Sarcoidosis - causes, symptoms, treatment, folk remedies. Is there any benefit from folk remedies in the treatment of lung sarcoidosis? What not to do with sarcoidosis of the lungs

Question from Valentina Kirichenko from Arkhangelsk:

Good afternoon As a result of long examinations, he was diagnosed with sarcoidosis of the lungs. The doctor prescribed hormonal and anti-inflammatory drugs, and also recommended to adhere to diet food. But is there any benefit to dieting in pulmonary sarcoidosis? How should you eat?

Medical specialist response:

Sarcoidosis is a systemic disease, which means that it negatively affects the body's metabolism, slowing it down. Therefore, it is so important to adhere to a balanced diet in the process of treatment and rehabilitation. It is necessary to eat fortified and easily digestible food.

There is no special diet for lung sarcoidosis, but properly organized nutrition will help to significantly reduce the degree of inflammation, restore normal metabolism, and provide essential nutrients.

During the diet for sarcoidosis of the lungs, it is necessary to eat foods rich in protein. These include:

  • dietary meats;
  • chicken eggs;
  • legumes;
  • nuts;
  • fish.

The daily diet should include vegetable fats, complex carbohydrates and vitamins. To reduce the manifestation of inflammation, you should limit the intake of foods containing light carbohydrates (sugar, flour products, sweet carbonated drinks, spicy, salty, fried foods).

One of the features of the disease is a disorder of calcium metabolism - an increased concentration of a substance in the blood. This phenomenon contributes to the inhibition of renal activity and stone formation in the urinary tract and kidneys. Therefore, you should stop eating calcium-rich foods:

  • sour cream;
  • milk;
  • cottage cheese;
  • dairy products.

Butter contains the least amount of calcium, so its use is not limited. But it is also not worth abusing this product.

It is necessary to supply the body with vitamins C and E, for this, tomatoes, citrus fruits, greens, spinach, broccoli should be included in the daily diet. It is recommended to consume all red berries:

  • cherry;
  • mountain ash;

From most of these berries, infusions are made that help reduce the inflammatory process.

In order for the body to receive a sufficient amount of vitamin E, the menu should include foods such as peanuts, red fish, cod liver, steamed wheat grains, squid, dried apricots.

During hormone therapy, nutrition should be treated with special attention, since drugs effectively fight inflammation, but often cause side effects. A balanced diet helps to minimize them.

The diet for pulmonary sarcoidosis does not have strict restrictions, but there are still certain recommendations. If you believe the words of doctors, proper nutrition in sarcoidosis can not only improve the patient's well-being, but sometimes even eliminate the disease altogether.

Almost any disease requires the patient to comply with certain rules. Usually we are talking about a way of life, namely nutrition, physical activity and daily routine. Most often, many doctors recommend a certain diet that could alleviate the course of a particular disease. In some cases, it is necessary to emphasize vitamin E, and in others, vitamin C.

Principles of healthy nutrition

As you know, sarcoidosis is a disease that is characterized by the appearance of small inflammatory foci. Typically, such neoplasms occur on various tissues and organs, but the organs of the respiratory system, namely the lungs, most often suffer. All causes of appearance affect the nature of the patient's diet.

The diet for the diagnosis of sarcoidosis requires the patient to adhere to the following rules:

  • limit the amount of food consumed that can cause or enhance an already existing inflammatory process;
  • significantly reduce the intake of foods that contain calcium;
  • focus on vitamin e, significantly expand the range of products containing this vitamin.

Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory process. It increases, as you know, when taking simple carbohydrates, so experts recommend minimizing their use as much as possible, since in large quantities they provoke the development of the disease. With sarcoidosis of the lungs, you need to limit yourself to sugar, flour and confectionery. In addition, any inflammatory process can only be aggravated by excessive consumption of salty and fried foods. It is not recommended to add a lot of spices and hot seasonings to food.

Another feature of sarcoidosis is an increased amount of calcium in the blood. Quite often, with pulmonary inflammation, this phenomenon is accompanied by the appearance of calcium stones, which are excreted through urethra and kidneys. That is why many experts recommend practically eliminating dairy products from the daily diet, except for butter, which contains practically no calcium. But to abuse this product is not very useful.

Sarcoidosis requires the patient to take vitamin E regularly, whether in capsule form or in food form. Almost all types of nuts, seafood and sea fish, spinach, oatmeal and barley groats, as well as sea buckthorn are rich in vitamin e.

Foods for saroidosis

Nutrition in the process of treating this pulmonary disease, nutrition should be balanced and complete. Experts recommend eating at least 5 times a day in small portions. This mode is able to normalize not only the digestive system, but also stop the development of inflammatory processes in other organs.

It is very useful for sarcoidosis to eat lean meats. As a rule, these are chicken, beef and dietary rabbit. You should not deny yourself legumes, as well as nuts, although they are nutritious. Low-fat sea fish will be quite useful. All these foods contain a sufficient amount of vitamin E, which makes them especially in demand for such a diagnosis. Do not forget about various cereals and fresh vegetables and fruits.

Fats of animal origin should be replaced as much as possible with vegetable analogues.

The basis of the diet should be more sunflower and olive oil than lard and other animal fats.

In addition, emphasis should be placed on the use of complex carbohydrates, but not simple ones. Fresh white bread should be replaced with wholemeal bread. Fruits can be consumed in dried form, as they contain less easily digestible carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates help the body function normally without raising existing blood sugar levels.

Scientists have proven that it is especially important during the period of the disease to consume onions and garlic, which kill all harmful bacteria and infections that enter our body.

No less useful will be the use of absolutely all red berries. It can be currants, gooseberries, cherries, raspberries, mountain ash and even viburnum. Most of these berries are used to make special tinctures, which, according to doctors, heal inflammatory processes and serve to prevent the emergence of new ones.

It is very important to regularly consume seaweed and other products of marine origin (fish, seafood). All these components of a normal person enrich his body with potassium, magnesium, iodine and other very useful trace elements. Thanks to such proper nutrition, inflammatory wounds will soon disappear and will never bother you again.

What can become dangerous

With sarcoidosis, there are a number of restrictions that the patient must adhere to, otherwise the disease will begin to progress even more. The patient should stop smoking. As you know, in the case of sarcoidosis, it is the lungs that suffer. Smoking further irritates the mucous membranes, which only complicates the process of tissue regeneration.

In no case should you eat dairy products that have calcium in their composition. As a rule, these are hard cheeses, milk, cottage cheese, sour cream and kefir. Sometimes you can afford butter. If you do not follow this recommendation, there is a risk of kidney stones, which are very difficult and painful to remove.

Under no circumstances should you consume an excessive amount of sweets: cakes, chocolate, caramel, condensed milk. Yeast dough also negatively affects the disease, so it is better to exclude pastries. It is not recommended to drink carbonated drinks and sweet juices.

It is strictly forbidden to drink alcoholic beverages, as they can adversely affect not only the digestive system, but also interfere with recovery from a disease such as sarcoidosis.

Video about the causes and treatment of sarcoidosis:

Adhering to a sarcoidosis diet is very simple, as such a diet has few restrictions compared to other diets, and if you want your illness to go away as soon as possible, try to follow all the above recommendations.

Nutrition in sarcoidosis is one of the important components; the inclusion of certain foods in the daily diet can have a beneficial effect on human health, which manifests itself in the regression of the disease up to a complete cure.

When talking about, it should be understood: food suitable for one person may be intolerable to others. You need to be able to understand your body and adjust it to proper nutrition gradually and measuredly.

Features of the sarcoidosis diet

Which causes the formation of granulomas. Granular formations can be located in any system of the body: in the lungs, lymph nodes, skin, heart and liver.

Thus, emphasis should be placed on foods that have certain anti-inflammatory properties.

Note! "Natural" treatment in no way means giving up drug therapy! However, proper nutrition in sarcoidosis and lifestyle control can achieve a better result in the fight against the disease.

Foods for Sarcoidosis

Each of the following products is accompanied by a certain number - this is the so-called anti-inflammatory action coefficient (APC).

A positive CVD value indicates the degree of anti-inflammatory effect of a food product (the higher the number, the better), and a negative number indicates a low efficiency in the fight against inflammation (such products, on the contrary, can support pathological processes in the body).

anti-inflammatory fruits

Any of these fruits can be included in the daily diet: for example, prepare a dessert in the form of strawberries or a fresh tomato salad.

anti-inflammatory vegetables

In the realities of the post-Soviet space, it is easiest (and more affordable) to eat potatoes, cabbage and carrots.


Anti-Inflammatory Nuts and Seeds

Anti-inflammatory oils and fats

Attention! Do not overdo it - the oil has a laxative effect!

Anti-inflammatory seafood and fish

Note! You should not "lean" on anti-inflammatory seafood - they are rich in calcium, the excessive intake of which is highly undesirable for patients with sarcoidosis!

Diet in sarcoidosis is of secondary importance. Moreover, there is no special diet for sarcoidosis, but there are recommendations for the nutrition of patients with sarcoidosis, including for patients receiving hormonal treatment. Proper nutrition helps to avoid complications that develop when taking glucocorticoid hormones.

Features of nutrition in sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis is a disease characterized by the formation of small foci of inflammatory processes (granulomas) in various organs and tissues. The most commonly affected tissue is the lungs. The cause of the disease has not yet been established. But it is believed that there is more than one reason, there is a combination of genetic, immunological, metabolic characteristics of the patient's body and the impact of environmental factors. All these features of sarcoidosis somehow affect the nutrition of the patient.

For the treatment of sarcoidosis, glucocorticoid hormones are often used - this point should also be taken into account in the patient's diet - with the right diet, you can avoid side effects these drugs.

Rule One: Fewer Foods That Could Increase Inflammation

The diet for sarcoidosis (including the diet for sarcoidosis of the lungs) is not critical - there is simply no special diet. However, there are a number of nutritional guidelines that you should follow.

Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory process. And any inflammatory process is enhanced by food rich in simple carbohydrates. Therefore, all sweets and floury rich products should be excluded from the diet (or consumed to a minimum): sugar, sweets, cakes, pastries, yeast dough pies, sweet carbonated drinks, and so on.

Any inflammatory process is also enhanced by the use of spicy, salty and fried foods. Therefore, spicy, spicy, salty dishes should be excluded from the daily diet of patients with sarcoidosis. An exception is made only for onions and garlic - they are believed to be useful in sarcoidosis, although there is no scientific justification for this conclusion.

Rule Two: Fewer Calcium-Containing Foods

One of the features of sarcoidosis is an increased amount of calcium in the blood. And since it is excreted in the urine, calcium stones can form in the kidneys and urinary tract.

Most calcium is found in milk and dairy products, so it is worth limiting milk, dairy products, cottage cheese, cheese, sour cream. Butter contains less calcium, so it can be consumed without restrictions, but not abused.

Nutrition in sarcoidosis - so what can you eat?

Since the metabolism is always violated in systemic diseases, special attention should be paid to ensuring that the food is complete and easily digestible. As you know, steamed food is easier to digest by boiling or stewing. Eating regularly is also important.

Frequent smaller meals are suitable for sarcoidosis - in small portions 5-6 times a day. So food is better absorbed, which helps to improve metabolism.

A complete food is a sufficient content of all food ingredients, including proteins (lean meat, fish, eggs), fats (vegetable fats and fatty varieties of sea fish are especially useful), carbohydrates (these are complex carbohydrates found in cereals, vegetables, bread coarse grinding), vitamins and minerals (they are also found in vegetables and fruits).

It is advisable for patients with sarcoidosis to consume more sea buckthorn, chokeberry, black currant, gooseberry, cherry, pomegranate, onion, garlic, seaweed , buckwheat and oatmeal, beans, peas. Nuts and apricot kernels are considered useful for sarcoidosis. From drinks you can make infusions of rose hips, currant leaves, raspberries , citrus peel. Freshly squeezed pomegranate, citrus, apple and carrot juices are useful.

What to eat while taking glucocorticoids

One of the main methods of treatment of sarcoidosis is hormonal therapy - taking glucocorticosteroid hormones (GCS - hormones of the adrenal medulla), which actively suppress the inflammatory process. The treatment is very effective, but corticosteroids have significant side effects, so in order to reduce them, you should follow certain dietary rules:

  • GCS contribute to fluid retention and the formation of edema, so you should limit salty foods as much as possible; this is especially important in the case when the patient has stable high blood pressure - corticosteroids and salt contribute to its growth;
  • GCS contribute to the increase in body weight, so you need to completely exclude sweets, muffins and all fatty foods;
  • GCS contribute to increased protein breakdown in tissues, especially in muscle tissue, so the daily diet of a patient receiving GCS should contain a large amount of protein.

Galina Romanenko

Sarcoidosis is a rather rare disease, but very specific. Quite often, a chronic disease of inflammatory etymology is asymptomatic, and it is detected already for a very long time. later dates along with the occurrence of complications - in particular the development of respiratory failure. Sarcoidosis is not contagious and is treated medically with corticosteroids, intravenously or by inhalation.

One of the most important factors in a person's recovery from the above disease is!

Diet for sarcoidosis - do's and don'ts?

The basic principle of compiling a daily diet is a balanced, easily digestible and complete diet, with as few foods as possible that can increase inflammatory processes in the body. There is no special, clear list of allowed and prohibited foods, but the main emphasis should be on boiled, stewed and steamed foods.

What can you eat with sarcoidosis?

It is quite useful to eat cheeses, eggs, lean meats, soybeans, cottage cheese, nuts, beans, rice, peas, wheat, buckwheat and pasta from durum varieties wheat, and potatoes.

To maintain a balance in the nutrition of the patient, nuts, vegetable oils and other foods that saturate the body are also included in the daily diet. healthy fats. An additional positive factor is, in particular, carrots, asparagus, celery, cucumbers, cabbage, eggplant, tomatoes, radishes, fresh peas, lettuce. It would be useful to regularly consume dried apricots, cereals, wholemeal bread, strawberries, skim milk, herbs, artichokes, grapefruit, and other foods rich in complex carbohydrates that do not increase.

Garlic, onions, apricot kernels, seaweed, currants, pomegranates, cherries, gooseberries, sea buckthorn, rose hips, honeysuckle, horseradish, spinach, kiwi and citrus fruits, as well as hot and sweet peppers are useful for sarcoidosis.

From liquids, give preference to juices from apples, carrots and, as well as infusions of raspberries, currants, rose hips. To increase immunity, normalize bowel function and improve resistance to infections, include liver, butter, sour cream, melted cheese, feta cheese, green peas, lentils, peanuts, beans, raisins, bran, almonds, hazelnuts, figs, cashews, dried apricots,

  1. Do not abuse foods rich in calcium, exclude muffins, flour products, sweets, sweet carbonated drinks, a variety of yeast dough products, spices, fried foods, pickles from the diet.
  2. Refrain from consumption alcoholic beverages any type, including beer.
  3. Be sure to stop smoking, as tobacco smoke will only increase lung damage.

Traditional medicine offers a number of recipes that help or significantly reduce the negative impact of the disease on the body. Before using folk remedies and testing recipes, be sure to consult your doctor!

  1. Buy a tincture of Rhodiola rosea, sold in a pharmacy, and drink 25 drops of liquid twice a day before meals.
  2. Mix 30 grams of vegetable oil and good, take the tincture three times a day, five drops for six months.
  3. Buy an aqueous solution of lungwort (1 part of the plant to 10 parts of water), take it in a third of a glass three times a day on Tuesdays and Fridays before meals for a month.
  4. Pour 100 grams of beaver gland with 500 grams of vodka and take 20 drops three times a day for three months.
  5. An ancient recipe against sarcoidosis is a tincture of nine parts of stinging nettle and St. John's wort, mixed with 1 part of coltsfoot, goose peppermint, celandine and psyllium, brewed in 500 milliliters of boiling water and infused for an hour. It is necessary to drink this remedy once a day, no more than a glass for a month.
  6. Take 1 tablespoon of sage, plantain, calendula, oregano and bird knotweed, pour the collection with 250 milliliters of boiling water and leave in a thermos for a day. You need to drink the remedy in a third of a glass three times a day before meals for five days.

vitamins for sarcoidosis

Vitamins are an integral part, actively prescribed by all attending physicians. In most cases, they are taken along with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and are strictly dosed.

Sarcoidosis can be called a type of cancer, therefore, in order to activate the body's antioxidant counteraction, the patient is usually prescribed 300 to 500 milligrams of vitamin E daily. To enhance the effect, it is also desirable to take vitamin C - it not only activates the E-complex, but also helps it to be absorbed faster, while strengthening the immune system.

Recent studies by American scientists show that effective tool against sarcoidosis, are also a group of polyunsaturated omega-3 acids, taken in prophylactic dosages.

Useful video

The release of the program "Life is great!" about sarcoidosis