Diet for pancreatitis

Pancreatitis is a disease in which the pancreas becomes inflamed.It plays a huge role in the digestive system - it regulates energy metabolism, synthesizes digestive juices, and is responsible for the breakdown of carbohydrates.

The enzymes enter first the stomach and then the duodenum, where they begin to activate.If the pancreas is inflamed, the enzymes begin to “work” at an early stage - that is, even before secretion.Damage appears - the gland begins to digest itself, which provokes the death of some pancreatic cells.

The causes of pancreatitis may be:

• infectious diseases not related to the digestive system - for example, seasonal acute respiratory viral infections;
• diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
• poor nutrition;
• stress;
• alcohol abuse.

Pancreatitis can develop in several forms - acute, reactive and chronic.In acute cases, the pancreas can become inflamed completely or in parts; reactive develops against the background of diseases of the digestive system - peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, gall bladder or liver.

The chronic form can be in remission for a long time, and most often the disease progresses slowly.In most cases, inflammation occurs again when the diet is disrupted.

The nature of nutrition in pancreatitis of the pancreas plays a huge role - it is impossible to prevent an exacerbation without adhering to a special diet.What kind of diets are these, and what principles are used to create a menu for pancreatitis?

Principles of nutrition for inflammation of the pancreas

The basic principle of creating a diet that normalizes the functioning of the pancreas is to minimize the load on the digestive organ.

During an exacerbation, doctors give the following recommendations to adults: “hunger, cold and rest.”If the patient is in a hospital and pancreatitis is in the acute stage, then he is advised to refuse food for 2-3 days, and useful substances - salts and liquids - enter the body by drip.If you fast at home, it is impossible to fully ensure the normal water and electrolyte balance.You need and can drink, but only in small portions.

Even adults need to replenish their reserves of nutrients.Specially designed diets come to the rescue.The most “tested” of them is table No. 5.

The principles of this diet:

• create the most gentle conditions for the stomach and intestines - using mechanical and chemical unloading;
• eliminate pancreatic dysfunction;
• prevent negative changes in liver tissue - fatty infiltration;
• reduce the excitability of the gallbladder.

The diet should be followed not only during treatment of the disease, but also for another year after bringing it into remission.

The main properties of the diet in the treatment of pancreatitis:

• In the daily menu, you should limit the number of products that contain substances that have an extractive effect - stimulating the production of pancreatic enzymes:
1. refractory fats;
2. purines;
3. essential oils;
4. cholesterol;
5. coarse fiber;
6. glucose.
• The nature of the diet - foods with a high protein content, reduce the amount of carbohydrates and fats.
• Cooking technology - boiling, steaming, baking in foil, stewing.
• Meals are fractional - up to 6 times a day, in small portions.You need to get up from the table with a slight feeling of malnutrition, so as not to overload the pancreas.
• For the first time after an exacerbation, you can only eat pureed foods.
• You will have to temporarily give up seasonings, including salt;
• You cannot eat hot or cold food; dishes should be heated to approximately body temperature – 36°C.

Drinking regime is limited.You can drink as much as you want only when the urge to vomit has completely subsided.

There is no need to be afraid of dietary restrictions in the first days after an attack - fasting during treatment is only beneficial.

Diet menu for pancreatitis

When compiling a menu for several days during an exacerbation of pancreatitis, you need to immediately take into account its features - the products need to be ground.For example, if there is meat - then soufflé or meatballs, potatoes - mashed potatoes, and so on...

The menu consists of the following products - a sample list of them:

• baby food - you can use both what is packaged in jars and in powder, which is later diluted with liquid;
• puree – potato, cauliflower or white cabbage;
• pureed cottage cheese.

Proportions of nutrients in the daily menu - fats - 50-70 g, proteins - 130-150 g, carbohydrates - 300-320 g.

Approximately 2-4 days after the exacerbation, nausea disappears, and it is necessary to restore the amount of fluid in the body.You need to drink about 1.5 liters of water per day, in small sips, a glass every 6 hours.Heavier dishes are introduced into the diet gradually, after pain is eliminated, one item for each meal.

From this time - approximately on day 4 - the menu includes the following dishes and products:

• kefir – only low-fat;
• chicken breast broths;
• egg white omelet;
• juices from non-acidic berries, diluted half with water;
• rosehip decoction;
• up to approximately 30 g of honey per day;
• dried wholemeal bread;
• unsweetened crackers or biscuits;
• boiled pasta - you cannot use pasta or curls, preference should be given to small noodles;
• porridge is rubbed through a sieve; for pancreatitis, you can cook it from buckwheat or oatmeal (some nutritionists allow you to eat semolina, but it must be cooked completely so that it does not swell in the stomach).

You can eat the following foods:

• lean meat - chicken breast, beef, rabbit;
• fish – boiled, only meat can be used; fish soup and other soups made with fish broth cannot be eaten;
• fruits – baked or blanched;
• meat broth - secondary;
• pureed vegetables - broccoli, cauliflower, pumpkin.

The nature of nutrition during pancreatitis depends on the general condition of the patient.

How does the nutritional pattern change with pancreatitis?

An approximate diet menu in the first days after an exacerbation of chronic pancreatitis looks approximately as follows:

1 day:

• breakfast – half a portion of slimy oatmeal soup and half a glass of still mineral water;
• snack – baked apple without peel and sugar;
• lunch - mashed potatoes - also half a portion - with milk, without any seasonings;
• afternoon snack - jelly and bread flour;
• dinner - buckwheat porridge with weak tea, whitened milk;
• going to bed - a little milk diluted with water.

Day 2:

• breakfast – steamed protein omelet, chamomile decoction;
• snack – baked pear;
• lunch – pearl barley soup, ground, in water, crackers with compote;
• afternoon snack – milk soufflé;
• dinner - semolina porridge, pureed dried fruits, weak tea;
• going to bed - half a glass of rosehip decoction.

Next, you can loosen the diet a little - if the condition has returned to normal:

• breakfast – oatmeal with dried fruits, preferably with raisins, rose hip decoction;
• snack – raw banana;
• lunch – steamed fish with carrot puree, dried fruit compote;
• afternoon snack - cottage cheese seasoned with honey;
• dinner - milk rice porridge with weak tea;
• going to bed - half a glass of diluted milk.

The diet for chronic pancreatitis, when the condition has returned to normal, may look like this - an approximate version of the daily menu:

• breakfast - vegetable puree, a piece of meat soufflé, juice diluted with water, weak tea;
• snack - a protein omelet, a steamed chicken breast cutlet, a piece of dried bread, kefir;
• lunch - small noodles in chicken breast broth, boiled vegetables with a piece of steamed fish, bread, dried fruit compote;
• afternoon snack - crackers with sweet berry jelly, maybe a little honey;
• dinner - steamed meatballs, rice porridge (or mashed potatoes), stewed vegetables, tea.

If you want to eat before going to bed, you can eat a cracker, sweet fruit, or drink a glass of kefir.

A well-designed menu for the treatment of pancreatitis will help quickly bring the disease into remission.The diet should be followed for a year after the last exacerbation.