What diet for pancreatitis is needed to improve health

Recently, the number of patients with pancreatitis has been increasing. Doctors, nutritionists assure that in order to improve health, one should definitely adapt the diet. The question arises, what kind of pancreatitis diet contributes to recovery? How to eat well with this disease? Are there any foods that can make the condition worse? What should you eat to improve your health?

Basic nutrition rules 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, the diet should begin with fasting, 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 confectionery;
• dishes should include pureed products that do not cause irritation of the mucous membrane;
• the daily norm of fat does not exceed 80 g;
• reduce the amount of salt to 10 g;
• minimize sugar intake.

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 should be remembered that dietary needs are mandatory, otherwise this condition can lead to surgery.

In the first stage of treatment, you should fast for several days. The duration of refusal of food is from 2 to 4 days.

Only liquids are allowed. At this time, you can drink non-strong tea, make rosehip decoctions, mineral water is suitable without gas.

The next step is diet number 5. Food is low in calories, salt and fat are prohibited, which can provoke a new attack. All dishes are cooked in liquid form. You can add quite a bit.

It is best when compiling a menu to keep a list of useful and harmful products in front of the chapters.

If strict nutritional rules are not followed, the patient's condition will not improve.

How to eat with chronic pancreatitis

Nutrition in this disease should help normalize the functioning of the diseased organ. You should listen to the advice of Diet No. 5.

Diet tips for chronic pancreatitis:

• food and liquids entering the body should be hot;
• 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 for frying are strictly prohibited.

To form a proper diet, you should know the list of products that will help you recover or worsen your health.

Table of allowed and prohibited products:

• baked goods: crackers, yesterday's dry bread, biscuits;
• polenta cooked in water with a little milk;
• meat, we steamed, baked, boiled chicken, turkey, lean beef;
• lean fish, mashed, chopped;
• first courses: lean soups, vegetables, puree;
• dairy products - all non-acidic, non-fatty can be;
• vegetables: without coarse fiber;
• non-acidic fruits;
• eggs no more than 1 per day;
• butter no more than 30 g per day;
• vegetable oil no more than 2 tablespoons;
• non-acidic juices diluted with water;
• tea is not strong, it is possible with lemon, milk;
• baked goods: fresh bread, muffins, puff pastry products;
• soups cooked in strong broth;
• fatty meats;
• dairy products with a lot of fat;
• sauces;
• spices;
• fatty fish;
• fried eggs;
• coarse-fiber vegetables;
• mushrooms;
• legumes;
• carbonated drinks;
• alcohol;
• coffee;
• chocolate.

If you have any questions, it is recommended that you discuss the use of certain products with your doctor.

Diet for pancreatitis in children

Parents often have a question, what kind of pancreatitis diet does a sick child need? The diet, which helps to improve the condition of the child, differs little from the adult menu. But there are some particularities that need to be considered when feeding babies.

Nutrition rules for children:

• give hot food and drinks, feed more with chopped dishes, for example, mashed potatoes;
• the diet should contain all the components necessary for normal growth and development;
• even after the removal of an acute condition, it is imperative to adhere to dietary restrictions;
• prohibit children from drinking carbonated drinks;
• fast food dishes.

If the sick child is not even 3 years old, it is recommended to clean the food, grind it. Any citrus, freshly squeezed juices should be removed from the diet. Children should not be given berries with small seeds, a rough shell. No fresh vegetables are required.

A child over the age of 3 attends children's educational institutions, contacts with peers. First of all, you need to take care of nutrition in school and kindergarten. To do this, talk to a health worker, inform the teacher, the educator.

The hardest thing is to protect the baby from soda, chips and other dangerous foods. When attending children's birthdays and parties, care should be taken that the child does not violate the diet. The child must explain the need for him to limit food.

7-day menu for patients with chronic pancreatitis

For patients, it is recommended to draw up a menu in advance, this will allow them to follow a balanced diet, while the state of health will noticeably improve.

Menu option for the week:

1 day

• chicken meat, rosehip broth;
• oatmeal, tea;
• pumpkin puree soup, steamed fish, jelly;
• jar of baby food;
• stewed zucchini, carrots, baked chicken fillet, juice;

2 days

• rice porridge, honey tea;
• pumpkin puree, compote;
• vegetable puree, chicken meatballs, jelly;
• tea, crackers;
• semolina and jelly pudding;

Three days

• oat porridge, jelly;
• baked apple with ricotta, rosehip broth;
• vegetable puree, steamed fish, compote;
• cottage cheese, tea;
• boiled fish, tea;

Day 4

• rice porridge, crackers, rosehip broth;
• pumpkin puree, tea;
• vegetable broth, a piece of boiled fish, mashed potatoes, compote;
• honey tea, biscuits;
• rice pudding, jelly;

Day 5

• oatmeal, tea;
• cottage cheese, baked apple, rosehip broth;
• vegetable soup, chicken meatballs, compote;
• tea, dry biscuits;
• baked fish, rosehip broth.

Day 6

• semolina, tea;
• baked apple, rosehip broth;
• vegetable broth with a piece of beef, vegetable puree, compote;
• tea, crackers;
• steamed omelette, jelly;

Day 7

• rice porridge, crackers, rosehip broth;
• cottage cheese with chopped apple, tea;
• vegetable puree, chicken meatballs, jelly;
• cottage cheese, tea, biscuits;
• semolina pudding, jelly.

Knowing the basic requirements for dishes, you can create your own menu.

Recipes for pancreatitis

Knowing the basic rules of the diet, you can make changes to the menu. With food restrictions, you want to please yourself with something tasty. Nutritionists have developed special dishes that can be eaten with pancreatitis.

Recipe for baked apples:

1. In washed apples, remove the core being careful not to pierce the bottom of the fruit.
2. Put honey in an apple.
3. Add the cinnamon on top.
4. Bake in the oven.
5. Cool down.

Beetroot Salad Recipe:

1. Boil 1 medium-sized beet, cool, chop with a grater.
2. 2 apples of sweet varieties, peeled, cut into cubes.
3. Grind the nuts on a grater, you need about a tablespoon.
4. Combine all components, mix, lightly salt.
5. Fill with olive oil.

Recipe for semolina pudding with berry jelly:

1. Prepare a thick semolina polenta in water, pour into deep molds, leave to cool.
2. Pour the strawberries with a small amount of water, boil, remove, chop, put back into the broth.
3. Pour in sugar, bring to a boil.
4. Prepare the starch, mix in cold water, carefully pour into the strawberry broth, boil, without boiling it. Remove from heat, cool.
5. When ready to serve, cut the thickened semolina pudding into pieces, pour over the gelatin.

If desired, any diet can be supplemented with delicious healthy dishes.

We recommend a video about allowed and prohibited foods for pancreatitis:

Pancreatitis is a common disease that requires a strict diet to be treated. To do this, you need to know which foods can be consumed and which cannot. You should follow the cooking rules, general recommendations on 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. The two forms differ in the severity of symptoms and require different therapeutic approaches.

Acute pancreatitis

The inflammatory process in acute pancreatitis develops very quickly and is always accompanied by severe pain. In most cases, the disease occurs 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, which radiates to other organs. The pain attack lasts from half an hour to an hour. The pain is particularly severe when lying on your back. The attack worsens after eating, especially fried and spicy, and any alcoholic beverages.
• Vomiting, often violent, bilious and bitter. Constant nausea that does not go away after vomiting.
• Subfebrile or high temperature.
• Sometimes, due to a violation of the outflow of bile, yellowing of the eye proteins is observed, very rarely - a yellow tint of the skin.
• In some cases, the pain syndrome is accompanied by heartburn and bloating.

An acute pancreatitis attack requires immediate medical attention. Pain relievers only bring temporary relief, but they do not affect the cause of the inflammation. In the absence of qualified assistance, the risk of serious complications increases rapidly: infection on 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 foods, the disease is very likely to 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 manifests itself:

• diarrhea
• swelling,
• a change in the nature of the stool: they acquire a sticky consistency due to the large amount of fat in them and are poorly washed from the toilet walls.

Chronic pancreatitis can be asymptomatic for a long time: acute pain appears when significant pathological changes in the pancreas have already occurred. During an attack, chronic pancreatitis manifests itself with the same symptoms as acute ones:

• severe pain in the belt,
• nausea,
• He retched,
• intestinal disorders.

Diagnosis is made on the basis of ultrasound, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. 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 aren't very informative.

Insufficiency of pancreatic function 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 provided by a complex system of interrelated and interdependent biochemical reactions. Thanks to special protein compounds - enzymes or enzymes - all these reactions are accelerated, providing a fast metabolism. The action of enzymes is very selective: each of them is able to start, accelerate or slow down a single 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 the food consumed.

Digestion of food begins in the mouth. The food crushed by the teeth into small pieces is mixed with saliva, which contains the enzyme alpha-amylase. The better we chew our food, the easier it is for the salivary gland enzyme to convert starch molecules into soluble sugars and facilitate the further processing process.

After the initial processing, food enters the stomach through the esophagus, where the gastric enzyme 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 gastric motility;
• breaks down fat 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 digestion process of milk proteins.

Bile plays an important role in the digestion process. Contains bile acids which stimulate the production of pancreatic secretions.

From the stomach, the food bolus is evacuated into the duodenum, where the main food digestion process takes place. It is supplied by more than 20 pancreatic enzymes. 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:

• protease: the breakdown of proteins into amino acids;
• nucleases - act on the nucleic acids of DNA;
• amylase: breaks down starch into simple sugars;
• lipase: 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, flatulence, followed by anemia and malnutrition.

What to take with food with a deficiency of pancreatic enzymes

With pancreatitis, the process of producing digestive enzymes by the pancreas is disrupted, as a result of which a person suffers from discomfort and pain in the stomach. In this case, after a comprehensive examination, replacement therapy can be prescribed.

The task of treatment with enzyme preparations is to compensate for their deficiency 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 it is necessary to drink them strictly before meals in the dosage prescribed by the doctor!

Modern pharmacology offers a large number of different enzyme preparations of animal and plant origin. Some of them only aim to fill the lack of a single enzyme, for example by breaking down lactose or fat. There are also means of complex effects, prescribed for a deficiency of several enzymes in various organs of the digestive system.

Pancreatic enzymes are obtained from the organs of cows or pigs. The composition of the drugs includes the main pancreatic enzymes: amylase, lipase and trypsin. In addition to pure pancreatin, polyenzymatic preparations can 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 symptoms.

What is the diet for pancreatitis?

In the process of treating pancreatitis, nutrition plays no less important 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.

Difficult-to-process foods increase the load on the inflamed organ. After a hearty feast of fried fatty foods, the pancreas begins to intensively produce enzymes for its digestion. If the ducts of the gland are narrowed, the pancreatic juice produced in the extreme mode accumulates in the gland, aggravating the development of the disease - the affected pancreas begins to digest.

Signs that your gland is overworking include:

• heaviness in the abdomen after eating,
• stomach ache,
• belching
• stomach pain attacks.

Of course, always sticking to a strict diet isn't easy, especially at home. People with severe dietary restrictions are forced to cook on their own and resist the temptation to eat something fried or spicy.

It is important to understand that a violation of the diet can cause an acute attack of pancreatitis with all the ensuing consequences: severe pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. A single failure can thwart all efforts to maintain a long-term remission.

Diet rules number 5: what you can and cannot eat with pancreatitis

The pancreatitis diet has many restrictions on both what foods are allowed and how they are prepared. Especially for people with pancreatic problems, one of the founders of dietology and home gastroenterology, Professor I. I. Pevzner developed a dietary table number 5.

But, before getting acquainted with the specific provisions of this diet, it is necessary to take into account the general principles of nutrition for pancreatitis:

1. you need to eat 5 times a day in small portions;
2. exclude fried and pickled foods;
3. in the acute stage of the disease, food must be crushed or dried;
4. animal proteins should predominate in the diet;
5. the amount of fat per day should not exceed 50 g;
6. sugar also falls under a strict restriction: no more than 30 g per day;
7. products that increase flatulence are prohibited: sweet carbonated drinks, legumes, sweet apples and grapes, sweet muffins and others;
8. salt intake is minimized - no more than three or five grams.

Important!With pancreatitis, you can eat slow carbohydrates, while you need to monitor the ratio of nutrients in 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 daily calorie intake and the balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates based on the body mass index. This information can be easily found on the Internet on sites dedicated to proper nutrition and a healthy lifestyle. There are various mobile applications for counting calories and nutrients.

All these principles are taken into account in diet number 5, which exists in the basic and advanced versions.

The basic option is indicated for relapses of chronic pancreatitis and the acute nature of the disease. In the acute phase, the diet is stricter with many restrictions. It aims to unload the pancreas and relieve symptoms of acute inflammation. In the first 3 days of the acute phase, fasting is recommended for the patient to rest the pancreas. Also, within 3-7 days, carbohydrate foods are allowed in small portions at short intervals. The calorie content of the diet these days should be reduced and the food is consumed only in a pureed or semi-liquid form.

Important!It is widely believed that rich broth, especially chicken broth, helps well with any digestive problems. With pancreatitis, gallbladder diseases and other pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract, broths rich in fat are categorically contraindicated! An excessive amount of animal fat significantly increases the load on the pancreas and prevents the condition from normalizing.

The diet includes cereals in water and vegetable soups with various cereals, with the exception of millet and corn, boiled or steamed vegetable puree. From drinks, weak tea, jelly, compote of dried fruits are allowed. Bread is allowed only white and slightly dried, you can eat crackers and biscuits like biscuits.

On the third day of the carbohydrate diet, protein products are gradually introduced:

• lean meat soup, it is preferable to cook the broth from veal, turkey or chicken breast, the meat of the broth must be passed through a meat grinder or minced in a blender;
• steamed omelette or soft-boiled eggs;
• steamed cutlets of lean meat or lean fish;
• cottage cheese casseroles and cottage cheese soufflé with a minimum fat content.

Diet number 5 is recognized to spare the pancreas as much as possible, which needs complete rest in the acute phase. The foods allowed and prohibited for the basic diet are shown in Table 1.

Important!The predominance of protein foods in the diet can lead to constipation. In this case, you need to add more raw fruits and vegetables from the allowed list. With gout, proteins of vegetable origin or sea fish are preferred.

Can chronic pancreatitis be treated?

So far, no drugs have been developed to stop and reverse 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 a significant decrease in pancreatic function occurs, therapy is supplemented with agents to normalize digestion and blood sugar levels. To achieve remission of chronic pancreatitis, proton pump inhibitors, antispasmodics, painkillers, 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?

Adhering to a therapeutic diet is an effective and scientifically proven remedy for preventing flare-ups. There are several modifications of therapeutic diets for the stage 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. Rest for the pancreas is very important to reduce the activity of inflammation. In the acute phase, a cleared version of the diet is used, and when entering remission, an unmashed 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 made up of animal proteins. The menu includes dishes of lean meat, poultry, fish, cottage cheese and egg whites. But simple fats and carbohydrates, on the contrary, limit.

Nutrition in chronic pancreatitis should be regular and fractional - 5-6 times a day in small portions. Read more on nutrition for pancreatitis