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The patient should be kept in bed. He must abstain completely from
alcohol in any form. He should undergo an initial liver cleaning
programme with a juice fast for five to seven days. Freshly-extracted
juices from red beets, lemon, papaya and grapes may be taken during
this period. This may be followed by the fruit and milk diet for two or
three weeks. In this regimen, the patient should have three meals a day
of fresh juicy fruits and milk. The fruits may include apple, pear,
grapes, grapefruit, orange, pineapple and peach. One litre of milk may
be taken on the first day. It should be increased by 250 ml daily up to
two litres a day. The milk should be fresh and unboiled, but may be
slightly warmed, if desired. It should be sipped very slowly.
After the fruit-and-milk diet, the patient may gradually embark upon a
well-balanced diet of three basic food groups, namely (i) seeds, nuts
and grains (ii) vegetables and (iii) fruits, with emphasis on raw
organically-grown foods. Adequate high quality protein is necessary in
cirrhosis. The best complete proteins for liver patients are obtained
from raw goat's milk, home-made raw cottage cheese, sprouted seeds and
grains and raw nuts, especially almonds. Vegetables such as beets,
squashes, bitter gourd, egg-plant, tomato, carrot, radish and papaya
are useful in this condition. All fats and oils should be excluded from
the diet for several weeks.
The patient should avoid all refined, processed and canned foods, sugar
in any form, spices and condiments, strong tea and coffee, fried foods,
all preparations cooked in ghee, oil or butter and all meats rich in
fat. The use of salt should be restricted. The patient should also
avoid all chemical additives in food and poisons in air, water and
environment.
The juice of carrot, in combination with spinach juice, or cucumber and
beet juice, has been found beneficial in the treatment of cirrhosis of
the liver. In the first combination, 200 ml. of spinach juice should be
mixed with 300 ml. of carrot juice to prepare 500 ml. or half a litre
of combined juices. In the second c6mbination, 100 ml. each of cucumber
and beet juices should be mixed with 300 ml. of carrot juice to prepare
500 ml. or half a litre of combined juices. In the second combination,
100 ml. each of cucumber and beet juices should be mixed with 300 ml.
of carrot juice.
Black seeds of papaya have been found useful in the cirrhosis of the
liver, caused by alcoholism and malnutrition. A tablespoon of juice
obtained by grinding the seeds, mixed with 10 drops of fresh lime
juice, should be given once or twice daily for about a month as a
medicine for this disease. |