United States – Recent research finds that advanced liver cirrhosis can cause high levels of Ammonia in the blood, but the meatless option serves well as a help in the decrease in Ammonia.
Promising Dietary Intervention for Liver Health
Bajaj from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, the study lead author, also said, “It was exciting to see that even small changes in your diet, like having one meal without meat once in a while, could benefit your liver by lowering harmful ammonia levels in patients with cirrhosis.”
Thus, the scientists explained that bacteria naturally residing in your gut produce Ammonia as a by-product of their good digestive work. Under normal circumstances, the liver removes the Ammonia and redirects it into the kidneys, which expel the toxic compound through urine, as reported by HealthDay.
Understanding the Role of Ammonia in Cirrhosis
Nonetheless, cirrhosis limits the kidney’s capacity to excrete Ammonia. Thereby, its production accumulates poisonously.
The scientists emphasized that Ammonia can even pass the barriers of the blood-brain barrier and induce confusion, cerebral or delirium. That’s the hepatic encephalopathy you’re talking about, and if left ignored, it can progress to a point where coma and death can ensue.
Diet may be one of the factors contributing to these processes since Western diets, which cannot boast enough fiber and are rich in meat and carbohydrates, boost the gut-produced Ammonia.
The protein level of the three burgers was the same: about 7 grams. People would eat their burgers with low-fat potato chips, an artisan whole-grain bun, and no toppings.
A few hours later, the researchers determined the blood ammonia level of Bajaj and team members by using amino acids with specific markers.
Impact of Diet on Ammonia Production
By the end of the experiment, the group eating the traditional meat burgers had higher levels of Ammonia in the blood than those who consumed either of the plant-based patties.
So, we are talking about the other criminals, like meat, which was forgotten at the crime scene?
“It can be so hard to make long-term dietary and behavioral changes,” Bajaj acknowledged, but “we wondered if making an occasional change could be an option for these patients. Liver patients with cirrhosis should know that making positive changes in their diet doesn’t have to be overwhelming or difficult.”
Study Design and Findings
In this study, 30 newly recruited meat-eaters with cirrhosis at the Richmond VA Medical Center participated. Patients were asked to eat a meal containing one of three types of burgers. Assorted to a pork/beef mix, one with a vegan meat substitute, and another a “bean burger” with a vegetarian recipe.
.The size of the study group became relevant, which caused the Richmond team to add that the findings were preliminary. Nevertheless, they think it is worth telling doctors to talk to patients whose organs have been scarred by inflammation and ask them to choose plant-based foods instead of meat, as reported by HealthDay.
The findings were published May 2 in Clinical and Translational Gastroenterology.