The famous Greek healer Hippocrates said: "We are what we eat! " He is right in many ways, referring to the culture of food consumption, its usefulness or harm in relation to the human body. Thus, some products are vital for the full normal functioning of all organs and systems, while others, on the contrary, reduce the quality of life and cause serious diseases, for example, pancreatitis. In this case, adequate and balanced nutrition is the cure, 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:
trypsin, for protein digestion;
lipases, to process 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 food digestion occurs. The pathology occurs when the secretion of enzymatic fluid is too active, its quantity becomes such that physiologically it cannot migrate "rapidly" from the gland. Stagnation occurs during which digestive enzymes interact with pancreatic cells, causing them to die and 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 manner, producing an excessive amount of enzymes, which has a toxic effect not only on the organ itself, but also on other life support systems that enter the systemic bloodstream. .
The same reactions are possible when taking certain medications.
Another common cause of the disease is partial or complete obstruction of the pancreatic duct. This can be due to stone formation (in case of cholelithiasis), cyst formation, tumors, lesions and, in rare cases, a structural abnormality. Less frequently, cases of disease development as a result of parasitism by pathogenic microorganisms and other gastrointestinal pathologies (cholecystitis, cholangitis, etc. ) are diagnosed.
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 on 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 needed 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 an attack, it is prohibited to eat any food to stop the production of enzymatic secretions. During this period, the body is drip fed.
You are allowed to drink as you wish, but in small portions. The consumption of mineral or boiled water, lightly brewed tea and rosehip decoction is allowed. Once the pain disappears, 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 no larger 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 cooling to a warm temperature before serving. Little by little, the diet is expanded, adding more high-calorie, non-chopped foods. Additional nutrition for pancreatitis remains fractional and moderate.
In a chronic disease, the clinical picture is not so bright. The pathology, in this case, has already affected the majority of the glandular tissues, causing serious alterations 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 stool, but pain does not occur. However, during an exacerbation, 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 (proteins - 60 g, fats - 50 g per day). This regimen is indicated for a period of 5 to 7 days. In addition, 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 complemented by viscous and finely chopped ones; Cooking by stewing or baking is allowed.
Daily salt intake should not exceed 6 g (for any form of pathology).
Why follow a diet for pancreatitis?
An acute attack of the disease causes serious damage to the health of the gland. Only in isolated cases does the organ recover completely without consequences. As a rule, these 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 cannot produce the necessary amount of enzymes; regular (often lifelong) use of medicinal analogues is required.
Diet nutrition for pancreatitis is mandatory. The main goal is to relieve the diseased organ, reduce hypersecretion and prevent a new exacerbation. Foods that are difficult to digest and require prolonged digestion 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 tissue.
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, then hormone production decreases, which can ultimately lead to the development of endocrine disease. Poor diet, in this case, is considered a predisposing factor.
Products allowed for pancreatitis.
Once 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 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. Its daily content in food does not exceed 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 thanks to the use of various permitted products.
Vegetables: potatoes, cucumbers, cauliflower, seaweed, peas, pumpkin, zucchini, celery, carrot. Among nutritionists, a lot of controversy arises about the consumption of beets. It is a known fact that boiled tubers are healthy, but the high content of betaine and sugars it contains calls into question the safety of its use as a food for inflammation of the pancreas.
Vegetables are eaten pureed, in the form of puree, as part of first courses. Little by little it is allowed to move to a coarser grind.
fruits, berries: apples, pears, pomegranates, peaches, strawberries, raspberries. The products are baked (apples), steamed or various (sugar-free) delicacies are prepared from them: preserves, jams, mousses, marshmallows, jams, jellies.
Lean meat): turkey, chicken, rabbit, beef (steak or loin). The products can be consumed once the patient's condition has stabilized. They are used for cooking broths, making purees, preparing steamed cutlets, quenelles, meatballs and soufflés.
Fish: pike perch, pike, carp, perch, hake, haddock, cod, blue whiting. It is served in boiled pieces or processed 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 stews and puddings.
On the other hand, cheese is worth mentioning. Only soft cheeses in brine are allowed to be consumed: feta cheese, suluguni, etc. The products are added crushed to food during cooking.
Cereals: semolina, rice, buckwheat, oats. Cereals ground into flour are best suited.
Pasta: any. Prepare according to instructions, preference is given to small items.
Eggs: chicken, quail. They are eaten boiled (puréed), boiled (rarely) or in an omelet.
Bread: wheat (yesterday's), with bran, crackers, biscuits.
Oil: creamy (up to 30 g per day), vegetables (flaxseed, olive, refined sunflower) are gradually introduced into the menu.
Drinks: weak tea, compotes, diluted juices of non-acidic berries, fruits, still mineral water.
All food is prepared immediately before the meal. "Frying" vegetable soup is prohibited.
Totally or partially limited products
Unfortunately, a dangerous disease dictates its own strict rules by which the patient will have to continue living. First of all, it concerns the daily diet. To avoid possible relapses and worsening of the condition in the future, you will have to stop consuming certain foods permanently. Of course, this is difficult to accept, but the price of poor nutrition during pancreatitis is usually the patient's life.
Dieting should not be treated as a test. The amount of things you can eat is not that small, and in all sections of the food table. In addition, if the patient feels well, nutrition for pancreatitis can be expanded by introducing foods not included in the main diet (some seasonal vegetables, fruits, etc. ). Its consumption must be strictly limited, carefully monitoring the body's reaction. If any symptoms occur, even mild, indicating 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, these are meats (pork, lamb, duck, goose, offal). Semi-finished meat products and sausages are also prohibited. The latter pose a particular potential danger, becausethey include a large amount of chemical flavoring 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, sterling, etc. ) are excluded, as well as caviar, rolls and sushi. The consumption of fish dishes with moderate fat content and shellfish is allowed (no more than 2 times a week).
The dietary menu does not contain vegetables with coarse fiber and high acidity: white cabbage, radish, kohlrabi, radish, turnip, spinach, sorrel, corn, asparagus, eggplant. Pickled, pickled, salted vegetables, ginger, olives and dishes prepared with garlic and onion should not be served. Products must be thermally processed before consumption, they must not be consumed 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 causes increased secretion of pancreatic fluid. Therefore, its use is undesirable, especially during the rehabilitation period after an attack. Citrus fruits, persimmons, melons, fresh berries and their juices are prohibited. Nuts are allowed on a limited basis.
The 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 of other organs of the gastrointestinal tract are possible: increased gas formation, constipation, which is especially problematic for people with pancreatitis.
Difficult to digest foods made from cereals 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 crumbly.
Fatty milk, as well as its derivatives (cottage cheese, kefir, sour cream) are extremely undesirable. Hard, salty and spicy cheeses and cheese products are prohibited.
When preparing food, you cannot use spices or serve factory-made sauces: mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, etc. Frying cooking is strictly prohibited. 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 foods can provoke a new attack. The same applies to any smoked meat or canned fish. You should not allow fishing in a small amount of water, because. . . This releases extractive substances that require increased production of pancreatic juice.
It is prohibited to eat fresh bread, pastries and sweet products. These foods are a source of a large amount of carbohydrates, which promote the activity of the diseased organ and greater release of insulin. In combination with cooking fats (margarine, etc. ), this is a serious load that is unacceptable for pancreatitis. Therefore, you should not eat cakes, pastries, ice cream, chocolate or honey.
Any 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-fold meal plan is prescribed:
Breakfast. Soft porridges with water are preferable; in the absence of symptoms, with diluted milk. You can complement your meal with a piece of toasted bread spread with butter.
Lunch. As a rule, it includes cottage cheese or unleavened cheesecakes, gelatin and fruit puree.
Dinner. Light broths and vegetable soups are served as a first course. For the second course: meat or fish soufflé, steamed cutlets with mashed cereals and vegetables.
Afternoon snack. Its composition is similar to that of the second snack.
Dinner. This meal is preferably light, but with sufficient protein content. Boiled fish and meat pate with garnish are suitable.
At 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
Puree rice porridge, rosehip infusion.
Baked apple with dried apricots.
Chicken consommé with croutons, fish soufflé.
Kissel, cookies.
Turkey meatballs, pumpkin and carrot puree.
Kefir.
Tuesday
Buckwheat porridge, milk tea.
Skimmed cottage cheese (100 g), apple mousse.
Vegetable puree soup, steamed beef meatballs.
Compote, a piece of lightly salted soft cheese.
Boiled pike perch with potatoes.
Riazhenka.
Wednesday
Oatmeal porridge in water with nuts.
Yoghurt.
Rice soup with carrot, bread with cheese.
Fruit jam.
Cottage cheese casserole with pears, wheat bread.
Yoghurt.
Thursday
Steamed omelet (white), sandwich with butter, tea.
Curd pudding.
Fish soup, rabbit soufflé with carrot garnish.
Kefir, fruit jelly.
Steamed chicken cutlet with cauliflower puree.
Curdled milk.
Friday
Steamed cheesecakes, rosehip drink.
Baked apple.
Pumpkin cream, turkey roll with vegetables.
Yoghurt.
Boiled beef, carrot pudding.
Unsweetened tea.
Saturday
Cooked egg white, kefir.
Fruit puree, cookies.
Homemade noodles with vegetable broth, turkey cutlet.
Curd.
Pasta with peas, compote.
Varenets.
Sunday
Semolina porridge with butter.
Apple Mousse.
Chicken broth with potato meatballs, fish meatballs.
Mashed vegetables.
Steamed turkey with zucchini and carrot garnish.
Milk (low fat).
Diet recipes
Pumpkin rice porridge
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 in a little water until tender and pass through a sieve. Another option is possible: grate the vegetables and add them 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 keep on heat for another 2-3 minutes. It is best to eat porridge when it has rested for 20 to 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 liters;
salt.
Make minced meat. Knead 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 potatoes cut into small cubes. When the vegetables are cooked, add the meatballs to the soup, add salt and stir. Let simmer for 5-7 minutes.
If the illness worsens, you can make a milder cream soup. In this case the meatballs have no shape. Minced meat (without protein) is added to the cooked vegetables, mixed, cooked 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:
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 a meat grinder twice, mix with the egg whites and milk, add salt. Beat the minced meat with a mixer until smooth. Grease a heatproof plate with oil and fill it with the meat mixture. Bake for 30 minutes without opening the oven.
Steamed fish cutlets
Will need:
white fish fillet (cod, haddock, perch) – 500 g;
whites of 2 eggs;
salt.
Grind the fish into minced meat, add salt, combine with egg whites and knead well until smooth. Form cutlets. Place them on a rack set in a deep pot of boiling water and steam until cooked (25-30 minutes). You can use a slow cooker for this.
broccoli omelet
Ingredients:
raw whites – 4 pieces (or 2 eggs);
broccoli – 200 g;
milk – 0. 5 cups;
water;
salt;
oil for lubrication.
Wash the cabbage, cut it into pieces and cook covered for 10 minutes. Beat the egg whites with the milk and salt until foamy. Place the cooked vegetables in a fireproof frying pan greased with oil, pour in the egg and milk mixture and place in the oven preheated to 180°C. Bake 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 subject to long-term drug therapy (hormones, tetracyclines). The disease often manifests itself along with other gastrointestinal pathologies, for example, gastritis. Diet therapy, in this case, must 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 very gentle menu, then the weekly table is gradually diversified, subject to good digestibility and the absence of disturbances. symptoms.
It is important to remember that a growing child's body needs the necessary amount of nutrients, including fats. Therefore, in order not to overload the gland, the child receives the necessary dose of enzymes artificially, that is, with the help of medications.
The daily menu must necessarily consist of vegetables, fruits (in the stage of remission they can be eaten fresh, but with caution), fermented milk products, liquid and viscous porridges, soups, as well as lean boiled meat and fish. After an attack, a strict diet must be followed for a month, a long-term diet for at least 5 years, and in the chronic form of the disease, it is necessary to follow the dietary table for life.
For pregnant women
Pancreatitis in women during pregnancy can be worsened by taking certain vitamin complexes or as a result of internal pressure placed 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 the key to the health of not only the pancreas, but also the entire digestive system. This nutrition is balanced, healthy, easier and more completely digestible. Furthermore, despite the restrictions, the diet is quite varied and allows different foods to be combined in the dishes, thus providing a broad and nutritious meal. 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 they will have to give up many "tasty" products that are familiar to them. But this is necessary to maintain the possibility of living normally.
Comments from nutritionists.
Treatment of pancreatitis with 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 ensure complete rest to the digestive organs. During this period, the affected organ is more predisposed to regeneration, becausefunctionally "asleep. "
For this, a therapeutic fast is carried out (total rejection of food). Most often, this regimen is observed for 24 hours, but it can be increased if the patient feels well and under the supervision of a doctor. Prolonged 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 such quantities that it can be divided into several meals. No other products are consumed.
Reviews and results
Only with strict compliance with the rules of the treatment table can a stable positive dynamic of remission be observed.
Any violation of the diet, even minor, can nullify all the efforts made previously and provoke a new round of illness. No doctor can say in advance how this might turn out for the patient, but, in any case, the consequences will be the most disappointing. Reviews of patients with pancreatitis only confirm this. That is why it is so important to eat well. The main thing is to take it easy, study your body and understand what is tolerated well and what is bad. An excellent motivation in this matter is the strong support of loved ones.
Price
The cost of a weekly basket of diet foods ranges between $20 and $40.