The famous ancient Greek healer Hippocrates said: "We are what we eat! "He is right in many ways, which means the culture of food consumption, its benefit or harm in relation to the human body. Thus, some products are essential for the normal 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, properly balanced nutrition is a cure that prevents 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 required for the breakdown and digestion of nutrients:
trypsins for digesting proteins;
lipases for processing fats;
lactase, maltase, amylase, invertase, which ensure the conversion of complex carbohydrates into monosaccharides.
Normally, pancreatic juice, saturated with enzymes, enters the duodenum through the channels, where the main stage of food digestion takes place. Pathology occurs when the secretion of enzymatic fluid is too active, its amount becomes such that it cannot physiologically "quickly" migrate from the gland. Stagnation occurs when digestive enzymes interact with pancreatic cells, leading to their death, which stimulates 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 improved state and produces an excess amount of enzymes, which not only have a toxic effect on the organ itself, but also on other life support systems that enter the systemic bloodstream.
The same reactions are possible when you take certain medicines.
Another common cause of the disease is partial or complete obstruction of the pancreatic duct. This can be due to the formation of stones (in the case of cholelithiasis), the formation of cysts, tumors, injuries and in rare cases - with a structural anomaly. Less commonly diagnosed are cases of development of the disease as a result of parasitism by 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 most pronounced: there is severe pain in the left side, radiation to the forearm, frequent vomiting and hyperemia. An attack usually occurs after eating fried or spicy food or alcoholic beverages. In this case, urgent hospitalization and immediate treatment is necessary to stabilize the condition as soon as possible and avoid dangerous complications such as pancreatic necrosis and multiple organ failure.
In the first 2-3 days after an attack, it is forbidden to eat any food to stop the production of enzymatic secretions. During this period, the body is fed through drips.
Drink as desired, but in small portions. Consumption of mineral water or boiled water, weakly brewed tea and rose hip decoction is permitted. After the pain subsides, the patient gradually switches 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 (broth, purees, porridge) by boiling or steaming and cooled to a warm temperature before serving. Gradually expand the diet, adding more high-calorie and non-chopped foods. Additional nutrition for pancreatitis still remains fractional and sparse.
With a chronic disease, the clinical picture is not so bright. The pathology, in this case, has already affected most of the glandular tissues, which leads to serious disturbances in the functioning of the organ, primarily in the full production of enzymes. Persistent digestive disorders are observed: diarrhea, bloating, changes in the nature of stool, but no pain occurs. But during an exacerbation, the symptoms become more intense and accompanied by severe pain.
Dietary adjustments are made based on the same principles as in acute pancreatitis. After a three-day fast, the patient switches to fractional low-calorie meals (proteins - 60 g, fats - 50 g per day). This regimen is indicated for a period of 5 to 7 days. Furthermore, the type 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, finely chopped; Cooking by stewing or baking is permitted.
Daily salt intake should not be more than 6 g (for any type of pathology).
Why follow a diet for pancreatitis?
An acute attack of the disease is a serious damage to the health of the gland. Only in isolated cases does the organ recover completely without consequences. As a rule, such disorders do not disappear without a trace, especially if a person again abuses strong drinks or eats incorrectly. The transition to a chronic form is a dangerous condition, and it will no longer be possible to fully recover. In this case, the affected gland is unable to produce the necessary amount of enzymes; regular (often lifelong) use of medicinal analogues is required.
Dietary nutrition for pancreatitis is mandatory. The main goal is to relieve the diseased organ, reduce hypersecretion and prevent relapse. Hardly digestible, long-digestible foods that require increased production of pancreatic juice are excluded from the menu. The diet is chosen in such a way that it ensures normal functioning of the pancreas and maximum recovery of damaged tissue.
Diet plays an important role in the prevention of 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 production decreases, which can ultimately lead to the development of endocrine disease. In this case, poor nutrition is considered a predisposing factor.
Approved products for pancreatitis
After the symptoms have weakened, 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 pathology in the active phase and in case of an 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 - from 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, green peas, pumpkin, zucchini, celery, carrots. A lot of controversy arises among nutritionists about the consumption of beets. It is a well-known fact that cooked root vegetables are healthy, but the high content of betaine and sugar in it calls into question the safety of its use as a food for inflammation of the pancreas.
Vegetables are eaten puréed, in the form of puree, as part of starters. Gradually, a transition to coarser grinding is allowed.
Fruits, berries: apples, pears, pomegranates, peaches, strawberries, raspberries. The products are baked (apples), steamed, or various delicacies (without sugar) are made from them: preserves, marmalade, mousse, marshmallows, marmalade, jelly.
Meat (lean): turkey, chicken, rabbit, veal (fillet or tenderloin). The products can be eaten after the patient's condition has stabilized. They are used to prepare broths, puree soups, prepare steamed cutlets, quenelles, meatballs and soufflés.
Fish: pike, pike, carp, perch, hake, pollock, cod, blue whiting. Serve in cooked pieces or processed into minced meat for steaming.
Dairy products (low fat): milk, kefir, yogurt, cottage cheese, cream, yogurt. Acidified milk drinks are drunk little by little during the day, porridge is cooked with milk and cottage cheese is used for stews and puddings.
Separately, it is worth mentioning the cheese. Only salted soft cheeses are allowed for consumption: feta cheese, suluguni, etc. The products are added crushed to the food during preparation.
Cereal: semolina, rice, buckwheat, oatmeal. Grains that have been 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 (must), soft-boiled (rarely) or as an omelette.
Bread: wheat (yesterday's), with bran, crackers, crackers.
Oil: creamy (up to 30 g per day), vegetable (linseed, olive, refined sunflower) is gradually introduced into the menu.
Beverages: weak tea, compotes, diluted juices from non-acidic berries, fruits, still mineral water.
All food is prepared immediately before the meal. Soup "frying" of vegetables is prohibited.
Fully or partially restricted products
Unfortunately, a dangerous disease dictates its own strict rules, which the patient must continue to live by. First of all, it is about the daily diet. To avoid possible relapses and worsening of the condition in the future, you will need to permanently stop consuming certain foods. Of course, it 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 dining table. In addition, if the patient is well, nutrition for pancreatitis can be expanded by introducing foods that are not included in the main diet (some seasonal vegetables, fruits, etc. ). Their consumption must be strictly limited, carefully monitor the body's reaction. If any, even mild, symptoms that indicate a possible attack appear, the new food introduced into the diet is excluded immediately.
The patient's diet does not contain foods with a high fat content. First of all, it concerns meat (pork, lamb, duck, goose, offal). All semi-finished meat products and sausages are also prohibited. The latter pose a particular potential danger because include a large number of chemical flavor additives that irritate the entire digestive system. The exception is sausages or ham made from dietary poultry, which are sometimes consumed in small quantities.
Varieties of fatty sea and river fish (salmon, beluga, sturgeon, sterlet, etc. ), as well as caviar, rolls and sushi are excluded. Consumption of fish dishes with a moderate fat content and shellfish is allowed (no more than 2 times a week).
The diet menu does not contain vegetables with coarse fibers, high acidity: white cabbage, radish, rutabaga, radish, turnips, spinach, sorrel, corn, asparagus, eggplant. You should not serve pickled, pickled, salted vegetables, ginger, olives or dishes prepared with garlic and onions. Products must be thermally treated before eating, they should 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, which cause 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 from them are prohibited. Dried fruit is allowed to a limited extent.
Consumption of mushrooms and legumes is excluded. These products are a source of large amounts of vegetable protein, which helps 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.
Hardly digestible foods made from grains are prohibited: millet, barley, peas and pearl barley. The consistency of the finished grain should be semi-liquid and viscous; it is not recommended to eat it in crumbly form.
Fat milk as well as its derivatives (cottage cheese, kefir, sour cream) are extremely undesirable. Hard, salty, sharp cheeses and cheese products are prohibited.
When preparing food, do not use spices or serve factory-made sauces: mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, etc. Cooking by frying is strictly prohibited. Deep-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 applies to all smoked meat or canned fish. You should not leave fish in a small amount of water because. . . this releases extractive substances that require increased production of pancreatic juice.
It is forbidden to eat fresh bread, baked goods and sweet products. Such food is a source of a large number of carbohydrates, which promote the activity of the diseased organ and increased insulin release. In combination with cooking fats (margarine, etc. ), this is a serious load that is unacceptable for pancreatitis. Therefore, you should also not eat cakes, pastries, ice cream, chocolate or honey.
All alcohol is strictly prohibited, as well as strong coffee, carbonated drinks, cocoa and green tea.
Sample menu for a week for pancreatitis
Nutrition for pancreatitis in the acute phase is quite poor, but necessary to relieve inflammation. A 6-course meal plan is prescribed:
Breakfast. Soft porridge with water is preferable; in the absence of symptoms with diluted milk. You can complement your meal with a piece of toast brushed with butter.
Lunch. As a rule, it includes unleavened cottage cheese or cheesecakes, jelly and fruit puree.
Dinner. As a first course, light broths and vegetable soups are served. For the second course - meat or fish soufflé, steamed cutlets with pureed grains and vegetables.
Afternoon snack. Its composition is similar to the other snack.
Dinner. This meal is preferably light but with sufficient protein content. Boiled fish, meat pate with side dishes is suitable.
For the night. Instead of food - a glass of low-fat kefir or yogurt.
Depending on the patient's condition, the daily menu is supplemented with other dishes from the list of permitted products.
Monday
Pureed rice porridge, rosehip infusion.
Baked apple with dried apricots.
Chicken consommé with croutons, fish soufflé.
Kiss, biscuit.
Turkey meatballs, pumpkin and carrot puree.
Kefir.
Tuesday
Buckwheat porridge, tea with milk.
Low-fat cottage cheese (100 g), apple mousse.
Vegetable mash soup, steamed veal meatballs.
Compote, a piece of soft, lightly salted cheese.
Boiled zander with potatoes.
Ryazhenka.
Wednesday
Oatmeal in water with dried fruit.
Yogurt.
Rice soup with carrots, bread with cheese.
Fruit jam.
Cottage cheese casserole with pears, wheat bread.
Yogurt.
Thursday
Steam omelette (white), sandwich with butter, tea.
Curd pudding.
Fish soup, rabbit souffle with carrot garnish.
Kefir, fruit jelly.
Steamed chicken cutlet with cauliflower puree.
Coupled milk.
Friday
Steamed cheesecakes, rose hip drink.
Baked apple.
Cream of pumpkin soup, turkey roll with vegetables.
Yogurt.
Boiled veal, carrot pudding.
Unsweetened tea.
Saturday
Boiled egg white, kefir.
Fruit puree, biscuits.
Homemade noodles with vegetable broth, turkey cutlet.
Cottage cheese.
Pasta with green peas, compote.
Item's.
Sunday
Semolina porridge with butter.
Apple mousse.
Chicken broth with potato balls, fish balls.
Vegetable puree.
Steamed turkey with a side dish of zucchini and carrots.
Milk (low fat).
Diet recipes
Rice porridge with pumpkin
You will need:
Crushed round grain rice - half a glass;
pumpkin - 300 g;
milk half and half with water - only 1 glass;
sugar - 1 tsp;
salt.
Cut the pumpkin, previously peeled and seeded, into pieces, boil in a small amount of water until tender, rub through a sieve. Another option is possible: grate the vegetables and put them in the pot together with the rice.
Add cereal to boiling diluted milk and cook for 15 minutes. Then add pumpkin puree, sugar, and add a little salt. Stir and let it burn for another 2-3 minutes. It is better to eat porridge after it has stood for 20-30 minutes.
Meatballs and cauliflower soup
Ingredients:
turkey or chicken fillet - 300 g;
fresh egg white - 2 pcs. ;
potatoes - 3 pcs. ;
carrots - 1 piece;
cauliflower - 300 g;
water - 2-2. 5 l;
salt.
Make minced meat. Knead thoroughly with egg whites and form into meatballs the size of a walnut. Place cabbage, previously separated into small inflorescences, and grated carrots in boiling water. After 5 minutes, add the potatoes, cut into small cubes. When the vegetables are cooked, add meatballs to the soup, salt and stir. Simmer on low heat for 5-7 minutes.
If the disease worsens, you can prepare a gentler cream soup. In this case, the meatballs are not shaped. Minced meat (without protein) is added to the cooked vegetables, mixed, boiled for 5-7 minutes, after which the contents of the pan are pureed with a blender. Pour in the egg whites in a thin stream while stirring them into the soup.
Chicken soufflé
Products:
chicken breast without skin - 500 g;
milk - 1 glass;
egg whites - 2 pcs. ;
vegetable oil (for greasing the mold);
salt.
Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Pass the breast through a meat grinder twice, mix with egg whites and milk, add salt. Beat the minced meat with a blender until smooth. Grease a heatproof dish with oil and fill with meat mixture. Bake for 30 minutes without opening the oven.
Steamed fish cutlets
You will need:
white fish fillet (cod, pollock, perch) - 500 g;
whites from 2 eggs;
salt.
Grind the fish into minced meat, add salt, combine with egg whites and knead thoroughly until smooth. Form cutlets. Place them on a rack placed in a deep pan of boiling water and keep them over steam until cooked (25-30 minutes). You can use a slow cooker for this.
Broccoli omelette
Ingredients:
raw whites - 4 pcs (or 2 eggs);
broccoli - 200 g;
milk - 0. 5 cups;
water;
salt;
oil for lubrication.
Wash the cabbage, cut it into pieces, cook covered for 10 minutes. Beat whites (eggs) with milk and salt until frothy. Put cooked vegetables in a fireproof roasting pan, greased with oil, pour in the egg-milk mixture and put in an oven preheated to 180 °C. Bake for 10 minutes. In acute cases of the disease, cabbage florets 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 severe viral infections, abdominal trauma or has been exposed to long-term medication (hormones, tetracyclines). The disease often manifests itself in connection 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, most gentle menu, then the weekly table is gradually diversified, subject to good digestibility and the absence of disturbing symptoms.
It is important to remember that a growing child's body needs the necessary amount of nutrients, including fat. Therefore, in order not to overload the gland, the child receives the necessary dose of enzymes artificially, i. e. by means of medicine.
The daily menu must necessarily consist of vegetables, fruits (in the remission stage they can be eaten fresh, but with caution), fermented milk products, liquid, viscous porridge, soups, as well as cooked lean meat and fish. A strict diet after an attack must be followed for a month, an extended diet for at least 5 years, and in the chronic form of the disease it is necessary to follow the diet table for life.
For pregnant women
Pancreatitis in women during pregnancy can worsen while 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 diet, but taking into account all the nutritional needs necessary for the full development of the fetus.
Pros and cons
Following a diet is key to the health of not only the pancreas, but also the entire digestive system. Such nutrition is balanced, healthy, lighter and more fully digestible. In addition, despite the restrictions, the diet is quite varied and allows you to combine different foods in dishes, thereby providing a wide, nutritious table. However, it takes time to get used to this diet. For many patients, this is not so much a consumer barrier as a psychological one, because many well-known "tasty" products must be abandoned. But it is necessary to maintain the possibility of living normally.
Comments from nutritionists
Treatment of pancreatitis by means of diet is primarily aimed at maximum discharge of the affected gland. It is important to stop the excessive production of enzymatic secretions. But according to nutritionists, from time to time it is necessary to give the digestive organs complete rest. During this period, the affected organ is most predisposed to regeneration, because it functionally "sleeps".
For this purpose, therapeutic fasting (complete rejection of food) is carried out. Most often, this course is observed for 24 hours, but can be increased if the patient is well and under the supervision of a doctor. Prolonged abstinence from food (more than 7 days) requires hospitalization.
A more gentle option is fasting days. Nutritionists recommend having them at least once a week. Choose one from the range of permitted dishes, for example porridge or vegetable puree. It is prepared in such quantities that it can be divided into several meals. No other products are consumed.
Reviews and results
Only with strict adherence to the rules of the treatment table, stable positive dynamics of remission can be observed.
Any, even minor, violation of the diet can undo all previous efforts and provoke a new round of illness. 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 from patients with pancreatitis only confirm this. That is why it is so important to eat right. The most important thing is to take it easy, study your body and understand what is well tolerated and what is bad. An excellent motivation in this case is the strong support of loved ones.
Price
The cost of a weekly food basket is on average from 20 to 40 dollars.