Resources for cooking for Wilson's Disease?

Resources for cooking for Wilson's Disease? - Corn and Red Tomato on Green Table

I have a friend who has been diagnosed with Wilson's disease, and needs to go on a low-copper diet.

There are plenty of websites that spell out which foods are okay and which to avoid. (some are more complete or more detailed (2) than others ... but there isn't the wealth of information as with other food restrictions (lists of specific brands to prefer over other ones for given items, recommended substitutions (eg, for a non-soy soy sauce), recipes tailored to the restriction, etc.).

The only thing that I've found with any deeper information is a thread on a discussion board. (which requires logging in to read easily)

Is anyone aware of any other resources with advice / menu planning recommendations for dealing with this situation?

update: I was trying to not explain the health side of things, but as most people aren't familiar with Wilson's Disease (I wasn't until a couple of months ago; and it's not Wilson's Syndrome): the issue is your body absorbing too much copper, which causes liver failure (and then death). I didn't ask specifically about 'low copper diets', because although a low copper diet is part of the treatment (<1mg/day initially, so about 50% of the US FDA Daily Recommended Value), you also have to avoid anything else that would stress the liver (so alcohol is out)



Best Answer

When I saw this question a few months ago, I didn't want to answer it because:

cooking for people with any kind of nutritional disease is not only difficult, but also dangerous,

therefore, before you move on, please ensure:

  1. You have to have more than a basic understanding of (bio)chemistry
  2. You have to have more than a basic understanding of nutrition
  3. You have to have more than a basic understanding of Databases
  4. You have to consult your physician (in this case: your friend's endocrinologist) with any recipe that you come up with using the below method:

The best freely publicly available scientific source for nutrition is the United States Department of Agriculture's SR28 Database so start with reading the manual!

In this particular case of Wilson's disease, the NUTR_DEF 312 Cu is the one to look out for, so load the raw data files into your favourite RDBMS, delete all references in FOOD_DES that contain 312 and presto: you have a USDA database customised to your friend's disease!

Select any of the ingredients that are left in the database, and start coming up with safe and yummy recipes that you have to give to your friend's endocrinologist to vouch for them before actually making them... :)

Note 1: If you have multiple friends with multiple allergies and intolerances, you leave everything in the database and SELECT * FROM Food_Des WHERE Nutrient_No NOT IN (Nutrient, Nutrient, ... );

Note 2: I answered your question because I feel sorry for your friend and no one has even tempted to answer your question in the last few months that I can notice.

Note 3: No, Seasoned advice is not a recipe-writing service so don't bother asking for recipes, they're off-topic here!

Note 4: Yes, I'm a chemist and I help my cousin, who's a professional chef, come up with recipes for sick children's birthday parties, but I have her run any recipes by the child's doctor...




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Which food is good for Wilson disease?

Low Copper Foods:
  • Beef.
  • Eggs.
  • White meat turkey and chicken.
  • Cold cuts and frankfurters that do not contain pork, dark turkey, dark chicken, or organ meats.
  • Most vegetables including fresh tomatoes.
  • Breads and pasta from refined flour.
  • Rice.
  • Regular oatmeal.


What vegetable is low in copper?

Cabbage is also one of the many vegetables that are low in copper. It's also low-calorie but rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It contains high amounts of vitamin K and vitamin C.



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