Nutritional care in alcoholic hepatitis
Keywords:
Metabolism, Carbohydrates, ProteinsAbstract
The liver plays a central role in the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins, and in the storage, activation, and transport of vitamins and minerals. Therefore, any disease that alters its function can lead to malnutrition. In alcoholic hepatitis, malnutrition is due to several factors: decreased food intake; maldigestion and malabsorption; increased energy requirements; decreased protein synthesis; increased protein catabolism; and decreased reserve capacity. Other consequences of exacerbated alcohol consumption (consumption/day exceeds 80g of ethanol/day), can be: hyperlipidemia; hypoglycemia; alteration in intestinal motility; diarrhea; steatorrhea; deficiency of vitamins and minerals. Therefore, carriers of alcoholic hepatitis need nutritional care with the objectives of improving quality of life, maintaining liver function, recovering adequate weight, controlling protein catabolism, maintaining nitrogen balance, and protein synthesis.
