The famous ancient Greek healer Hippocrates said: "We are what we eat! "He is right in many ways, meaning the culture of food consumption, its benefits or harms in relation to the human body. So, some products are vital for the normal functioning of all organs and systems, while others, on the contrary, affect the quality of life andlead to serious diseases, for example pancreatitis, in which case a balanced diet is a cure and 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 necessary for the breakdown and digestion of nutrients:
trypsin for digestion of proteins;
lipases for processing fats;
Lactase, maltase, amylase, invertase, which ensure the conversion of complex carbohydrates into monosaccharides.
Normally, pancreatic juice saturated with enzymes passes through the ducts into the duodenum, where the main phase of food digestion takes place. Pathology occurs when the secretion of enzyme fluid is too active and its amount becomes so large that it cannot physiologically migrate "quickly" from the gland. Stagnation occurs, in which digestive enzymes interact with the cells of the pancreas, whichleads to their death and stimulates inflammation.
In most cases, pancreatitis is a result of excessive and regular consumption of alcohol, fatty and heavy foods. Such a diet causes the pancreas to constantly work intensified, producing an excess amount of enzymes, which has a toxic effect not only on the organ itself, but also on other life support systems and enters the systemic bloodstream.
The same reactions are possible when taking certain medications.
Another common cause of the disease is a partial or complete blockage of the pancreatic duct. This may be due to the formation of stones (in cholelithiasis), the formation of cysts, tumors, injuries and, in rare cases, a structural abnormality. Less commonly diagnosed are cases of development of the disease as a result of parasitism by pathogenic microorganisms and other gastrointestinal diseases (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 on the left side radiating to the forearm, frequent vomiting and hyperemia. An attack usually occurs after consuming fried or spicy foods or alcoholic drinks. In this case, urgent hospitalization and immediate treatment are required to stabilize the condition as quickly as possible and avoid dangerous complications such as pancreatic necrosis and multi-organ failure.
In the first 2-3 days after an attack, consumption of any food is prohibited in order to stop the production of enzymatic secretions. During this time the body is fed via drops.
Drinking is permitted as desired, but in small portions. The consumption of mineral or boiled water, weakly brewed tea and rosehip decoction is allowed. After the pain has subsided, 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 a maximum of 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 are cooled to a warm temperature before serving. Gradually, the diet is expanded to include more high-calorie and non-crushed foods. Further nutrition for pancreatitis remains fractional and sparing.
In the case of a chronic illness, the clinical picture is not so rosy. The pathology in this case has already affected most of the glandular tissues and led to serious dysfunction of the organ, especially in the full production of enzymes. Persistent digestive disorders are observed: diarrhea, flatulence, changes in the consistency of feces, but no pain occurs. However, during an exacerbation, the symptoms worsen and are accompanied by severe pain.
The change in diet follows the same principles as for acute pancreatitis. After a three-day fast, the patient switches to fractional low-calorie meals (proteins – 60 g, fats – 50 g per day). This treatment is indicated for a period of 5 to 7 days. In addition, the type of food changes depending on the patient's condition. Proteins are preferred, the fat content remains low. Liquid foods are supplemented with viscous, finely chopped ones; Cooking by steaming or baking is permitted.
Daily salt intake should be no more than 6 g (with any form of pathology).
Why follow a diet for pancreatitis?
An acute attack of the disease represents serious damage to the health of the gland. Only in individual cases does the organ recover completely without any consequences. Such disorders usually 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; complete recovery is no longer possible. In this case, the affected gland is unable to produce the required amount of enzymes; regular (often lifelong) intake of medicinal analogues is required.
Dietary nutrition for pancreatitis is mandatory. The main goal is to relieve the diseased organ, reduce hypersecretion and prevent re-exacerbation. Hard-to-digest, long-digesting foods that require increased production of pancreatic juice are excluded from the menu. The diet is selected to ensure normal functioning of the pancreas and maximum recovery 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. When inflammation affects these formations, hormone production decreases, which can ultimately lead to the development of an endocrine disease. In this case, poor nutrition is considered a predisposing factor.
Permitted products for pancreatitis
After the symptoms have subsided, the patient is shown diet table 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. Their daily nutritional content 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 150g;
Calcium – 0. 8 g;
Sodium – 3g;
Phosphorus – 1. 3 g;
Magnesium – 0. 5g;
Iron – 0. 03 g.
All this suggests that the daily menu should be not only healthy, but also varied through the use of various permitted products.
Vegetables: potatoes, cucumbers, cauliflower, seaweed, green peas, pumpkin, zucchini, celery, carrots. There is a lot of controversy among nutritionists about the consumption of beets. Cooked root vegetables are known to be healthy, but the high content of betaine and sugar calls into question the safety of their use as food for pancreatitis.
Vegetables are pureed, in the form of puree, eaten as part of first courses. Gradually, a transition to coarser grinding is permitted.
fruits, berries: apples, pears, pomegranates, peaches, strawberries, raspberries. The products are baked (apples), steamed or various delicacies (without sugar) are prepared from them: jams, jams, mousses, marshmallows, jam, jelly.
meat (lean): turkey, chicken, rabbit, veal (tenderloin or tenderloin). The products can be consumed after the patient's condition stabilizes. They are used for cooking broths, pureeing soups, preparing steamed chops, quenelles, meatballs and soufflés.
Fish: Zander, pike, carp, perch, hake, pollock, cod, blue whiting. Served in cooked pieces or made into minced meat for steaming.
Dairy products (low fat): milk, kefir, yogurt, cottage cheese, cream, yogurt. Fermented milk drinks are drunk little by little during the day, porridge is cooked with milk, and cottage cheese is used for casseroles and puddings.
Regardless, the cheese is worth mentioning. Only pickled soft cheeses can be used for consumption: feta cheese, suluguni, etc. The products are added to the food in crushed form during cooking.
Grain: semolina, rice, buckwheat, oatmeal. Grain ground into flour is best.
pasta: any. Prepare according to instructions, small pieces are preferred.
Eggs: chicken, quail. They are eaten boiled (mashed), cooked until soft (rare) or as an omelette.
Bread: Wheat (yesterday's), with bran, crackers, biscuits.
oil: creamy (up to 30 g per day), vegetables (linseed, olives, refined sunflowers) are gradually introduced into the menu.
beverages: weak tea, compotes, diluted juices from non-acidic berries, fruits, still mineral water.
All dishes are prepared immediately before eating. "Frying" vegetables in soup is prohibited.
Fully or partially limited products
Unfortunately, a dangerous disease dictates its own strict rules by which the patient must continue to live. First of all, this concerns the daily diet. To avoid possible relapses and worsening of the condition in the future, you must permanently stop eating certain foods. Of course, this is difficult to accept, but the price of poor nutrition in pancreatitis is often the patient's life.
Dieting should not be viewed as torture. The number of things you can eat is not that small, in all areas of the food table. In addition, if the patient is well, the diet 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 monitoring the body's reaction. If even mild symptoms appear that indicate a possible attack, the newly introduced food into the diet is immediately excluded.
The patient's diet does not contain high-fat foods. This primarily concerns meat (pork, lamb, duck, goose, offal). Semi-finished meat and sausage products are also prohibited. The latter pose a particular risk because they contain a variety of chemical flavoring additives that irritate the entire digestive system. An exception are sausages or ham made from dietary poultry meat, some of which are 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 moderate fat content and seafood is allowed (no more than 2 times a week).
The diet menu does not contain vegetables with coarse fiber and high acidity: white cabbage, radishes, turnips, radishes, turnips, spinach, sorrel, corn, asparagus, eggplant. You should not serve pickled, pickled, salted vegetables, ginger, olives or dishes prepared with garlic and onions. The products must be thermally processed before consumption; they should not be consumed raw. Sweet tomatoes can be used in the diet with caution if there are no signs of inflammation of the pancreas.
Fruits and berries contain large amounts of acids, which lead to 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 fruits are allowed to a limited extent.
The consumption of mushrooms and legumes is excluded. These products are a source of large amounts of vegetable protein, which contributes to the activation of the pancreas. In addition, undesirable disorders of other organs of the gastrointestinal tract are possible: increased gas formation, constipation, which is especially problematic for people with pancreatitis.
Foods made from grains that are difficult to digest 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 in crumbly form.
Fatty milk, as well as its derivatives (cottage cheese, kefir, sour cream) are extremely undesirable. Hard cheese, salty, sharp cheese and cheese products are prohibited.
When preparing food, you cannot use spices or serve factory-made sauces: mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, etc. Cooking by frying is strictly prohibited. Fried foods (including sautéed vegetables for soups) are saturated with many carcinogens and other harmful substances that impair the functioning of the entire digestive tract. Regular consumption of such foods can provoke a new attack. The same applies to smoked meat or canned fish. You should not leave the fish in a small amount of water because. . . This releases extractive substances that require increased production of pancreatic juice.
The consumption of fresh bread, baked goods and confectionery is prohibited. Such foods are a source of a large amount of carbohydrates, which promote the activity of the diseased organ and increased insulin secretion. In combination with cooking fats (margarine, etc. ) it is a heavy burden that is unacceptable in the case of pancreatitis. Therefore, you should also avoid cakes, pastries, ice cream, chocolate or honey.
All alcohol, as well as strong coffee, carbonated drinks, cocoa and green tea are strictly prohibited.
Sample menu for a week for pancreatitis
The diet for pancreatitis in the acute phase is quite poor, but necessary to relieve inflammation. A 6-time meal plan is prescribed:
Breakfast. Preferably soft porridge with water, if there are no symptoms with diluted milk. You can complement your meal with a piece of toasted bread spread with butter.
Lunch. As a rule, these include unleavened cottage cheese or cheesecake, jelly and fruit puree.
Dinner. Light broths and vegetable soups are served as the first course. For the second course - meat or fish soufflé, steamed cutlets with mashed cereals and vegetables.
Afternoon snack. Its composition is similar to the second snack.
Dinner. This meal is preferably light but with sufficient protein content. Boiled fish, meat pie with a side dish are suitable.
Towards 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
Puree rice porridge, rosehip infusion.
Apple baked with dried apricots.
Chicken broth with croutons, fish soufflé.
Kissel, cookies.
Turkey meatballs, pumpkin and carrot puree.
Kefir.
Tuesday
Buckwheat porridge, tea with milk.
Low-fat cottage cheese (100 g), apple mousse.
Vegetable puree soup, steamed veal meatballs.
Compote, a piece of soft, lightly salted cheese.
Boiled pike perch with potatoes.
Ryashenka.
Wednesday
Porridge in water with dried fruits.
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.
Quark pudding.
Fish soup, rabbit soufflé with carrot garnish.
Kefir, fruit jelly.
Steamed chicken schnitzel with cauliflower puree.
Curdled milk.
Friday
Steamed cheesecakes, rosehip drink.
Baked apple.
Pumpkin cream soup, turkey rolls with vegetables.
Yogurt.
Tafelspitz, carrot pudding.
Unsweetened tea.
Saturday
Boiled egg whites, kefir.
Fruit puree, cookies.
Homemade noodles with vegetable broth, turkey schnitzel.
Cottage cheese.
Pasta with green peas, compote.
Varenets.
Sunday
Semolina porridge with butter.
Apple mousse.
Chicken broth with potato dumplings, fish dumplings.
Vegetable puree.
Steamed turkey with a side dish of zucchini and carrots.
Milk (low fat).
Diet recipes
Rice porridge with pumpkin
You will need:
Broken short grain rice – half a glass;
Pumpkin – 300g;
Milk half and half with water - only 1 glass;
sugar – 1 tsp;
Salt.
Cut the previously peeled and seeded pumpkin into pieces, cook until soft in a little water and rub 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 pumpkin puree, sugar and a little salt. Stir and leave on fire for another 2-3 minutes. It is better to eat porridge when it has rested for 20-30 minutes.
Meatball and cauliflower soup
Ingredients:
Turkey or chicken fillet – 300 g;
fresh egg white – 2 pieces;
potatoes - 3 pieces;
Carrots – 1 piece;
Cauliflower – 300g;
water – 2-2. 5 l;
Salt.
Prepare minced meat. Knead thoroughly with the egg white and form walnut-sized meatballs. Add the cabbage, previously disassembled into small inflorescences, and grated carrots to boiling water. After 5 minutes add the potatoes cut into small cubes. When the vegetables are cooked, add the meatballs to the soup, season with salt and stir. Simmer over low heat for 5-7 minutes.
If the disease worsens, you can prepare a more gentle cream soup. In this case, the meatballs are not formed. Minced meat (without protein) is added to the cooked vegetables, mixed, cooked for 5-7 minutes, then the contents of the pan are pureed with a blender. Pour in the egg white in a thin stream and stir it into the soup.
Chicken soufflé
Products:
Skinless chicken breast – 500 g;
milk – 1 glass;
Egg white – 2 pieces;
vegetable oil (for greasing the mold);
Salt.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Pass the breast through a meat grinder twice, mix with protein and milk, salt. Mix the minced meat with a mixer until smooth. Grease a heatproof dish with oil and fill it with the meat mixture. Bake for 30 minutes without opening the oven.
Steamed fish cutlets
You will need:
White fish fillet (cod, pollock, perch) – 500 g;
Protein from 2 eggs;
Salt.
Shred the fish into minced meat, add salt, mix with the egg white and knead thoroughly until a smooth mixture is formed. Form cutlets. Place them on a rack set in a deep pot of simmering water and let them cook over the steam until cooked through (25-30 minutes). You can use a slow cooker for this.
Broccoli omelette
Ingredients:
raw egg whites – 4 pieces (or 2 eggs);
Broccoli – 200g;
milk – 0. 5 cups;
Water;
Salt;
Oil for lubrication.
Wash the cabbage, cut into pieces, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Beat the whites (eggs) with milk and salt until foamy. Put the cooked vegetables in a fireproof frying pan greased with oil, pour in the egg-milk mixture and place in the oven preheated to 180 ° C. Bake for 10 minutes. In acute cases of illness, 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 drug abuse, has previously suffered severe viral infections, suffered abdominal trauma, or has received long-term drug therapy (hormones, tetracyclines). The disease often manifests itself in conjunction with other gastrointestinal diseases, for example gastritis. In this case, diet therapy should take into account the type of underlying disease.
The diet for pancreatitis in children is the same as for adults and follows a similar scheme: in the first week there is a strict menu that is as gentle as possible, then the weekly table gradually becomes more varied, subject to good digestibility and the absence of disordersSymptoms.
It is important to remember that a growing child's body needs the required amount of nutrients, including fats. Therefore, in order not to overload the gland, the child receives the required dose of enzyme artificially, i. e. H. with the help of medication.
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 porridges, soups, as well as boiled lean meat and fish. A strict diet after an attack must be followed for a month, a prolonged diet for at least 5 years, and in the chronic form of the disease, lifelong adherence to the nutritional table is required.
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 dietary, but taking into account all nutritional needs necessary for the full development of the fetus.
advantages and disadvantages
Adhering to a diet is the key to the health of not only the pancreas, but the entire digestive system. Such a diet is balanced, healthy, lighter and easier to digest. In addition, despite the restrictions, the diet is quite varied and allows different foods to be combined in dishes, thereby ensuring 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, since it is necessary to give up many familiar "tasty" products. However, this is necessary in order to maintain the possibility of a normal life.
Comments from nutritionists
Treatment of pancreatitis with the help of diet is primarily aimed at maximum relief 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 give the digestive organs complete rest. During this time, the affected organ is most susceptible to regeneration because it is functionally "sleeping".
For this purpose, therapeutic fasting is carried out (complete abstinence from food). Most of the time, this regimen is followed for 24 hours, but it can be extended if the patient feels well and under medical supervision. Long-term abstinence from food (more than 7 days) requires hospitalization.
Fasting days are a gentler option. Nutritionists recommend taking them at least once a week. One is selected 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 can stable positive dynamics of remission be observed.
Any, even minor, violation of the diet can negate all the efforts made so far and trigger a new wave of illness. No doctor will say in advance how this might turn out for the patient, but the consequences will definitely be extremely disappointing. Reviews of patients with pancreatitis only confirm this. That's why it's so important to eat right. The main thing is to take it easy, study your body and understand what is well tolerated and what is bad. An excellent motivation in this matter is the strong support of loved ones.
Price
The cost of a weekly grocery basket averages $20 to $40.