Recently, the number of patients with pancreatitis is increasing. Doctors and nutritionists ensure that in order to improve health, the diet must be adjusted. The question arises, what kind of diet for pancreatitis contributes to recovery? How to eat properly with this disease? Are there foods that can make the condition worse? What should you eat to improve your health?
The basic rules of nutrition for pancreatitis
Diet is mandatory for those who are sick with pancreatitis, otherwise no medicine will help.
Experts have developed rules that must be followed:
- if the disease is acute, then the diet should start with fasting, it lasts from 2 to 4 days;
- you need to eat often, at the same time;
- portions should be small;
- avoid overeating;
- reduce the amount of sweets;
- dishes should include pureed products that do not cause mucosal irritation;
- the daily rate of fat is not more than 80 g;
- reduce the amount of salt to 10 g;
- reduce sugar intake to a minimum.
Based on these rules, a daily menu is formed.
How to eat with acute pancreatitis
Acute pancreatitis is a dangerous disease, so comprehensive measures are needed to improve the condition. It must be remembered that dietary requirements are mandatory, otherwise this condition may lead to surgical intervention.
In the first stage of treatment, you must fast for several days. The duration of food refusal is from 2 to 4 days.
Only liquids are allowed. At this time, you can drink soft tea, prepare decoction from rose hips, mineral water is suitable without gas.
The next step is diet number 5. Food has a low calorie content, salt and fat are prohibited, which can provoke a new attack. All dishes are cooked in liquid form. You can add quite a few.
It is better when compiling a menu to keep a list of useful and harmful products before the chapters.
If you do not follow the strict rules of nutrition, then the patient's condition will not improve.
How to eat with chronic pancreatitis
Food in this disease should help normalize the functioning of the diseased organ. You should listen to diet advice no. 5.
Diet tips for chronic pancreatitis:
- food and liquids entering the body must be warm;
- plan at least 5 meals during the day;
- avoid overeating;
- do not take long breaks between meals;
- reduce the amount of sugar;
- remove the fresh bread.
All dishes prepared with frying are strictly prohibited.
To form a proper diet, you need to know the list of products that will help you recover or worsen your health.
Table of allowed and prohibited products:
- bakery products: crackers, yesterday's dry bread, cookies;
- porridge cooked in water with a little milk;
- meat, steamed, in the oven, boiled chicken, turkey, lean beef;
- low-fat fish, minced, chopped;
- first courses: fat-free soup, vegetable, puree;
- dairy products: all non-acidic, fat-free can be;
- vegetables: no coarse fiber;
- non-acidic fruit;
- no more than 1 egg per day;
- butter no more than 30 g per day;
- vegetable oil no more than 2 spoons;
- non-acidic liquids diluted with water;
- tea is not strong, it is possible with lemon, milk;
- bakery products: fresh bread, muffins, puff pastry products;
- soups cooked in strong broth;
- fatty meat;
- high-fat dairy products;
- sauces;
- spices;
- oily fish;
- scrambled eggs;
- coarse fiber vegetables;
- mushrooms;
- legumes;
- carbonated drinks;
- alcohol;
- coffee;
- chocolate.
If you have questions, it is recommended to discuss the use of certain products with your doctor.
Diet for pancreatitis in children
Parents often have a question, what kind of diet for pancreatitis does a sick child need? The diet, which helps to improve the baby's condition, differs slightly from the adult menu. But there are some features that should be considered when feeding children.
Children's feeding rules:
- give warm food and drink, feed more with chopped dishes, for example, mashed potatoes;
- the diet must contain all the ingredients necessary for normal growth and development;
- even after the removal of an acute condition, it is necessary to adhere to dietary restrictions;
- stop children from drinking carbonated drinks;
- fast food containers.
If the sick child is not even 3 years old, then it is recommended to hide the food, grind it. Any citrus fruits, freshly squeezed juices should be removed from the diet. Berries with small seeds, a rough shell, should not be given to children. Fresh vegetables are not required.
A child over 3 years old attends children's educational institutions, contacts peers. First of all, you have to take care of food in school and kindergarten. To do this, talk to a medical worker, inform the teacher, the educator.
The most difficult thing is to protect the child from soda, chips and other dangerous foods. When attending birthday parties and children's parties, care should be taken that the child does not violate the diet. The child must explain the need for him to limit food.
Menu for 7 days for patients with chronic pancreatitis
For patients, it is recommended to draw up a menu in advance, this will allow you to eat a balanced diet, while the state of health will improve significantly.
Menu option for the week:
1 day
- chicken, rose juice;
- oatmeal, tea;
- pumpkin puree soup, steamed fish, jelly;
- baby food jar;
- boiled zucchini, carrots, chicken fillet from the oven, juice;
2 days
- rice porridge, tea with honey;
- pumpkin puree, compote;
- vegetable soup puree, chicken meatballs, jelly;
- tea, crackers;
- oatmeal pudding and jelly;
3 days
- oatmeal, jelly;
- baked apple with curd, rose soup;
- vegetable soup puree, steamed fish, compote;
- cottage cheese, tea;
- boiled fish, tea;
Day 4
- rice porridge, crackers, rose soup;
- pumpkin puree, tea;
- vegetable soup, a piece of boiled fish, mashed potatoes, compote;
- tea with honey, cookies;
- rice pudding, jelly;
Day 5
- oatmeal, tea;
- cottage cheese, baked apple, rose juice;
- vegetable soup, chicken meatballs, compote;
- tea, dry cookies;
- baked fish, rose juice.
Day 6
- oatmeal, tea;
- ripe apple, rose juice;
- vegetable soup with a piece of beef, vegetable puree, compote;
- tea, crackers;
- steamed omelette, jelly;
Day 7
- rice porridge, crackers, rose soup;
- cottage cheese with chopped apple, tea;
- vegetable soup puree, chicken meatballs, jelly;
- cottage cheese, tea, cookies;
- oatmeal pudding, jelly.
Knowing the basic requirements for dishes, you can make your own menu.
Recipe for pancreatitis
Knowing the basic rules of the diet, you can make changes to the menu. With food restrictions, you want to indulge in something delicious. Nutritionists have developed special dishes that can be consumed with pancreatitis.
Recipe for baked apples:
- In washed apples, remove the core, being careful not to puncture the bottom of the fruit.
- Pour honey into an apple.
- Add cinnamon on top.
- Bake in the oven.
- Cool down.
Beet salad recipe:
- Boil 1 medium beet, cool, grate.
- 2 apples of the sweet variety, peeled, cut into small cubes.
- Grind the walnuts on a grater, you need about a tablespoon.
- Combine all ingredients, mix, salt a little.
- Fill with olive oil.
Oatmeal pudding recipe with berry jelly:
- Prepare thick oatmeal porridge in water, pour it into deep molds, let it cool.
- Pour the strawberries with a small amount of water, boil, remove, chop, put back in the soup.
- Pour sugar, heat in a boil.
- Prepare starch, mix in cold water, carefully pour in strawberry juice, boil, not allowing to boil. Remove from heat, cool.
- During serving, cut the thickened oatmeal pudding into pieces, pour jelly on top.
If you want, any diet can be supplemented with delicious healthy dishes.
We recommend a video about permitted and prohibited foods for pancreatitis:
Pancreatitis is a common disease that requires a strict diet to treat. To do this, you need to know which foods can be consumed and which cannot. You must follow the rules of cooking, general recommendations regarding nutrition.
Types of pancreatitis
The most general classification of pancreatitis is based on the nature of the course of the disease: acute attack or prolonged chronic pancreatitis with periodic relapses. Both forms differ in the severity of symptoms and require different approaches to treatment.
Acute pancreatitis
The inflammatory process in acute pancreatitis develops very quickly and is always accompanied by severe pain. In most cases, the disease appears against the background of alcohol abuse or after eating a large amount of fatty foods. Sometimes an exacerbation is preceded by an attack of acute hepatic colic.
Symptoms of acute pancreatitis:
- Severe pain in the left hypochondrium, radiating to other organs. The pain attack lasts about half an hour to an hour. The pain is especially strong when you are lying on your back. The attack worsens after eating, especially fried and spicy, and any alcoholic drink.
- Vomiting, often violent, bilious and bitter. Persistent nausea that does not go away after vomiting.
- Subfebrile or high temperature.
- Sometimes, due to the violation of bile flow, yellowing of the proteins of the eye is observed, very rarely - a yellow tint of the skin.
- In some cases, the pain syndrome is accompanied by heartburn and bloating.
An attack of acute pancreatitis requires immediate medical attention. Painkillers only bring temporary relief, but do not affect the cause of inflammation. In the absence of qualified help, the risk of serious complications increases rapidly: infection in inflamed tissues, necrosis and abscesses.
Acute pancreatitis in a severe stage can lead to shock and multiple organ failure.
Chronic pancreatitis
If, after an attack of acute pancreatitis, a person does not follow the recommendations of doctors and continues to drink alcohol and eat unhealthy food, the disease will most likely become chronic. Chronic pancreatitis develops with a significant nature of damage to the pancreas during the first episode of the disease.
The disease is characterized by gradual pathological changes in the structure of pancreatic cells. Over time, it begins to lose its main function - the production of enzymes necessary for the digestion of food. Exocrine insufficiency is manifested:
- diarrhea
- swelling,
- a change in the nature of feces - they acquire a sticky consistency due to the large amount of fat in them and are poorly washed off the walls of the toilet bowl.
Chronic pancreatitis can be asymptomatic for a long time: acute pain appears when significant pathological changes have already occurred in the pancreas. During an attack, chronic pancreatitis is manifested by the same symptoms as acute:
- severe back pain,
- nausea,
- vomiting,
- intestinal disorders.
The diagnosis is established on the basis of ultrasound, computed tomography or magnetic resonance. During the study, narrowed pancreatic ducts are usually found due to the formation of stones in them - calcifications. Hardware techniques also make it possible to detect cysts at the site of atrophied tissue. Laboratory blood tests for chronic pancreatitis are not very informative.
The insufficiency of the function of the pancreas is determined by the analysis of feces. If they contain a specific enzyme - pancreatic elastase - a diagnosis of "chronic pancreatitis" is made.
The importance of enzymes in digestion
The functioning of the human body is ensured by a complex system of interconnected and interdependent biochemical reactions. Thanks to special protein compounds - enzymes or enzymes - all these reactions are accelerated, ensuring a fast metabolism. The action of enzymes is very selective: each of them is able to start, accelerate or slow down only one reaction.
Digestion is based on the work of digestive enzymes. Their main task is to make the energy assimilation process fast and efficient. Enzymes break down food components (proteins, fats and carbohydrates) into absorbable substances. At the same time, the amount of enzymes produced depends on the quantity and quality of food eaten.
Digestion of food begins in the mouth. Food crushed by the teeth into small pieces is mixed with saliva, which contains the enzyme alpha-amylase. The better we chew the food, the easier it is for the salivary gland enzyme to convert starch molecules into soluble sugars and facilitate further processing.
After initial processing, food enters the stomach through the esophagus, where the gastric enzymes pepsin and hydrochloric acid begin to work. These substances create gastric juice, which:
- provides antibacterial protection of the body;
- stimulates the production of pancreatic hormones;
- regulates the motility of the stomach;
- breaks down fats and performs a number of other functions.
In addition to pepsin, which is responsible for breaking down large protein molecules, other enzymes are also produced in the stomach, for example:
- gelatinase - a solvent for collagen, gelatin and other connective tissue proteins;
- lipase - an enzyme that breaks down some fat molecules into fatty acids and monoglycerides;
- chymosin - starts the process of digesting milk proteins.
Bile plays an important role in the digestive process. It contains bile acids that stimulate the production of pancreatic secretions.
From the stomach, the food bolus is evacuated to the duodenum, where the main process of food digestion takes place. It is provided by more than 20 pancreatic enzymes. The enzymes are contained in the pancreatic juice, which is produced by the gland in a volume of about two liters per day.
Functions of pancreatic enzymes:
- proteases - breakdown of proteins into amino acids;
- nucleases - act on DNA nucleic acids;
- amylase - breaks down starch into simple sugars;
- lipases - break down fats into higher fatty acids and glycerol.
In violation of the function of the production of enzymes by the organs of the digestive system, especially the pancreas, the whole organism is unbalanced. This imbalance leads to nausea, diarrhea, bloating, followed by anemia and malnutrition.
What to take with food with a lack of pancreatic enzymes
With pancreatitis, the process of production of digestive enzymes by the pancreas is interrupted, as a result of which a person suffers from discomfort and pain in the stomach. In this case, after a complete examination, replacement therapy can be prescribed.
The task of treatment with enzyme preparations is to compensate for their lack in the body, reducing the load on the damaged organ. In some cases, such therapy is prescribed for life.
Important!The action of all enzyme preparations begins 20-30 minutes after a meal, so you must drink them strictly before meals in the dose prescribed by your doctor!
Modern pharmacology offers a large number of different enzymatic preparations of animal and plant origin. Some of them are only aimed at filling the deficiency of a single enzyme, for example, the breakdown of lactose or fats. There are also means of complex effects, prescribed for the lack of certain enzymes in various organs of the digestive system.
Pancreatic enzymes are obtained from the organs of cows or pigs. The composition of the medicine includes the main enzymes of the pancreas - amylase, lipase and trypsin. In addition to pure pancreatin, polyenzymatic preparations may include bile acids, adsorbents or other enzymes. All drugs are selected strictly individually, taking into account the nature of the course of the disease and the severity of the symptoms.
What is the diet for pancreatitis?
In the process of treating pancreatitis, food plays no less role than drugs. The main goal of the prescribed diet is to restore the functions of the pancreas and normalize the production of digestive enzymes.
Foods that are difficult to process increase the load on the inflamed organ. After an abundant feast of fatty fried foods, the pancreas begins to intensively produce enzymes for its digestion. If the ducts of the gland are narrowed, the excessively produced pancreatic juice accumulates in the gland, worsening the development of the disease - the affected pancreas begins to dissolve itself.
Signs that your gland is working too hard include:
- heaviness in the stomach after eating,
- heartburn,
- belching
- periods of stomach pain.
Of course, sticking to a strict diet all the time is not easy, especially at home. People with severe dietary restrictions are forced to cook for themselves and resist the temptation to eat anything fried or spicy.
It is important to understand that a violation of the diet can cause an acute attack of pancreatitis with all the consequences that follow: severe pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. A single failure can negate all efforts to maintain a long-term remission.
Diet rules number 5: what you can and cannot eat with pancreatitis
The diet for pancreatitis has many restrictions on both the allowed foods and the way they are prepared. Especially for people who have problems with the pancreas, one of the founders of dietetics and domestic gastroenterology, professor I. I. Pevzner developed a diet table number 5.
But before getting acquainted with the specific provisions of this diet, it is necessary to consider the general principles of nutrition for pancreatitis:
- you need to eat 5 times a day in small portions;
- exclude fried and pickled foods;
- in the acute stage of the disease, food should be suppressed or hidden;
- animal proteins should prevail in the diet;
- the amount of fat per day should not exceed 50 g;
- sugar also falls under a strict restriction - no more than 30 g per day;
- Products that increase bloating are prohibited - sweet carbonated drinks, any legumes, sweet apples and grapes, sweet muffins and some others;
- Salt intake is minimized - no more than three to five grams.
Important!With pancreatitis, you can eat slow carbohydrates, while you need to monitor the ratio of nutrients in the dishes. Don't be fooled by the fact that sugar can be replaced with honey, its consumption should also be controlled. At first, you will definitely need a calculator. It is necessary to immediately calculate the calorie intake per day and the balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates based on the body mass index. This information is easy to find online on sites dedicated to proper nutrition and a healthy lifestyle. There are various mobile apps for counting calories and nutrients.
All these principles are taken into account in diet number 5, which exists in basic and advanced versions.
The basic option is indicated for relapses of chronic pancreatitis and for the acute nature of the disease. In the acute phase, the diet is more strict with many restrictions. It is aimed at unloading the pancreas and relieving the symptoms of acute inflammation. In the first 3 days of the acute phase, fasting is recommended so that the patient can rest the pancreas. Further, within 3-7 days, carbohydrate foods are allowed in small portions at short intervals. The caloric content of the diet these days should be reduced, and food is consumed only in pureed or semi-liquid form.
Important!It is widely believed that rich broth, especially chicken broth, helps with any digestive problem. With pancreatitis, gall bladder diseases and other pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract, high-fat soups are categorically contraindicated! An excessive amount of animal fat significantly increases the load on the pancreas and prevents the normalization of the condition.
The diet includes cereals in water and vegetable soups with different grains, except for millet and corn, boiled or steamed vegetables. From drinks, weak tea, jelly, dried fruit compote are allowed. Only white and slightly dry bread is allowed, you can eat crackers and cookies like cookies.
On the third day of the carbohydrate diet, protein products are introduced gradually:
- soup from lean meat, it is desirable to cook soup from beef, turkey or chicken breast, the meat from the soup must be passed through a meat grinder or chopped in a blender;
- steamed omelette or soft-boiled eggs;
- steamed cutlets from lean meat or low-fat fish;
- curd casseroles and curd souffles with a minimum fat content.
Diet number 5 is known to save as much as possible the pancreas, which needs complete rest in the acute phase. Allowed and prohibited foods for the basic diet are presented in table 1.
Important!The predominance of protein foods in the diet can lead to constipation. In this case, you should add more raw vegetables and fruits from the allowed list. With gout, preference is given to proteins of plant origin or sea fish.
Can chronic pancreatitis be cured?
So far, no drug has been developed to stop and restore the processes that occur in the pancreas during chronic inflammation. Therefore, treatment is aimed at slowing the progression of the disease and preventing exacerbations. In the later stages, when there is a significant decrease in pancreatic function, therapy is supplemented with agents for normalizing digestion and blood sugar levels. To achieve remission of chronic pancreatitis, proton pump inhibitors, antispasmodics, pain relievers, enzyme preparations are used, their choice is individual and depends on the clinical picture of the disease.
An important area of prevention is the timely treatment of diseases that lead to the development of chronic pancreatitis.
How to eat with chronic pancreatitis?
Compliance with a therapeutic diet is an effective, scientifically proven remedy for the prevention of outbreaks. There are several modifications of therapeutic diets for the phase of exacerbation and remission. The diets used are based on the exclusion of products that stimulate an increase in the secretion of the stomach and pancreas. Resting the pancreas is very important to reduce inflammation activity. In the acute phase, a deleted version of the diet is used, and when it goes into remission, a non-ripened version is used.
In chronic pancreatitis, it is important to provide the body with a sufficient amount of protein; 110-120 g of protein per day is included in the diet, which slightly exceeds the physiological norm. At the same time, 60% of this amount should be animal protein. The menu includes dishes from lean meat, poultry, fish, cottage cheese and egg whites. But fats and simple carbohydrates, on the contrary, limit.
Food in chronic pancreatitis should be regular and partial - 5-6 times a day in small portions. More about nutrition for pancreatitis