Well section

Includes Your Nutrition Profile, Meal Planner and Virtual Kitchen tour,

nutrition information and tools to compare food choices to

recommendations, and personalized advice for making improvements.

www.dietitians.ca/eatwell

Food Safety information and materials

www.canfightbac.org

Nutrition labelling education materials

www.healthcanada.ca/nutritionlabelling

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

nccam.nih.gov/health/hepatitisc/index.htm

Heppo Recipe Exchange

Recipes submitted by other people infected with the hepatitis C virus;

not specifically " HepC healthy " unless noted.

www.hepcnet.net/recipes/recipeindex.html

Hepatitis C and Food

Hepatitis C Council of New South Wales, February 2002

www.hepatitisc.org.au/other_resources/food_brochure.htm

Health Canada hepatitis C information

www.healthcanada.ca/hepc

Other Resources

Consult the organizations listed across the bottom of this handout.

How to Find a Registered Dietitian

• Visit www.dietitians.ca and search " Find a Nutrition Professional. "

• Call your local public health department, hospital or community health

centre.

• Call the Consulting Dietitians Network at 1-.

Registered Dietitians can help you meet your nutrition needs by

designing a personal meal plan.

You definitely should see a Registered Dietitian if you have:

• complications related to advanced liver disease, such as cirrhosis or

fluid retention

• another medical condition, such as diabetes or HIV

• a problem with weight loss or weight gain

• diarrhea for more than 3 days

• trouble eating well

• diagnosis of fluid retention requiring a low salt diet

This handout is based on Hepatitis C: Nutrition Care - Canadian

Guidelines for Health Care Providers, 2003.

www.dietitians.ca/resources/index.html

www.healthcanada.ca/hepc

Another handout in this series is available, Dealing with Discomforts:

Nutrition Tips for People with Hepatitis C.

This information is not meant to replace the medical counsel of your

doctor or consultation with a Registered Dietitian.

© Dietitians of Canada, 2003. May only be reproduced in its entirety and

provided source is acknowledged. Produced with funding from Health

Canada. The opinions expressed in this document do not necessarily

reflect the official policies or views of Health Canada.

Organizations

Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver

www.lhsc.on.ca/casl

Canadian Association of Hepatology Nurses

www.livernurses.org

Canadian Hemophilia Society

www.hemophilia.ca

1-

Canadian Liver Foundation

www.liver.ca

1-

Hepatitis C Society of Canada

www.hepatitiscsociety.com

1-800-652-HepC (4372)

Brought to you by:

Dietitians of Canada

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hppb/hepatitis_c/whatsnew.html