What is Hepatitis B? How to eat when you have hepatitis B

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are more than 2 billion people infected with hepatitis B worldwide, an increase of about 1.5 million new infections every year. In Vietnam, the number of people infected with hepatitis B accounts for about 20% of the population.

This is a dangerous disease and can happen to anyone. Therefore, in this article, let’s learn about what hepatitis B is, how harmful it is and the dietary notes of people with hepatitis B.

What is Hepatitis B?

According to health website Vinmec, hepatitis B is an infectious disease, caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV), with an incubation period of 3-6 months. The virus is spherical in shape, surrounded by a lipoprotein envelope containing the HBsAg surface antigen. The disease is manifested in two forms, chronic hepatitis B and acute hepatitis B.

People with chronic hepatitis B will be at greater risk because this is the cause of complications such as liver failure, cirrhosis or even liver cancer , greatly affecting the patient’s health.

Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV).

Symptoms of Hepatitis B

In the acute form, the body often encounters conditions such as: Jaundice, yellow eyes, dark urine, body fatigue, loss of appetite, or nausea, abdominal pain, …

When in the chronic form, the correct way to detect it is a blood test. At this time, in addition to the above symptoms, the patient has symptoms such as right upper quadrant pain, itching, yellow skin, yellow eyes, bleeding under the skin, abdominal swelling, abdominal distension, …

Jaundice, yellow eyes, dark urine, etc. are manifestations of hepatitis B

Causes of Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B virus is considered to have a similar infection mechanism to HIV virus, but is warned to be more dangerous, so you need to be careful with the following routes of infection:

Bloodborne infection

There are many reasons for the hepatitis B virus to be transmitted through blood, such as: Exposing an open wound to an infected person’s blood, reusing needles, medical syringes, getting a tattoo, or getting an ear piercing. Tools are not cleaned properly , and blood from infected people is transferred to non-infected people. Or sharing toothbrushes, razors is also a high cause of infection.

Bloodborne infection

Sexually transmitted

Like HIV, if you have unprotected sex, even if you are heterosexual or same-sex, there is a high risk of transmitting the hepatitis B virus to your partner.

Sexually transmitted

Spread from mother to child

Sadly, when the mother is infected with the hepatitis B virus, the chance of the fetus being infected is also very high . Accordingly, the infection rate will increase depending on the stage of pregnancy. In the first 3 months of pregnancy the infection rate in babies is 10% and in the last 3 months of pregnancy the infection rate increases to 60-70%.

Spread from mother to child

How to eat when you have hepatitis B

Eat small meals, eat on time

When sick, the body is tired and will lose appetite, causing a lack of nutrients so that the liver can recover. On the contrary, if you take in too much nutrients, it will make the liver work too hard, causing the liver to fail . Therefore, you need to have a suitable diet by dividing meals and eating at the right time for better absorption by the body, reducing pressure on the liver.

Eat small meals at the right time to reduce pressure on the liver

Balance between 4 groups of nutrients

Carbohydrates, also known as carbohydrates found in rice, bread, tubers, sugar, corn, etc. Need to add 300-400g/day because carbohydrates provide energy for damaged cell tissues in the liver. be recovered

Need to supplement Carbohydrate 300-400g/day

Protein or protein : You can add 50% protein from vegetables, fruits, grains, the remaining 50% from animal food sources such as: Meat, fish, eggs and milk, ensuring maintenance 1 – 1.5g/kg protein in total body weight.

Add enough protein for the body

Fat : Although fat is bad for people with hepatitis B, you should not cut it out completely because other organs are still very much needed. Fat sources can be obtained from beans, sesame, eggs or steamed fish, braised fish is not too fatty but still nutritious.

Do not completely cut out fat

Vitamins and minerals : Whether you have disease or not, vegetables and fruits are nutritious sources of vitamins that we should supplement every day. People with hepatitis B should eat at least 200g of fresh fruits and 300g of green vegetables to get enough vitamins and minerals for the body to function.

Vitamin and mineral supplements are necessary

Foods that should be avoided

For people with hepatitis B, the liver is sick, so it will metabolize poorly, you need to stay away from the following foods to not make the disease worse.

• Do not eat raw foods and contain many preservatives and additives because they cause Kupffer macrophages to be over-activated to produce inflammatory substances that damage the liver.
• Do not eat fatty and greasy foods such as fried, fried, grilled, fast food,…
• Completely cut down on alcohol , because alcohol will cause toxins and bacteria to move from the intestines to the liver, so it is easy to be poisoned.

Should completely cut down on alcohol

• Limit eating foods that are too nutritious, high in protein, hot like: Goat meat, dog meat, egg yolk, …
• Do not eat too spicy, too salty such as: chili, pepper, ginger, onion, … or foods containing many toxins such as bamboo shoots, tapioca, green tomatoes, sprouted potatoes, …
• Limit the nuts that contain a lot of fat such as: peanuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, … interferes with fat metabolism, causing fat accumulation in the liver, worsening liver function
• Do not eat sea fish because it contains blood-clotting agents that can cause bleeding.

Above is the information that Tnhelearning.edu.vn wants to bring to those who want to learn about what hepatitis B is and what is a reasonable diet when having hepatitis B. Follow the article to update more useful information.

Source: Vinmec expert advice by Dr. Mang Thi Phuong Mai – Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine – Vinmec Nha Trang International General Hospital

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