Splenomegaly Diet : 12 Foods To Avoid With Enlarged Spleen

The spleen is an organ that is present in the upper left abdomen of our body.
It is a pivotal organ of our lymphatic system that plays plenty of tasks, including regulating the red blood cells, storing white blood cells, and safeguarding the proper storage of platelets. All these functions help our immune system to respond appropriately in the case of an injury/disease.

Under certain circumstances (infections and diseases), the spleen becomes enlarged in weight or size, this condition is called splenomegaly.

Although there hasn’t been much research on the subject, there is no specific enlarged spleen diet as such, but certain changes to your daily dietary habits may be helpful if you are suffering from an enlarged spleen (splenomegaly) or if you wish to steer clear of medical concerns associated with the condition.Further, in case of any complications one must consult a doctor to get treatment or medications to avoid enlarged spleen.

In this article, we are going to mention how your diet will increase/decrease your risk of an enlarged spleen. We will also discuss what foods to avoid with an enlarged spleen.

What Is Splenomegaly / Enlarged Spleen?

The weight of a healthy spleen is around 0.15–0.44 pounds (70–200 grams).

A weight of 0. 88–1. 1 pounds (400–500 grams) is referred to as splenomegaly. If the weight of your spleen is more than 2.2 pounds (1 kg), it is called massive splenomegaly. Splenomegaly may be an acute or prolonged condition. Due to infection or trauma, your spleen may become temporarily enlarged, with chronic diseases like cancer that can lead to a prolonged enlarged spleen.

Enlarged Spleen / Splenomegaly Causes

Some causes of an enlarged spleen are

• Trauma
• Heart failure
• Certain cancers
• Infections like mononucleosis
• Autoimmune diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis
• Abscesses

Splenomegaly / Enlarged Spleen Symptoms

If you have an enlarged spleen, you are more prone to developing infection risk and anemia. Anemia indicates that your organs are not getting adequate oxygen.

How Diet Affects Spleen Health

The foods that you are consuming will give you energy, build and repair cells, and more. Your dietary choices can influence every organ of your body, including your spleen.

A diet that contains ultra-processed foods like fast food, soda, and packaged snack foods will enhance the risk of conditions related to an enlarged spleen, such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease NAFLD or obesity. On the other hand, if you follow a nutrient-rich diet like vegetables and fruits will minimize your chance of developing RA, NAFLD, and other conditions.

12 Foods to Avoid with Enlarged Spleen

Despite these big lists of foods to avoid spleen problems, still, there are some foods that you can eat even with spleen trouble.

1. Sugary Foods

2. Alcohol

Drinking alcohol will aggravate your enlarged spleen condition. Excessive alcohol may cause your blood cell level to go low, and thus, inhibits the function of the spleen. You may also suffer from a disease called anemia. To ease the symptoms of an enlarged spleen, you must avoid or restrict your alcohol consumption.

3. Caffeine

Tea and coffee possess antioxidants that are used to lessen inflammation. But if you consume too much coffee, this can affect your sleeping patterns, and as a result, your inflammation will also increase. Several studies have claimed that consuming coffee with a weak spleen may irritate your system.

4. Diet Sodas

Sodas contain ingredients like artificial colors and sweeteners called saccharin and aspartame. These are not healthy for your immune system. Rather than drinking carbonated beverages, you should drink water to quench your thirst.

5. Processed Oils

If you prepare your foods with refined oils, then this will enhance the production of free radicals in the body. These free radicals will damage your tissues and may cause inflammation. Thus, your immune system gets exposed to various diseases and infections. Thus, natural oils are recommended as they contain a higher amount of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins.

6. Fast Foods

If you want to lessen the symptoms of your enlarged spleen, then you should stay away from all types of fast foods. Fast foods are not healthy for your immune system because they contain a lot of salt. Excessive salt consumption may result in immune deficiencies. 

7. Cold Foods

If you are suffering from enlarged spleen problems, avoid cold and raw food items. Discard those food items that are stored in your refrigerator, as your body may not digest them. Since you can’t consume large meals, you prefer those foods that can be easily digested. Don’t eat raw vegetables and green salads as they come up with higher water content that will enhance your swelling. 

8. Cooked Vegetables

You can easily digest properly cooked vegetables even with an enlarged spleen. Such vegetables are parsnip, pumpkin, turnip, winter squash, and carrot. You can also consume legumes like peas, black beans, and garbanzo to your diet. Green vegetables that contain higher Vitamin A are great for your immune system function.

9. Food Rich in Zinc

Zinc will minimize your inflammation and assuage stress. Some zinc-rich food items that you can incorporate into your diet are crab, lobster, oysters, clams, and mussels. 

10. Seeds and Nuts

Try to consume nuts and seeds like hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios, sesame, flax, chia, pumpkin, and peanuts.

11. Immune Booster Foods

Add citrus fruits that are rich in vitamin C to your diet. These fruits support and boost your immune system. You can take fruits like acai berry, figs, dates, apples, red grapes, apricots, plums, watermelon, and peach.

12. Spices

You can prepare your food by adding spices like ginger, nutmeg, aniseed, rosemary, cinnamon, vanilla, garlic, turmeric, molasses, capsicum, and fennel.

Other foods to avoid with an enlarged spleen are red meat, packaged cookies, dairy products, white bread, shellfish, and so on.

Splenomegaly / Enlarged Spleen – What To Do?

To reduce the effects of enlarged spleen, sit upright and chew your food thoroughly before swallowing. Don’t take snacks between your meals, as they are unwholesome for your spleen. Discard those food items that will further weaken your immune system and make you more susceptible to infections. Vitamins C, E, A, and D, zinc, and selenium are excellent choices for your immune system. So, eat food items that contain these ingredients.

Consult General-Physician!

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   https://www.uofmhealthsparrow.org/departments-conditions/conditions/enlarged-spleen-splenomegaly .Accessed April 17, 2023.
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   https://www.news-medical.net/health/Enlarged-Spleen-(Splenomegaly).aspx .Accessed April 19, 2023.