The American College of Gastroenterology published a stand-alone guideline on nutrition in liver disease, and recently, lead author Ashwani Singal, MD, MS, a transplant hepatologist and professor of medicine at the University of Louisville, in Kentucky, sat down with GEN to discuss key points from the guidelines that practitioners should keep in mind when treating these patients.
In this first part of the interview, Dr. Singal addressed some common misconceptions related to liver disease and diet.
“There is a myth … that people who have liver disease or cirrhosis patients should avoid protein intake, but that’'s not true,” Dr. Singal said, explaining that these patients typically are “losing muscle mass, and if you cut protein, you’re further exacerbating that.”
He also noted that even patients with a high body mass index can have sarcopenia or malnutrition.
Stay tuned for part 2 of our discussion and check out the full interview here.
—GEN Staff
Dr. Singal is a member of the Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News editorial board.