The treatment of an inflamed pancreas (pancreatitis) involves a complex therapy, which includes not only taking medications that relieve spasms in the ducts of the organs and normalize digestive processes, but also a diet. Compliance with it is very important, since the development of pancreatitis in 90% of cases occurs precisely because of malnutrition and the abusive use of alcoholic beverages. In other words, a diet with pancreas inflammation helps eliminate the very factor that caused the pancreas to stop functioning. And if it is not eliminated, no medication will help to prevent the disease from progressing.
General information
Before we talk about eating in pancreatitis, a few words should be said about the disease itself and the mechanism of its development. As mentioned at the beginning, the main cause of its development is an unhealthy diet and alcohol abuse. It is these factors that negatively affect the state of the pancreas, exerting a great load on it and stimulating the production of digestive enzymes.
If a person constantly eats "heavy" foods, sooner or later the pancreas begins to "get tired", which leads to damage to its cells and decreased synthesis of digestive enzymes. This, in turn, becomes the cause of digestive disturbances and an even greater increase in organ load. As a result, acute inflammatory processes develop in the pancreas, leading to spasms in the ducts, through which the outflow of digestive enzymes into the duodenum occurs. As a result, they accumulate in the gland and begin to digest their own cells, causing a massive onslaught of pain and necrosis (death of tissue).
Thus, the development of acute pancreatitis occurs. And if your treatment is done incorrectly, the inflammatory processes take on a chronic form and it is only impossible to eliminate them later. The peculiarity of chronic pancreatitis is that it tends to worsen periodically, causing the same clinical picture that occurs in acute inflammation. Only in this case, auto-digestion processes are activated in the pancreas every time, as soon as an exacerbation occurs, which sooner or later leads to complete dysfunction of the gland.
Proper nutrition for pancreas inflammation prevents frequent exacerbations and prevents disease progression. Since, in this case, the diet completely excludes food products from the patient's diet, which exert a strong load on the gland, which allows it to be kept at rest for a long time.
Do not forget that the functionality of the gallbladder and liver depends on the work of the pancreas, causing the development of hepatitis, which significantly hinders the treatment process. And if you start developing pancreatitis, the person will have serious health problems, which will further worsen their well-being.
Therefore, when the primary signs of disease development appear, physicians should perform a thorough examination, which will allow them to make an adequate assessment of the functioning of the liver and pancreas, as well as other organs that make up the gastrointestinal tract. Because if its functionality is impaired, the patient needs additional therapy, which helps to restore his work.
Acute inflammation and chronic exacerbation: diet
Symptoms of pancreatic inflammation are pronounced. First, a person has an acute onset of pain, which can be located in either the right or left hypochondrium, depending on which part of the organ has become inflamed. In that case, the painful syndrome is always herpes in nature. It covers not only the hypochondrium region, but virtually the entire abdominal cavity as well, and may radiate to the shoulder blades, lower back, and sternum. The pain simply chains the patient up, and each movement becomes the cause of its further intensification.
When the pancreas becomes inflamed, the general clinical picture can be supplemented:
- an increase in temperature;
- nausea and vomiting;
- diarrhea;
- chills;
- weakness;
- skin whitening, etc.
In case of acute pancreatitis and exacerbation of the chronic patient, immediate hospitalization is necessary, as only qualified medical care will avoid the self-digestion processes in the pancreas and will stop the painful syndrome. In this case, only drug therapy is used, whereas all drugs are administered intravenously or intramuscularly.
Diet also plays an important role in the treatment of acute or exacerbated chronic inflammation. And talking about what you can eat in this case, the answer is simple - nothing. For several days, the patient will need to starve, as this is the only way he can reduce the secretion of digestive enzymes and inflammation.
All that is allowed in the case of an acute attack is to drink still mineral water in very small amounts and at regular intervals. For the first time, the patient can only eat when doctors are able to completely stop the attack. As a rule, this happens for 2-3 days.
In this case, all dishes should only be served hot and pureed. During this period, it is allowed to use:
- mashed potatoes cooked in water without the use of milk and butter;
- porridge in water;
- jelly;
- jams;
- cookies.
The patient will have to adhere to this diet for about 2-3 weeks. And only after all signs of acute pancreas inflammation have disappeared, are they added to the diet:
- low-fat fish and meat;
- fermented milk and dairy products;
- milk and cereal soups;
- fruit and vegetable juices;
- dry bread.
It is necessary to switch to "normal" nutrition gradually and only after 8-10 weeks after inflammation. In this case, it is necessary to comply with some restrictions and rules that will prevent the recurrence of an attack. And what kind of diet is prescribed for patients with pancreatitis, you'll find out now.
Diet after stopping an attack
Therefore, it has already been said above which diet is prescribed for pancreas inflammation. But what to do next, when the attack has already stopped and the patient's condition has returned to normal? As the cells of the pancreas do not have the property of self-healing, in order to avoid their subsequent destruction and impairment of the organ's functionality, the patient will need to adhere to a diet with its own characteristics:
- food should be served hot (hot and cold dishes irritate the pancreas and can provoke pain attacks);
- all meals must be steamed or cooked;
- the portions should be small (this will reduce the load on the pancreas);
- you need to eat 5-6 times a day, the last meal should be no later than 2 hours before bedtime (with pancreatitis, eating at night is prohibited).
There are certain foods that should not be consumed with this disease. These include:
- all fatty fish and meats;
- fried and fatty foods;
- Salo;
- smoked meats;
- fresh confectionery;
- fresh pastries;
- high-fat dairy and fermented dairy products (more than 1. 5%);
- sausages;
- semi-finished products;
- canned food;
- spices and hot sauces;
- carbonated and alcoholic beverages.
Talking about the diet you need to follow with pancreatitis, you should pay special attention to alcohol use. Some people who suffer from this condition believe that if you drink 50-100 ml of alcohol a week, there is nothing wrong with that, as such doses of alcohol are even considered beneficial for the body. In normal cases this is true, but not with pancreatitis.
Alcoholic beverages contain ethyl alcohol, which has a destructive effect on the body's cells and also increases appetite, causing a person to involuntarily start eating a lot more. And that leads to an increased load on the pancreas and increases the risk of pain. Therefore, people who have been diagnosed with pancreatitis are strictly prohibited from drinking alcohol, even in small amounts.
As for the allowed products, they include:
- lean meats - turkey, chicken, rabbit, veal;
- lean fish;
- buckwheat, rice, semolina, noodles, lentils;
- vegetables and fruits;
- juices (not packaged only);
- eggs;
- dry baked goods;
- biscuits without a cream or chocolate filling;
- milk, cheese, cottage cheese;
- kefir, fermented boiled milk.
All of these foods can easily make up a whole week's diet menu. Also, each day will be varied. For example, meat can be easily cooked in dumplings, cutlets, meatballs, etc. Cottage cheese - casseroles and cheesecakes. Vegetables can be used in both sides and salads. The main thing is to activate the imagination.
But it should not be forgotten that, following the diet, it is also necessary to take medication prescribed by the doctor. They will help improve digestion and prevent disease flare-up.
Diet Recipes
On the Internet you can find a large number of recipes for dietary dishes that can be consumed with pancreatitis. They will help you easily create a preliminary menu for the week. For example, a recipe for making curd pudding, which can be used both for breakfast and an afternoon snack, is very popular. To prepare it, you will need the following ingredients:
- non-fat cottage cheese - 350 g;
- chicken eggs - 4 pieces;
- low-fat cream - 80 g;
- granulated sugar - 100 g;
- starch - 1 tablespoon;
- semolina - 1 tablespoon
To prepare the curd pudding, it is first necessary to mix the curds well with a blender or mixer so that a homogeneous mass of air remains. Then add the hen egg yolks (the whites should be refrigerated for a while) and mix everything again. Then add the cream, semolina and starch to the resulting mass and beat everything again in an electric mixer.
After that, it is necessary to take the proteins out of the refrigerator, beat until the peak is formed, adding sugar little by little. Then, combine the proteins with the curd mass, stirring gently with a spoon, but not with an electric mixer.
Once the curd is well cooked (it should be liquid), it should be poured into a parchment-covered baking dish. Cover the form to be covered with aluminum foil and then put in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes. After this time, the foil should be removed and the pudding should continue to bake for about 15-20 minutes. Once it is done, the oven should be turned off, but the door should not be opened immediately as the pudding may settle. It needs to be given 20-30 minutes to cool down a bit, after which it can be served.
There is another recipe for cooking a dish that can be eaten with pancreatitis. And this is a pureed chicken and cauliflower soup. To prepare it, you will need:
- water - 2 l;
- potatoes - 2 pcs. ;
- cauliflower - 5-7 inflorescences;
- carrots - 1 pc. ;
- chicken breast - 300-350 g.
Pour the chicken breast with 1 liter of water and cook over low heat. It must be boiled for 20 minutes after boiling, after which the water must be drained, and the breast must be refilled with water and cooked until fully cooked. Then it is necessary to drain the broth again, remove the breast, cool and pass through a meat grinder several times.
After that, it is necessary to prepare the carrots and potatoes by peeling, rinsing under running water and cutting into cubes. Vegetables need to be poured out with water and placed on fire. Cook for 10 minutes after boiling, add the cauliflower and, without reducing the heat, continue cooking for about 7 to 10 minutes.
When all the vegetables are ready, they need to be removed from the resulting vegetable broth, chopped in a blender or passed through a sieve and then mixed again with the broth, only this time we also add the chopped chicken. If the pancreatitis is in a stable remission phase, the prepared soup can be lightly salted and fresh herbs added to it.
There are many recipes for preparing dietary dishes. The main thing is not to get confused with this variety and only use those that include products allowed for pancreatitis. And the doctor should talk about them in more detail.