Liezl asked...

Autoimmune chronic hepatitis

I have had Auto Immune Chronic hepatitis for 19 year and is treated with Cortisone and Imuran. I also struggled with weight issues from a young age. I moved to the UK 2.5 years ago and have picked up 10kg since moving here. I have managed to loose 4kg but with not eating much and training hard. I want to be able to understand what a healthy diet is and make it a sustainable lifestyle and not have less than 1000 calories for 2 weeks and then 3000 calories a day the next week. Is there any advice you have? Or will I be able to be referred to a dietician that can assist me with this using my AXA private medical care? I want to make sure I have a healthy lifestyle that I can sustain before I start a family.

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The answer

A healthy diet involves eating at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day, carbohydrates, dairy, protein and healthy fats. Everyone’s calorie needs are different. If you are doing a lot of physical activity your calorie requirement will be higher, if more sedentary your calorie needs will be less. There is a good resource on the NHS choice website on eating well. If you specifically want to lose weight talking to a dietitian may be helpful for you as they can look into your specific needs and work out an eating plan with you. They may ask you to keep a food diary for a few weeks to assess your diet. You will need to check with your claims team on cover for access to a dietitian.

Answered by the Health at Hand nurses