Although modern medicine has created many powerful and effective drugs for the treatment of pancreatitis, if there is no diet, this kind of treatment is less effective. In addition, for mild or moderate pancreatitis, treatment may even include a nutritional correction.
Unfortunately, many patients only follow the diet during hospitalization, and after discharge they stop eating and consume prohibited foods when they recover. As a result, this can lead to recurrent inflammation, which is more difficult to treat than the original inflammation.
The importance of proper nutrition for pancreatitis
Acute and chronic pancreatitis are mainly treated with drugs, and in some cases, surgical assistance is required. However, if the patient’s diet is not corrected, neither medication nor surgical treatment is absolutely ineffective.
Regardless of the severity of the disease, a dietary prescription will be prescribed for every patient with pancreatitis, without exception. Non-compliance can lead to a second attack of the disease, and the patient's tolerance is much worse than the initial one.
Diet can not only reduce the burden on the pancreas, but also reduce the burden on the entire gastrointestinal system. In addition, the choice of food in the diet aims to provide the patient's body with all the substances needed for the regeneration of damaged organs.
In many patients, the acute phase of the disease causes such severe damage to the pancreas that the patient eats for life. In this case, patients who ignore the doctor's dietary prescriptions may continue to become disabled and even die.
This leads to a simple conclusion: Pancreatitis (acute and chronic) diet is not only recommended, but necessary.
Who dictates the diet?
Only a doctor can prescribe diets and certain recipes for pancreatitis. At the same time, in this case, several specialized doctors are appropriate: therapist, endocrinologist, gastroenterologist, and in some cases, infectious disease specialist.
Self-control diet is dangerous to health (which can lead to disability) and life. For children and pregnant women, prescribing a diet for pancreatitis without consulting a doctor is particularly dangerous.
The dietary characteristics of acute pancreatitis
A distinctive feature of the acute pancreatitis diet can be called the reference point of the fasting direction. In other words, in acute pancreatitis, the diet should contain foods that are mildest to the gastrointestinal tract, especially the pancreas.
Moreover, the doctor's prescription is to minimize food intake during the first week of the onset of illness. In the first 2-4 days of the onset of illness, a prescription for complete hunger (you can only drink) can be prescribed.
This rather strict dietary goal is simple-significantly reduce the pressure on the pancreas. If there is no diet during the acute phase of pancreatitis, treatment may be completely useless.
Dietary characteristics of chronic pancreatitis
The nutritional feature of chronic pancreatitis is that patients need to limit their own consumption of greasy, fried, spicy and smoked foods throughout their lives.
In this case, patients are sometimes allowed to eat such foods, but in small quantities. Alcohol is completely contraindicated, but most patients ignore this prescription, so doctors just insist that patients drink as little as possible.
Dietary characteristics of exacerbation of pancreatitis
As pancreatitis worsened, an extremely strict diet was introduced, and in the first few days of the disease, it was recommended to completely refuse to eat. In addition, only low-fat broth, cereals (usually buckwheat) and mashed potatoes are allowed during the week.
After the condition worsens, the patient should be smoothly transferred to the standard diet for chronic pancreatitis. In addition, all nutritional changes during the exacerbation of pancreatitis should be done in consultation with a doctor. Self-management diet therapy is not only harmful to health, but also harmful to life.
What can't you eat for pancreatitis?
For any type of pancreatitis, there is a large list of products that are strictly prohibited (until the end of treatment, and rarely used for life).
The list of prohibited foods for pancreatitis is as follows:
- Fatty meat, fried meat (there are also cutlets here), canned food, sausages, smoked products, stews.
- Fatty fish, smoked fish and salted fish, any canned fish and caviar.
- Fatty cheeses, curds (glazed curds are particularly dangerous), spicy and smoked cheeses.
- Scrambled eggs or hard-boiled eggs.
- Radish, garlic, onion, horseradish, pepper, radish.
- Beans, beans, mushrooms.
- Raw and unground fruits, sour and overly sweet fruits (eg oranges, figs, grapes).
- Rolls, cakes and other sweet and/or fatty (due to cream) confectionery products.
- Chocolate, ice cream, nuts.
What foods can patients with pancreatitis eat?
For pancreatitis, the following foods are allowed:
- Cereal and vegetable soup;
- Cooked meat of beef, fish, and poultry;
- Egg omelet
- A small amount of honey;
- All kinds of grains;
- Roasted or boiled vegetables;
- Mashed potatoes;
- Radish.
What can be drunk and what can't be drunk?
The following drinks are prohibited:
- Any alcoholic beverage;
- Sweet drinks and carbonated drinks (including store juices);
- cocoa;
- Coffee drink.
The following drinks are allowed:
- Kefir
- Light black tea and green tea;
- Rose hip soup
- Candied fruit
- curd.
Alcohol
Alcohol with pancreatitis is contraindicated in any form of disease. Alcoholic beverages not only have an adverse effect on the pancreas, but also have an adverse effect on the neighboring organs of the abdominal cavity. In most cases, these organs will also be indirectly affected by pancreatitis.
Drinking alcohol in the context of chronic pancreatitis can increase the severity of symptoms and lead to the progression of the disease. Drinking alcohol in acute pancreatitis can significantly reduce the effectiveness of treatment and increase the risk of death from pancreatic necrosis.
sweet
Honey and sweets (except chocolate) are only allowed for chronic pancreatitis. In the acute form of the disease or the exacerbation of chronic pancreatitis, any sweets, including honey, should be excluded.
In addition, for chronic pancreatitis, eat only a small amount of sweets, and eat as little as possible. The fact is that if the pancreas is damaged in the context of chronic pancreatitis, then the use of sweets is a dangerous high risk of diabetes.
Dairy products
Although you can consume whole milk, it is not recommended because it often causes diarrhea and flatulence. It is recommended to consume low-fat kefir, fermented baked milk and yogurt, no more than one cup per day.
In addition, from dairy products with pancreatitis, cottage cheese (up to 9% fat) and cheese (mild varieties such as mozzarella, Adyge, and Feta) are allowed. Sour cream can only be consumed one scoop per day, but it can only be used as an additive to soup.
porridge
For this disease, only certain types of grains (buckwheat, semolina, rice and oatmeal) are allowed. In addition, porridge can only be cooked in a ratio of 1: 1 in water or milk.
In the chronic form of the disease, corn or barley porridge can be consumed once a week. However, it is forbidden to drink barley and millet porridge in any form of pancreatitis.
Oil
For pancreatitis, a small amount of butter can be added to the dishes. Vegetables and olive oil can also be added to dishes in small amounts, but only for chronic diseases.
Sea buckthorn oil is strictly prohibited for pancreatitis, because it can irritate the stomach and cause a serious burden on the pancreas.
Baking, biscuits
Even with acute pancreatitis, after a few days of hunger strike, certain types of cakes and biscuits are allowed. which is:
- White bread or slightly dry bread;
- Uncooked and unsweetened biscuits;
- Biscuit biscuits.
Other baked goods and baked goods are prohibited or not recommended at all. Fresh baked goods are especially dangerous, and can significantly aggravate acute pancreatitis or cause the exacerbation of chronic pancreatitis.
vegetable
Only cooked or roasted vegetables are allowed, but it is best to eat them in puree form (mashed potatoes, casseroles, soup).
The following vegetables are edible:
- Potato;
- Radish;
- beet;
- pumpkin;
- cauliflower;
- Green peas;
- summer pumpkin.
Only in the case of chronic pancreatitis, in limited circumstances, are cabbage and tomatoes allowed to be used, but only in cooked form.
fruit
For pancreatitis, eat roasted fruits or fruits in the form of candied fruit and jelly. Fruit puree is also allowed. The quantity is limited, you can eat a melon or watermelon.
Sour fruits (citrus fruits) are completely contraindicated, including juices made from them. It is also important to consider that the use of raw fruits for acute pancreatitis or the exacerbation of chronic pancreatitis is prohibited.
dried fruit
In acute pancreatitis, dried fruits are strictly prohibited, while in the chronic form of the disease, they can only be eaten in the form of candied fruit.
In fact, dried fruits do not contain much less fiber than fresh fruits. Fiber is contraindicated in pancreatitis.
It is also worth considering that although a small amount of dried fruits is allowed in chronic diseases, some dried fruits are not edible at all (figs, dates, raisins, dried apricots).
nut
Nuts are a product with a high fat content, which immediately opposes their use in the treatment of pancreatitis. They can only be eaten in the chronic form of the disease, and only in small amounts. But there are some nuances here.
Therefore, doctors prohibit the use of nuts within one year after acute pancreatitis or within one year after chronic pancreatitis worsens.
Menu example for pancreatitis for a week
It is important to consider: no more than 200 grams of white bread and no more than 30 grams of sugar per day. You only need to eat in small amounts, 6-8 times a day, in small amounts each time. It is recommended not to skip meals.
An example menu of pancreatitis for a week is given below.
on Monday
- Mashed potatoes no more than 200 grams, meatballs 90-100 grams, tea leaves;
- Not more than 100 grams of cottage cheese;
- Carrot puree soup (not more than 250 grams), one piece of toast, candied fruit;
- 100 g steamed egg rolls (only from protein! );
- A cup of yogurt.
Tuesday
- 150g boiled fish, 150g carrot puree, tea leaves;
- Not more than 100 grams of cottage cheese;
- 100g steamed egg rolls;
- Kefir.
Wednesday
- Boiled fish noodles (no more than 150g, only baked in the oven), 150g puree;
- 100 grams cottage cheese;
- Souffle made with cottage cheese and tea (not more than 150 grams);
- A cup of yogurt.
Thursday
- 200 grams of mashed potatoes, add steamed meatballs (not more than 10 grams), milk tea;
- Semolina milk soup (not more than 250 grams), jelly;
- Protein omelet (not more than 100 grams);
- curd.
Friday
- Apple and carrot pudding (not more than 200 grams);
- 250 g vegetable puree soup with candied fruit;
- Protein omelet (not more than 100 grams);
- curd.
Saturday
- Meatballs (not more than 100 grams) with mashed potatoes (not more than 150 grams), tea;
- Protein omelet
- Grated oatmeal soup (not more than 250 grams) and carrot puree (200 grams);
- curd.
Sunday
- 160g rice, tea milk porridge;
- 200 grams of jelly, 100 grams of boiled fish;
- Curd pudding (not more than 150 grams) plus rosehip soup (150-200 grams);
- A glass of kefir.
hunger
Fasting is very effective for the exacerbation of acute pancreatitis or the chronic form of this disease. It is recommended to persist for 1-3 days under the stated conditions and only use ordinary water during this period.
Fasting is necessary for the burden of the gastrointestinal system in general and the pancreas in particular. It is important to consider that during fasting, broth, even low-fat broth is not allowed.