Nutrition for acromegaly

General description of the disease

 

Acromegaly is a neuroendocrine disease associated with impaired functioning of the adenohypophysis (anterior pituitary gland). As a result, in a person with acromegaly, after the growth of the body has ended, the size of the hand, foot, and skull suddenly begins to increase.

Read also our dedicated article on Nutrition for the Pituitary Gland.

Causes of the disease:

  1. 1 excessive secretion of growth hormone;
  2. 2 genetic inheritance of diseases such as: somatotrophinomas; Sotos syndromes (blood contains high amounts of valine, isoleucine, leucine), Rosenthal-Klopfer (relatives have large, massive folds of skin in the occipital region and on the neck), acromegaloid face (large lips, nose, thickened eyebrows); gigantism.

Signs of acromegaly:

  • internal organs (lungs, heart, liver, kidneys, spleen) are enlarged;
  • the skin thickens, swelling appears with edema in the soft tissues;
  • facial features become rough and rough;
  • the nose becomes large and generally takes the shape of a “potato”;
  • the lower jaw grows due to which large gaps appear between the teeth;
  • thick and rough folds of skin appear in the neck and on the back of the head, in the superciliary arches;
  • greatly increase in the size of the limbs (especially the tips of the fingers);
  • muscles weaken;
  • convulsions begin;
  • the joints of the arms, legs, as well as the spine are affected (at an early stage, bones crunch, the joints are “loose”, at a later stage – limited movement);
  • excessive sweating;
  • there is arterial hypertension;
  • visual impairment;
  • disorders in the genital area;
  • in laboratory studies, patients have an increased level of phosphorus and sugar in the blood, in excess calcium leaves in the urine, increased intracranial pressure.

Healthy foods for acromegaly

Patients with this disease should focus on foods that contain estrogen, carbohydrates and calcium. Estrogen will help slow down, or even completely stop, the excess production of growth hormone. Calcium, on the other hand, will help strengthen bones, which become weak and brittle due to overgrowth. Also, weakened joints and cartilage should be strengthened, which are very affected by acromegaly.

List of foods containing estrogen:

 
  • flaxseeds (in addition, they have an antitumor effect, which is extremely useful in this case – after all, with acromegaly, pituitary tumor syndrome is often found);
  • legumes: chickpeas, lentils, soybeans, beans, green peas;
  • bran;
  • apricot and dried apricots;
  • cabbage;
  • natural coffe;
  • milk, sour cream, hard cheese, cottage cheese;
  • nuts;
  • sunflower seeds.

Beer also contains estrogen, but this drink should be consumed in small doses.

To strengthen and prevent joints, rich broths, jellied meat, aspic fish, various fruit and berry jelly and jelly are perfect. When preparing meat dishes, you must not remove cartilage and ligaments, bones (bone marrow is useful). They need to be cooked with meat and eaten. They contain mucopolysaccharides, which are essential for healthy joints and ligaments. Eat lots of raw vegetables. They contain a variety of vitamins that help synthesize cartilage tissue. It is useful to prepare salads dressed with vegetable oil. They will help eliminate inflammation thanks to unsaturated fatty acids.

As for calcium, in order to enrich the body with it, it is worth including seafood (sardines, shrimp, mackerel, mussels), more dairy products in the diet.

Also, carbohydrates (but in moderation) will help to stop the production of growth hormone in excess. Therefore, you need to eat:

  1. 1 grapes;
  2. 2 apples;
  3. 3 beets;
  4. 4 ice cream and sweet glazed curds;
  5. 5 zucchini;
  6. 6 fruit juices;
  7. 7 carrot.

Drink mineral water (not carbonated) – it will help not to leave harmful salts in the body.

You should eat stewed, baked in foil products, not smoked, salted, pickled.

Traditional medicine for acromegaly

Decoctions or teas made from:

  • hops;
  • sage;
  • arnica;
  • licorice root and ginseng;
  • chamomile;
  • linden flowers.

Do not forget that herbal decoctions and teas cannot be stored for a long time (they must be drunk during the day when they were infused). If they stand for a long time, they will lose all useful and healing properties. But, worse, they can do harm.

Dangerous and harmful foods for acromegaly

Naturally, harmful products will be products that negatively affect the psychological state of a person, provoking the production of growth hormone. It:

  • large quantities of meat products (especially fatty varieties);
  • foods rich in vitamin A (feta cheese, processed cheese, butter, eel, oysters);
  • foods with amino acids: glutamine, tryptophan, glycine, arginitine, lysine, ortinine;
  • vitamin B3 (corn, chicken and its eggs, liver, mushrooms);
  • alcoholic beverages;
  • smoked, salty, spicy dishes;
  • sweets;
  • sweet soda.

Attention!

The administration is not responsible for any attempt to use the information provided, and does not guarantee that it will not harm you personally. The materials cannot be used to prescribe treatment and make a diagnosis. Always consult your specialist doctor!

Nutrition for other diseases:

1 Comment

  1. Merhaba,
    ben Bursa da yaşıyorum Akromegali ameliyeti oldum , ancak tam olarak temizlenmesi, 1 yıldır somatulin iğne vuruluyorum her ay.
    doğal neler yapabilirim diye araştırırken yazınızı okudum .
    çok teşekkürler farklı bir beslenme modeline geçeceğim çok sevindim .katkılarınız için minnettarım. .♥️ sevgiler

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