Since ascites is not an independent disease, but one of the symptoms of various pathologies, the choice of dishes for a diet with ascites is determined by the characteristics of the underlying disease. Diet for ascites is one of the means of treatment along with drug therapy. A properly organized diet significantly improves the quality of life of a patient in the first stages of ascites, although it does not replace taking medications.
Basic principles of clinical nutrition:
Salt in ascites actively retains fluid in the tissues of the body, so it is generally not used in the diet of patients;
It is forbidden to consume fried and smoked dishes, fatty fish and meat, lard, margarine, canned food, sausages, fast food;
So that there is no need to drink a lot of liquid, you can not eat pickles, spicy and spicy dishes, sour foods;
The optimal amount of water is only 700 ml per day. This includes the liquid contained in soups, jelly, compotes;
For the prevention of flatulence, you should not use legumes, cabbage, mushrooms, turnips, radishes, garlic, onions in cooking;
With ascites, it is not recommended to drink carbonated drinks, coffee and cocoa;
Confectionery, pastries, fresh bread made from wheat flour are forbidden foods for a patient with ascites.
Alcoholic drinks of any strength accelerate the development of ascites, and therefore are absolutely unacceptable in this pathology.
What can you eat with ascites?
All foods for the patient with ascites are subjected to gentle culinary treatment – they are boiled, stewed or baked. All the main elements of food should be present in the diet: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, but their proportions are adjusted. When compiling the menu, they prefer complex carbohydrates and vegetable fats. They are found in vegetables, oatmeal, millet and buckwheat. If ascites is caused by cirrhosis of the liver, the presence of easily digestible proteins in the diet is important.
Products recommended for ascites:
Minced or ground veal, lean chicken, rabbit, steamed turkey.
Vegetable puree soups with essential ingredients such as parsley, marjoram, fennel.
Lean fish, steamed or baked in the oven without salt.
Egg omelette from one protein can be eaten 3 times a week;
Various cereals cooked in water with a minimum addition of milk in a ratio of no more than 3:1.
Nuts mixed with honey (hazelnuts, peanuts, walnuts).
Marshmallows and fruit jellies as desserts.
Pomegranate juice diluted with water, dried fruits.
Diuretic drinks and juices with potassium-sparing properties: birch, carrot and pumpkin juice, infusion of figs and dried apricots, tea from currant leaves.
Cottage cheese, sour cream for dressing dishes.
Vegetables: eggplant, zucchini, pumpkin, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers.
Features of the diet for ascites
The number of meals for ascites is 6-7 times a day. It is necessary that between them there was a time interval of no more than 3 hours. Portions should be small, and the temperature of the dishes should be slightly warmer than room temperature. Food should not be too cold or too hot. Almost all products are cooked, with the exception of sweet fruits, and even those, if possible, are made part of baked desserts in the oven.
It is undesirable to impose large portions and overeat. The purpose of the ascites diet is to mitigate such negative manifestations of the pathology as tissue edema and fluid accumulation in the abdominal cavity. It is desirable that the menu for the patient is made by a dietitian, who will take into account individual characteristics and the existing diagnosis. More than others with ascites, diet No. 10, created in Russia by the doctor Pevzner, is suitable. When the patient feels better, he switches to table No. 10a.
Diet No. 10 for ascites
Prohibited and permitted foods for this diet correspond to the above recommendations for the nutrition of patients with ascites. In addition to this category of patients, table No. 10 is recommended for people with cardiac ischemia, arterial hypertension, after myocardial infarction, with cirrhosis of the liver.
Table No. 10 features:
Daily calorie content – 2300-2600 kilocalories;
The total amount of salt, together with the salt contained in the products, does not exceed 5 g per day;
The daily amount of fats (up to 70 g), carbohydrates (up to 350 g), proteins (up to 90 g) is reduced.
Sample menu for ascites in accordance with the requirements of the diet:
Morning – oatmeal with diluted milk or steam protein omelet with boiled beef, cottage cheese with sour cream. Tea with crackers or biscuits;
Second breakfast – curd cheese or an apple with a banana;
Lunch – vegetarian soup with potatoes, steam chicken with rice or steam cutlet with pasta, compote;
Dinner – boiled fish and salad or a serving of charlotte;
Before going to bed – kefir or yogurt.
The result of a carefully observed diet for ascites will be an improvement in blood circulation, the restoration of normal metabolism, a sparing attitude to the digestive organs, heart and blood vessels.