The famous Greek healer Hippocrates said: "We are what we eat! " He is right in many ways, meaning by this the culture of food consumption, its usefulness or harm in relation to the human body. Therefore, some products are vital for the normal full functioning of all organs and systems, while others, on the contrary, reduce the quality of life and lead to serious diseases, for example pancreatitis. In this case, a correct and balanced diet is a panacea, preventing possible relapses.
Pancreatitis is an inflammatory process that occurs in the pancreas. This organ plays an important role in the functioning of the digestive tract. Its main functions are the production of insulin, as well as digestive enzymes necessary for the breakdown and digestion of nutrients:
trypsine, for protein digestion;
lipase, for processing fats;
lactase, maltase, amylase, invertase, which ensure the transformation of complex carbohydrates into monosaccharides.
Normally, pancreatic juice, saturated with enzymes, enters the duodenum through the ducts, where the main stage of digestion of food occurs. The pathology occurs when the secretion of the enzymatic fluid is too active, its quantity becomes such that it cannot physiologically migrate "rapidly" from the gland. Stagnation occurs during which digestive enzymes interact with pancreatic cells, leading to their death, stimulating inflammation.
In most cases, pancreatitis is a consequence of excessive and regular consumption of alcohol, fatty and heavy foods. Such a diet leads to the fact that the pancreas constantly works in an enhanced mode, producing an excessive amount of enzymes, which have a toxic effect not only on the organ itself, but also on other life support systems, entering the systemic bloodstream.
The same reactions are possible when taking some drugs.
Another common cause of the disease is partial or complete obstruction of the pancreatic duct. This may be due to stone formation (in the case of cholelithiasis), cyst formation, tumors, lesions and, in rare cases, a structural abnormality. Less commonly diagnosed are cases of disease development due to parasitism of pathogenic microorganisms and other gastrointestinal pathologies (cholecystitis, cholangitis, etc. ).
General rules
There are two main forms of pathology: acute and chronic. In the first case, the symptoms are more pronounced: there is severe pain in the left side, radiating to the forearm, frequent vomiting and hyperemia. An attack usually occurs after eating fried or spicy foods or alcoholic beverages. In this case, urgent hospitalization and immediate treatment are required to stabilize the condition as quickly as possible and avoid dangerous complications such as pancreatic necrosis and multiple organ failure.
In the first 2-3 days after the attack it is forbidden to eat any food to stop the production of enzymatic secretions. During this time, the body is nourished through an IV.
It is allowed to drink to taste, but in small portions. Consumption of mineral or boiled water, poorly brewed tea and rosehip decoction is allowed. After the pain subsides, the patient gradually transitions to a normal diet. It is important not to overload the gland and give it time to recover, so the diet should be as gentle as possible. You should eat food in portions of no more than 150 g up to 6 times a day.
All dishes are prepared in liquid or semi-liquid form (broths, purees, porridges) by boiling or steaming and cooled to a warm temperature before serving. Gradually, the diet is expanded, adding more high-calorie, non-chopped foods. Further nutrition for pancreatitis still remains fractional and sparing.
With a chronic disease, the clinical picture is not so bright. The pathology, in this case, has already affected most of the glandular tissues, leading to serious disruptions in the functioning of the organ, mainly in the full production of enzymes. Persistent digestive disorders are observed: diarrhea, bloating, changes in the nature of the stool, but no pain occurs. However, during a flare-up, the symptoms become more intense and are accompanied by severe pain.
Dietary adjustments are made based on the same principles as for acute pancreatitis. After a three-day fast, the patient switches to low-calorie fractional meals (protein - 60 g, fat - 50 g per day). This regimen is indicated for a period of 5 to 7 days. Also, the nature of food changes depending on the patient's condition. Preference is given to proteins, the amount of fat remains low. Liquid foods are supplemented with viscous and finely chopped ones; Stewed or baked cooking is permitted.
Daily salt intake should not exceed 6 g (for any form of pathology).
Why follow a pancreatitis diet?
An acute attack of the disease is a serious damage to the health of the gland. Only in isolated cases does the organ heal completely without consequences. As a rule, such disorders do not disappear without a trace, especially if a person again abuses strong drinks or eats improperly. The transition to a chronic form is a dangerous condition; it will no longer be possible to fully recover. In this case, the affected gland is not able to produce the required volume of enzymes, regular (often lifelong) use of medicinal analogues is necessary.
Dietary nutrition for pancreatitis is mandatory. The main goal is to relieve the diseased organ, reduce hypersecretion and prevent flare-up. Difficult to digest and long-digesting foods that require increased production of pancreatic juice are excluded from the menu. The diet is selected in such a way as to ensure the normal functioning of the pancreas and maximum restoration of damaged tissues.
Diet plays an important role in preventing diabetes. There are special areas in the gland, called islets of Langerhans, where a specific hormone, insulin, is produced. If inflammation affects these formations, hormone generation decreases, which can ultimately lead to the development of endocrine diseases. Poor nutrition, in this case, is considered a predisposing factor.
Products permitted for pancreatitis
After the symptoms subside, the patient is shown diet chart No. 5p. There are two options: basic and advanced. The first is prescribed for the chronic course of the disease in the active phase and in case of acute attack. It is quite limited and consists mainly of easily digestible carbohydrates.
Improved nutrition for pancreatitis is an adjustment of the carbohydrate diet by adding protein products. Their daily content in food is no more than 125 g. At the same time, the amount of fat consumed should not exceed 70 g. In addition, the amount of other nutrients necessary for health is taken into account:
vitamin A – 10 mg;
B vitamins – 2 to 10 mg;
vitamin C – up to 150 g;
calcium – 0. 8 g;
sodium – 3 g;
phosphorus – 1. 3 g;
magnesium – 0. 5 g;
iron – 0. 03 g.
All this suggests that the daily menu should not only be healthy, but also varied due to the use of various permitted products.
Vegetables: potatoes, cucumbers, cauliflower, seaweed, peas, pumpkin, courgettes, celery, carrots. A lot of controversy arises among nutritionists regarding the consumption of beets. It is known that boiled roots are healthy, but the high content of betaine and sugars they contain calls into question the safety of their use as a food for inflammation of the pancreas.
Vegetables are eaten blended, in the form of puree, as part of first courses. Gradually the transition to coarser grinding is allowed.
Fruit, berries: apples, pears, pomegranates, peaches, strawberries, raspberries. The products are baked (apples), steamed or various delicacies are prepared from them (sugar-free): preserves, jams, mousses, marshmallows, jam, jelly.
Low-fat meat): turkey, chicken, rabbit, veal (fillet or tenderloin). The products can be consumed after the patient's condition has stabilized. They are used to cook broths, blended soups, prepare steamed cutlets, quenelles, meatballs and soufflés.
Fish: zander, pike, carp, perch, hake, cod, cod, blue whiting. Served in boiled pieces or made into minced meat for steaming.
Dairy products (low fat): milk, kefir, yogurt, cottage cheese, cream, yogurt. Fermented milk drinks are drunk little by little throughout the day, porridge is cooked with milk, and cottage cheese is used for casseroles and puddings.
Separately, it is worth mentioning the cheese. Only soft cheeses in brine are allowed for consumption: feta, suluguni, etc. The products are added crushed to the food during cooking.
Cereals: semolina, rice, buckwheat, oat flakes. Cereals ground into flour are best suited.
Pasta: Anyone. Prepare according to the instructions, preference is given to small items.
Egg: chicken, quail. They are eaten boiled (mashed), soft-boiled (rarely) or as an omelette.
Bread: wheat (yesterday's), with bran, crackers, biscuits.
Oil: creamy (up to 30 g per day), vegetables (linseed, olive, refined sunflower) are gradually introduced into the menu.
Drinks: weak tea, compotes, diluted juices of non-acidic berries, fruits, natural mineral water.
All food is prepared immediately before the meal. "Frying" vegetables is prohibited.
Products completely or partially limited
Unfortunately, a dangerous disease dictates its strict rules by which the patient will have to continue to live. First of all it concerns the daily diet. To avoid possible relapses and worsening of the condition in the future, you will have to permanently stop consuming certain foods. Of course, this is difficult to accept, but the price of poor nutrition during pancreatitis is often the patient's life.
Dieting should not be treated as an ordeal. The number of things you can eat is not so small and in all sections of the food table. Furthermore, if the patient feels well, the pancreatitis diet can be expanded by introducing foods not included in the main diet (some seasonal vegetables, fruit, etc. ). Their consumption must be strictly limited, carefully monitoring the body's reaction. If symptoms, even mild, appear that suggest a possible attack, the new food introduced into the diet is immediately excluded.
The patient's diet does not contain high-fat foods. First of all, it is meat (pork, lamb, duck, goose, offal). All semi-finished meat products and sausages are also prohibited. The latter represent a particular potential danger, because they include a large number of chemical flavoring additives that irritate the entire digestive system. The exception is sausages or ham from dietary poultry meat, which are sometimes consumed in small quantities.
Excluded are varieties of fatty sea and river fish (salmon, beluga, sturgeon, sterlet, etc. ), as well as caviar, rolls and sushi. Consumption of fish dishes with moderate fat content and seafood is allowed (no more than 2 times a week).
The dietary menu does not contain vegetables with coarse fiber, high acidity: white cabbage, radish, rutabaga, radish, turnip, spinach, sorrel, corn, asparagus, eggplant. You should not serve pickled, pickled, salted vegetables, ginger, olives, or dishes prepared with garlic and onions. The products must be heat treated before consumption and must not be eaten raw. Sweet tomatoes can be used with caution in the diet if there are no signs of inflammation of the pancreas.
Fruits and berries contain a large amount of acids, causing increased secretion of pancreatic fluid. Therefore, their use is undesirable, especially during the rehabilitation period after an attack. Citrus fruits, persimmons, melons, fresh berries and juices derived from them are prohibited. Dried fruit is permitted to a limited extent.
The consumption of mushrooms and legumes is excluded. These products are a source of large quantities of plant proteins, which help activate the pancreas. In addition, unwanted disorders from other organs of the gastrointestinal tract are possible: increased gas formation, constipation, which is especially problematic for people with pancreatitis.
Difficult to digest cereal-based foods are prohibited: millet, barley, peas and pearl barley. The consistency of the finished cereal should be semi-liquid and viscous, it is not recommended to eat it in crumbly form.
Fatty milk, as well as its derivatives (cottage cheese, kefir, sour cream) are extremely undesirable. Hard, salty, spicy cheeses and dairy products are prohibited.
When preparing food, you cannot use spices or serve factory-made sauces: mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, etc. It is strictly forbidden to cook by frying. Fried foods (including sautéed vegetables for soups) are saturated with many carcinogens and other harmful substances that have a depressing effect on the functioning of the entire digestive tract. Regular consumption of such food can provoke a new attack. The same goes for any smoked meat or canned fish. You should not leave fish in a small amount of water, because. . . this releases extractive substances that require greater production of pancreatic juice.
It is forbidden to eat fresh bread, baked goods and sweets. Such food is a source of a large number of carbohydrates, which promote the activity of the diseased organ and an increase in the release of insulin. In combination with cooking fats (margarine, etc. ), this is an unacceptable serious load for pancreatitis. Therefore you should not eat cakes, pastries, ice cream, chocolate or honey.
Any type of alcohol is strictly prohibited, as well as strong coffee, carbonated drinks, cocoa and green tea.
Sample menu for a week for pancreatitis
Nutrition for acute pancreatitis is rather poor, but necessary to relieve inflammation. A 6-hour meal plan is prescribed:
Breakfast. Soft baby food with water is preferable; in the absence of symptoms, with diluted milk. You can complete the meal with a piece of toast brushed with butter.
Lunch. As a rule, it includes unleavened cottage cheese or cheesecake, jelly and fruit puree.
Dinner. Light broths and vegetable purees are served as a first course. For the second course: meat or fish soufflé, steamed cutlets with cereal puree and vegetables.
Afternoon snack. Its composition is similar to the second snack.
Dinner. This meal is preferably light, but with sufficient protein content. Boiled fish, meat pate with side dish are suitable.
For the night. Instead of food: a glass of kefir or low-fat yogurt.
Depending on the patient's condition, the daily menu is supplemented with other dishes from the list of permitted products.
Monday
Rice porridge puree, rosehip infusion.
Baked apple with dried apricots.
Chicken consommé with croutons, fish soufflé.
Kissel, biscuits.
Turkey meatballs, pumpkin and carrot puree.
Kefir.
Tuesday
Buckwheat porridge, tea with milk.
Low-fat ricotta (100 g), apple mousse.
Vegetable puree soup, steamed veal meatballs.
Compote, a piece of soft cheese, lightly salted.
Boiled pike perch with potatoes.
Ryazhenka.
Wednesday
Oatmeal porridge in water with dried fruits.
Yogurt.
Rice soup with carrots, bread with cheese.
Fruit jam.
Cottage cheese casserole with pears, wholemeal bread.
Yogurt.
Thursday
Steamed omelette (white), butter bun, tea.
Curd pudding.
Fish soup, rabbit soufflé with carrot garnish.
Kefir, fruit jelly.
Steamed chicken cutlet with cauliflower puree.
Curdled milk.
Friday
Steamed cheesecake, rosehip drink.
Baked apple.
Pumpkin soup, turkey roulade with vegetables.
Yogurt.
Boiled veal, carrot pudding.
Unsweetened tea.
Saturday
Boiled egg white, kefir.
Fruit puree, biscuits.
Homemade tagliatelle with vegetable broth, turkey cutlet.
Cottage cheese.
Pasta with peas, compote.
Varnets.
Sunday
Semolina porridge with butter.
Apple mousse.
Chicken broth with potato dumplings, fish dumplings.
Vegetable puree.
Steamed turkey with a side dish of courgettes and carrots.
Milk (low fat).
Dietary recipes
Rice porridge with pumpkin
You will need:
Broken round grain rice - half a glass;
pumpkin – 300 g;
half-and-half milk with water - only 1 glass;
sugar – 1 teaspoon;
salt.
Cut the pumpkin, previously peeled and seeded, into pieces, boil it in a little water until tender, then pass it through a sieve. Another option is possible: grate the vegetable and add it to the pan along with the rice.
Add the cereal to the boiling diluted milk and cook for 15 minutes. Then add the pumpkin puree, sugar and add a little salt. Stir and continue to heat for another 2-3 minutes. It is best to eat porridge after letting it sit for 20-30 minutes.
Meatball and cauliflower soup
Ingredients:
turkey or chicken fillet – 300 g;
fresh egg white – 2 pieces;
potatoes - 3 pieces;
carrots – 1 piece;
cauliflower – 300 g;
water – 2-2, 5 l;
salt.
Prepare the minced meat. Mix well with the egg whites and form meatballs the size of a walnut. Place the cabbage, previously disassembled into small inflorescences, and the grated carrots in boiling water. After 5 minutes add the diced potatoes. When the vegetables are cooked, add the meatballs to the soup, salt and mix. Let cook over low heat for 5-7 minutes.
If the disease worsens, you can prepare a more delicate creamy soup. In this case the meatballs are not shaped. Minced meat (without protein) is added to cooked vegetables, mixed, cooked for 5-7 minutes, after which the contents of the pan are blended with a blender. Pour in the egg whites slowly, mixing them into the soup.
Chicken soufflé
Products:
skinless chicken breast – 500 g;
milk – 1 glass;
egg whites – 2 pieces;
vegetable oil (to grease the mold);
salt.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Pass the breast through the meat grinder twice, mix it with the egg whites and milk, add salt. Beat the minced meat with a blender until smooth. Grease a heatproof baking dish with oil and fill with the meat mixture. Cook for 30 minutes without opening the oven.
Steamed fish cutlets
You will need:
white fish fillet (cod, pollock, perch) – 500 g;
2 egg whites;
salt.
Grind the fish into minced meat, add salt, combine with egg whites and knead well until smooth. Form cutlets. Place them on a wire rack placed in a deep pan with boiling water and keep them steaming until cooked (25-30 minutes). You can use a slow cooker for this.
Broccoli omelette
Ingredients:
raw egg whites – 4 pieces (or 2 eggs);
broccoli – 200 g;
milk – 0. 5 cups;
waterfall;
salt;
oil for lubrication.
Wash the cabbage, cut it into small pieces, cook covered for 10 minutes. Beat the egg whites (eggs) with the milk and salt until frothy. Place the boiled vegetables in a non-stick pan greased with oil, pour in the egg and milk mixture and place in a preheated oven at 180°C. Cook for 10 minutes. In acute cases of the disease, cabbage inflorescences are crushed into pulp.
For children
The disease is rarely diagnosed in childhood. However, an acute attack is possible if the child suffers from substance abuse, has previously suffered from severe viral infections, abdominal trauma, or has been subjected to long-term drug therapy (hormones, tetracyclines). The disease often occurs in conjunction with other gastrointestinal pathologies, for example gastritis. Diet therapy, in this case, should take into account the nature of the underlying disease.
Nutrition for pancreatitis in children is the same as in adults and is carried out according to a similar scheme: the first week - a strict and delicate menu, then the weekly table is gradually diversified, subject to good digestibility and absence of disturbed symptoms.
It is important to remember that the body of a growing child needs the necessary amount of nutrients, including fats. Therefore, in order not to overload the gland, the child artificially receives the necessary dose of enzymes, i. e. with the help of drugs.
The daily menu must necessarily consist of vegetables, fruits (in the remission phase they can be eaten fresh, but with caution), fermented dairy products, liquid and viscous porridges, soups, as well as boiled lean meat and fish. After an attack it is necessary to follow a strict diet for a month, a prolonged diet for at least 5 years, and in the chronic form of the disease it is necessary to adhere to the dietary table for life.
For pregnant
Pancreatitis in women during pregnancy may worsen when taking certain vitamin complexes or as a result of internal pressure exerted on the gland by an enlarged uterus. Nutrition for pancreatitis in this case should be dietary, but taking into account all the nutritional needs necessary for the full development of the fetus.
Advantages and disadvantages
Following a diet is key to the health of not only the pancreas, but also the entire digestive system. Such nutrition is balanced, healthy, easier and more fully digestible. Moreover, despite the restrictions, the diet is quite varied and allows you to combine different foods in dishes, thus providing a large and nutritious table. However, it takes time to get used to this diet. For many patients, this is not so much a consumption barrier as a psychological one, because many familiar "tasty" products will have to be abandoned. But this is necessary to maintain the opportunity to live normally.
Comments from nutritionists
Treatment of pancreatitis with the help of diet is aimed, first of all, at maximum unloading of the affected gland. It is important to stop the excessive production of enzymatic secretions. However, according to nutritionists, from time to time it is necessary to provide the digestive organs with complete rest. During this period, the affected organ is more predisposed to regeneration, because it is functionally "asleep".
For this purpose, therapeutic fasting (complete refusal of food) is carried out. Most often, this regimen is observed for 24 hours, but can be increased if the patient feels well and under the supervision of a doctor. Long-term food abstinence (more than 7 days) requires hospitalization.
A gentler option is fasting days. Nutritionists recommend consuming them at least once a week. From the line of allowed dishes, one is selected, for example, porridge or vegetable puree. It is prepared in quantities such that it can be divided into several meals. No other products are consumed.
Reviews and results
Only with strict observance of the rules of the treatment table is it possible to observe a positive and stable dynamic of remission.
Any, even minor, violation of the diet can nullify all previously made efforts, provoking a new cycle of disease. How this could turn out for the patient, no doctor will say in advance, but in any case the consequences will be the most disappointing. Reviews of patients with pancreatitis only confirm this. This is why it is so important to eat well. The important thing is to take it calmly, study your body and understand what is well tolerated and what is bad. An excellent motivation in this matter is the strong support of loved ones.
Price
The cost of a weekly dietary food basket averages $20 to $40.