The famous Greek healer Hippocrates said: "We are what we eat! "»He is right in many respects, by which he means the culture of food consumption, its usefulness or harm 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, reduce the quality of life and lead to serious diseases, for example, pancreatitis. In this case, a well-balanced diet is a remedy, avoiding 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:
trypsins, for protein digestion;
lipases, for the treatment of 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 takes place. The pathology occurs when the secretion of enzymatic fluid is too active, its quantity becomes such that it cannot physiologically migrate "rapidly" out of the gland. Stagnation occurs during which digestive enzymes interact with pancreatic cells, leading to their death, 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 functions 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 survival systems, enteringin the systemic blood circulation.
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 cases of cholelithiasis), cyst formation, tumors, injuries and, in rare cases, a structural abnormality. Less frequently diagnosed are cases of disease development resulting from 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 on the left side, radiating to the forearm, frequent vomiting and hyperemia. A seizure usually occurs after eating fried or spicy foods or alcoholic drinks. In this case, urgent hospitalization and immediate treatment are necessary in order to stabilize the condition as quickly as possible and avoid dangerous complications such as pancreatic necrosis and multiorgan failure.
In the first 2-3 days following an attack, it is forbidden to eat any food in order to stop the production of enzymatic secretions. During this period, the body is nourished by drops.
Drinking is allowed as desired, but in small portions. Consumption of mineral or boiled water, weakly brewed tea and rosehip decoction is allowed. Once the pain subsides, the patient gradually returns 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 need to 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 (broths, purees, porridges) by boiling or steaming and cooled to lukewarm temperature before being served. Gradually, the diet is expanded, adding more high-calorie, non-chopped foods. Supplementary nutrition for pancreatitis still remains fractional and sparing.
With chronic illness, the clinical picture is not so bright. The pathology, in this case, has already affected most of the glandular tissues, leading to serious disturbances 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 the stools, but no pain occurs. 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 diet is indicated for a duration of 5 to 7 days. In addition, the nature of the food changes depending on the patient's condition. Preference is given to proteins, the amount of fat remains low. Liquid food is supplemented with finely chopped viscous food; Stewing or baking is permitted.
Daily salt consumption should not exceed 6 g (for any form of pathology).
Why diet for pancreatitis?
An acute attack of the disease constitutes serious damage to the health of the gland. Only in isolated cases does the organ recover completely without any consequences. As a rule, these disorders do not disappear without a trace, especially if a person again abuses strong drinks or eats poorly. The transition to a chronic form is a dangerous condition, it will no longer be possible to completely recover from it. In this case, the affected gland is not able to produce the required volume of enzymes and 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 reexacerbation. Difficult to digest and long-digesting foods that require increased production of pancreatic juice are excluded from the menu. The diet is chosen in such a way as to ensure the normal functioning of the pancreas and maximum restoration of damaged tissues.
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, hormonal generation decreases, which can ultimately lead to the development of endocrine disease. Poor diet, in this case, is considered a predisposing factor.
Products authorized for pancreatitis
Once the symptoms have subsided, the patient is presented with 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 cases of acute crisis. It is quite limited and consists mainly of easily digestible carbohydrates.
Improved nutrition for pancreatitis involves adjusting the carbohydrate diet by adding protein products. Their daily food content does not exceed 125 g. At the same time, the amount of fat consumed should not exceed 70 g. Additionally, 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 be not only healthy, but also varied through the use of various permitted products.
Vegetables: potatoes, cucumbers, cauliflower, seaweed, peas, pumpkin, zucchini, celery, carrots. Many controversies arise among nutritionists regarding the consumption of beets. It is a known fact that boiled root vegetables are healthy, but their high betaine and sugar content calls into question the safety of their use as a food for pancreatic inflammation.
Vegetables are eaten mashed, in puree form, as part of starters. Gradually, a transition to coarser grinding is allowed.
Fruits, berries: apples, pears, pomegranates, peaches, strawberries, raspberries. Products are baked (apples), steamed, or various delicacies (without sugar) are prepared from them: preserves, jams, mousses, marshmallows, marmalade, jelly.
Lean meat): turkey, chicken, rabbit, veal (fillet or tenderloin). The products can be consumed once the patient's condition has stabilized. They are used to cook broths, puree soups, prepare steamed schnitzels, dumplings, meatballs and soufflés.
Fish: zander, pike, carp, perch, hake, pollock, cod, blue whiting. Served in boiled 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 stews and puddings.
Separately it is worth mentioning cheese. Only soft cheeses in brine are authorized for consumption: feta, suluguni, etc. The products are added crushed to food during cooking.
Cereals: semolina, rice, buckwheat, oat flakes. Cereals ground into flour work best.
Pasta: any of them. Prepare according to instructions, preference is given to small items.
Eggs: chicken, quail. They are eaten boiled (mashed), boiled (rarely) or in an omelet.
Bread: wheat (yesterday), with bran, crackers, biscuits.
Oil: creamy (up to 30 g per day), plants (flax, olive, refined sunflower) are gradually introduced into the menu.
Beverages: weak tea, compotes, diluted juices of non-acidic berries, fruits, still mineral water.
All dishes are prepared just before the meal. "Frying" vegetable soup is prohibited.
Fully or partially limited products
Unfortunately, a dangerous illness dictates its own strict rules according to which the patient will have to continue to live. First of all, it concerns the daily diet. To avoid possible relapses and worsening of the disease 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 considered an ordeal. The number of things you can eat is not so small, and this is 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 vegetables, seasonal fruits, etc. ). Their consumption should be strictly limited, carefully monitoring the body's reaction. If even mild symptoms appear indicating a possible attack, the new food introduced into the diet is immediately excluded.
The patient's diet does not contain foods high in fat. First of all, this concerns meat (pork, lamb, duck, goose, offal). All semi-finished meat products and sausages are also prohibited. The latter represent a particular potential danger, because they contain a large number of chemical flavoring additives which irritate the entire digestive system. The exception is sausages or ham made from dietary poultry meat, 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 moderate fat content and seafood is allowed (no more than 2 times a week).
The diet menu does not contain vegetables with coarse fiber, high acidity: white cabbage, radish, rutabaga, radish, turnip, spinach, sorrel, corn, asparagus, eggplant. You should not serve pickled, pickled, salted vegetables, ginger, olives or dishes prepared with garlic and onions. Products should be heat treated before consumption and 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, causing 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 their juices are prohibited. Dried fruits are permitted to a limited extent.
The consumption of mushrooms and legumes is excluded. These products are a source of large amounts of plant proteins, which help activate the pancreas. In addition, undesirable disorders from other organs of the gastrointestinal tract are possible: increased gas formation, constipation, especially problematic for people with pancreatitis.
Difficult-to-digest foods based on cereals are prohibited: millet, barley, peas and pearl barley. The consistency of finished cereals should be semi-liquid and viscous, it is not recommended to eat them in crumbly form.
Fat milk, as well as its derivatives (cottage cheese, kefir, sour cream) are extremely undesirable. Hard, salty, spicy cheeses and cheese products are prohibited.
When preparing dishes, you cannot use spices or serve factory-made sauces: mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, etc. Cooking by frying is strictly prohibited. Fried foods (including vegetables sautéed 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 goes for any 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.
It is forbidden to eat fresh bread, bakery and sweet products. These foods are a source of a large amount of carbohydrates, which promote the activity of the diseased organ and increase the release of insulin. In combination with cooking fats (margarine, etc. ), this is an unacceptable large load 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, soft 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-step meal plan is prescribed:
Breakfast. Soft porridges with water are preferable; in the absence of symptoms, with diluted milk. You can complete 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. Light broths and vegetable soups are served as starters. For the second course - meat or fish soufflé, steamed cutlets with cereal and vegetable puree.
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, meat pâté with a side dish are 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
Rice porridge puree, rosehip infusion.
Baked apple with dried apricots.
Chicken consommé with croutons, fish soufflé.
Kissel, biscuits.
Turkey meatballs, pumpkin and carrot puree.
Kefir.
Tuesday
Buckwheat porridge, milk tea.
Low-fat cottage cheese (100 g), apple mousse.
Vegetable puree soup, steamed veal meatballs.
Compote, a piece of lightly salted soft cheese.
Boiled pike perch with potatoes.
Ryazhenka.
Wednesday
Oatmeal porridge in water with dried fruits.
Yogurt.
Carrot rice soup, cheese bread.
Fruit jam.
Cottage cheese casserole with pears, wheat bread.
Yogurt.
THURSDAY
Steamed omelette (white), butter sandwich, tea.
Curd pudding.
Fish soup, rabbit soufflé garnished with carrots.
Kefir, fruit jelly.
Steamed chicken escalope with cauliflower puree.
Rotten milk.
Friday
Steamed cheesecakes, rosehip drink.
Baked apple.
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 escalope.
Cottage cheese.
Pasta with peas, compote.
Varenets.
Sunday
Semolina porridge with butter.
Apple mousse.
Chicken broth with potato balls, fish balls.
Vegetable puree.
Steamed turkey with zucchini and carrots.
Milk (low fat).
Diet recipes
Pumpkin rice porridge
You 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 previously peeled and seeded pumpkin into pieces, boil it in a little water until it is tender, pass it through a sieve. Another option is possible: grate the vegetable and add it to the pan with the rice.
Add the cereals 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 fire for another 2-3 minutes. It is best to eat porridge when it has sat 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 – 300 g;
water – 2-2. 5 l;
salt.
Prepare minced meat. Knead well with the egg whites and form walnut-sized meatballs. 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. Simmer over low heat for 5 to 7 minutes.
If the disease worsens, you can prepare a milder cream soup. In this case, the meatballs are not shaped. 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. Drizzle in the egg whites while incorporating them into the soup.
Chicken soufflé
Some 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 twice through a meat grinder, mix with egg whites and milk, salt. Beat the minced meat with a blender until smooth. Grease a heat-resistant dish with oil and fill 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;
whites of 2 eggs;
salt.
Grind the fish into minced meat, add salt, mix with egg whites and knead well until smooth. Form cutlets. Place them on a rack placed in a deep pot of boiling water and keep them steaming 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 the whites (eggs) with the milk and salt until frothy. Put the boiled vegetables in a fireproof pan greased with oil, pour in the egg-milk mixture and bake in an oven preheated to 180°C. Bake for 10 minutes. In acute cases of the disease, cabbage inflorescences are reduced to pulp.
For kids
The disease is rarely diagnosed during childhood. However, an acute attack is possible if the child suffers from drug addiction, has previously suffered from serious viral infections, abdominal trauma or has been subjected to long-term drug treatment (hormones, tetracyclines). The disease often manifests itself in combination with other gastrointestinal pathologies, for example, gastritis. In this case, diet therapy 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 menu and the most gentle, then the weekly table gradually diversifies, subject to'good digestibility and absence of disturbances. symptoms.
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 enzymes artificially, that is, with the help of medications.
The daily menu must necessarily consist of vegetables, fruits (in remission they can be eaten fresh, but with caution), fermented milk products, liquid and viscous porridges, soups, as well as boiled lean meat and fish. A strict diet after an attack should be followed for a month, a prolonged diet for at least 5 years, and in the chronic form of the disease it is necessary to adhere to the dietary table for life.
For pregnant women
Pancreatitis in women during pregnancy can worsen when taking certain vitamin complexes or as a result of internal pressure on the gland from an enlarged uterus. In this case, nutrition for pancreatitis 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. Such nutrition is balanced, healthy, easier and more digestible. In addition, despite the restrictions, the diet is quite varied and allows you to combine different foods in dishes, providing a wide and nutritious table. 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, since many familiar "tasty" products will have to be abandoned. But this is necessary to maintain the possibility of living normally.
Feedback from nutritionists
Treatment of pancreatitis with diet is primarily aimed at unloading the affected gland as much as possible. It is important to stop the excessive production of enzymatic secretions. However, according to nutritionists, sometimes it is necessary to provide complete rest to the digestive organs. During this period, the affected organ is most predisposed to regeneration, because it is functionally "asleep".
For this purpose, therapeutic fasting is practiced (total refusal of food). Most often, this diet is observed for 24 hours, but can be increased if the patient feels well and under the supervision of a doctor. Long-term food abstinence (more than 7 days) requires hospitalization.
Fasting days are a gentler option. Nutritionists recommend consuming it at least once a week. From the range of permitted dishes, one is chosen, 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.
Assessments and results
Only with strict adherence to the rules of the treatment table can positive and stable dynamics of remission be observed.
Any, even minor, violation of the diet can undo all the efforts previously made, thereby provoking a new round of diseases. How this might happen for the patient, no doctor will say in advance, but, in any case, the consequences will be most disappointing. Reviews of patients with pancreatitis only confirm this. This is why it is so important to eat well. The main thing is to take it easier, 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 food basket averages $20 to $40.