Patients with chronic liver disease ——- nighttime addition benefits Many patients with chronic liver disease, especially cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, liver failure, their performance is related to malnutrition, such as wasting, weight loss, muscle tissue reduction or atrophy, dull complexion, persistent weakness and discomfort, low albumin and prealbumin on laboratory tests, slow or no elevation after supplementation of albumin, slow recovery of liver function, recurrent ascites, abdominal cavity infections, etc. These problems can be improved by a very simple and effective method – adding meals at night. 1. Why do we need to add meals at night? Under normal circumstances, the energy required for human life activities comes from sugar, protein and fat. Among them, glucose is the main energy-supplying substance. After eating, the temporarily unused glucose is converted into glycogen and stored in the liver and skeletal muscle, and then taken out when the body needs energy to provide energy for the body. In chronic liver disease, glycogen synthesis and storage are reduced, so when hunger is prolonged, the body increases the breakdown of fats and proteins to provide energy. This makes patients with liver disease prone to wasting, weight loss,, and decreased albumin, and liver function does not easily recover. If liver disease patients can add a meal at night to provide the energy needed at night, it will reduce the decomposition of protein and fat in the body and reduce the above symptoms. 2.How to take extra meal at night? The time of nighttime meal addition is usually half an hour to one hour before bedtime. The content of the extra meal is required to provide 200 kcal of calories, mainly carbohydrates, and patients who are in a position to do so can add protein or branched-chain amino acids, vitamins and trace elements as appropriate. Specific types can be chosen from lotus root powder, sesame paste, yogurt, skim milk, branched-chain amino acids, hot soy milk, soy milk, etc. If conditions are limited, adding foods such as steamed buns and glucose can also be effective. If you have mild hepatic encephalopathy, you can gradually increase from a small amount and adjust your protein intake in time. 3.What are the benefits of adding meals at night? Nighttime meal addition is based on comprehensive and systematic etiological treatment. Under such premise, nighttime meal addition will have twice the effect with half the effort. After a period of meal addition, patients will see a stable or even rising albumin, or no longer need to input albumin too frequently, ascites will gradually disappear, the chance of abdominal infection will decrease, liver function will recover faster, weakness and dullness will gradually improve, weight will gradually increase. The disease progresses more slowly, the number of hospitalization is reduced, the hospitalization time is shortened, the quality of life is improved, etc. 4.What kind of people are suitable for nighttime meal addition? Patients with obvious liver disease, especially chronic severe hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure, who have good gastrointestinal tract function and can tolerate the night meal, without obvious contraindications, can consider the night meal. Patients with malnutrition diagnosed by physicians, patients with low albumin level, patients with slow or no increase or rapid decrease after albumin input, patients with recurrent hospitalization for liver cirrhosis and liver cancer, patients with persistent weight loss and weakness, patients who need to undergo hepatobiliary surgery, liver transplantation or liver intervention.