Pancreatitis requires more than medication: it is necessary to follow the doctor's instructions for proper nutrition. To feel better, you need a strict diet for pancreatitis. Even during the period of remission, one should not eat fried and spicy foods and other foods that cause an increased secretion of enzymes in the pancreas.
During an exacerbation, only a few drinks are allowed; taking solid foods leads to various complications. Without diet, it is impossible to reduce the inflammatory response of the pancreas.
How to eat well with pancreatitis: general rules
An important job of the pancreas is to produce hormones. Insulin is a biologically active substance that converts glucose into glycogen for storage in the depot organs as a quick energy reserve.
In addition, the pancreas produces catalysts and enzymes involved in the breakdown of food from the stomach to the duodenum. The pancreas is most responsible for breaking down carbohydrates. The enzyme amylase helps break down complex carbohydrates during digestion. It is produced mainly in the pancreas.
Pancreatic juice plays an important role in the digestion of fat. Therefore, people with inflammation of the pancreas should reduce the use of flour, sugary and fatty foods, so as not to force the gland to work in an improved manner. The nutritional benefit should stay with vegetable and meat proteins.
For patients with pancreatitis, a diet table number 5 is recommended. It contains products approved for acute and chronic inflammation of the digestive tract.
When developing a menu for pancreatitis, special attention is paid not only to the type of products recommended, but also to how they are prepared. Prohibited foods include grilled dishes, fried and baked goods, and smoked meats. The food eaten should be soft, the vegetables should preferably be steamed or cooked, the meat should be cooked for a long time.
Particular attention is paid to vegetables. Turnip, zucchini and pumpkin are recommended. Limit the greens. Many sweet fruits, sour berries are contraindicated. Spices and herbs that increase the secretion of pancreatic juice and lead to exacerbation of pancreatitis are strictly prohibited.
General diet rules:
- Provide frequent meals. Portions should be small (around 200 g).
- Balance your intake of protein, carbohydrates, fats and minerals.
- Limit meals that can irritate the stomach and intestines.
- Eliminate fried, salty, smoked, spicy and pickle dishes from the menu. Ketchup, mayonnaise, spicy adjika, etc. are forbidden.
- Warm still mineral water is recommended.
Good nutrition will prolong remission and will not cause an attack. It is eating disorders that most often lead to a deterioration in the functioning of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract.
Diet for acute pancreatitis
Severe inflammatory reactions of the pancreas lead to serious complications which are life threatening to the patient. Therefore, during an attack of pancreatitis, it is necessary to urgently call a doctor and follow all the doctor's prescriptions, a strict diet should be followed.
On the first day of an attack of pancreatitis, exclude all food. You can't even eat what appears to be light food, for example soups, without frying them. Fasting should be observed for up to 40 hours from the time of the exacerbation.
The diet for pancreatitis during an attack consists of fluids. It is allowed to drink a little mineral water, having released gases in advance, weakly stirred rose hips. Allowed to drink about 1 liter per day. It is recommended not to drink more than one glass every two hours. The drink should be at room temperature. It is not worth heating the broth or mineral water: the secretion may increase from a hot drink, which will lead to a pain attack.
Fractional nutrition for pancreatitis in adults is allowed from the third day after the attack. Food should be rich in protein, salt is minimized. For example, you can eat boiled chicken breast, which must be twisted in a meat grinder. Porridge is excluded, since it is rich in carbohydrates and requires increased body work.
On the seventh day, patients begin to adhere to diet No. 5. All dishes are served moderately hot, lightly salted. Fried and smoked foods are not allowed. Even a small mistake in nutrition will immediately provoke a new attack of the disease.
Diet for chronic pancreatitis
A therapeutic diet for pancreatitis consists of a fractional meal that does not irritate the lining of the stomach and intestines. Food should not cause improved functional work of the digestive organs.
What you can eat for diseases of the pancreas and include in the menu:
- In the case of a chronic form of the disease, soups are allowed, but they must be un-fried and cooked on lean meats. You can eat boiled chicken (breast), rabbit, lean veal.
- Anything can be made from fermented dairy products, but only low fat varieties. Fresh cottage cheese is recommended, kefir - 1% fat.
- Cereals are limited because they cause the production of enzymes to digest carbohydrates and a hormone to lower blood sugar. Cooking, pasta is completely excluded.
- Avoid onions, garlic, radishes and other vegetables that irritate the stomach.
- With pancreatitis it is necessary to refuse any alcoholic drink.
- Smoked meats, sweets, grilled meats are prohibited. A refusal of fried, spicy, salty is essential.
- Meals should be 5-6 times a day.
- Each serving does not exceed 300 g.
- The daily amount of kilocalories does not exceed 2400-2800.
What is a protein diet without milk, many patients ask. Milk causes bloating and discomfort, which negatively affects the digestive system as a whole. With pancreatitis, only fermented milk products are allowed, and milk is excluded.
Limited or partially limited products
With pancreatitis, meat and fish are allowed into remission. These foods vary in consistency and fat content, and not all are suitable for diets.
Not allowed among meats:
- Lamb. This type of meat is considered fatty and is not recommended for the table, as it will cause the pancreas to malfunction. You can only use low-fat boiled pieces no more than once a week.
- Elk. It is a very tough meat that requires increased work of the digestive organs. Only steamed elk cutlets can be eaten occasionally.
- Wild species of birds (ducks, quails, hazel grouse) captured for hunting. This meat is tough and nervous compared to poultry. These dishes are not recommended for frequent consumption.
- Pork. It should be limited, as many parts are very fatty and not suitable for a pancreatitis diet. The fat must be completely removed.
All salted, dried or smoked meat and fish products should be excluded. Excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, even low in alcohol content, is also negatively affected.
Fish on the menu should also be limited:
- Mackerel is considered fatty, it cannot be salted or baked. Only dishes based on boiled mackerel are allowed.
- Trout is limited in calories. One piece per week is allowed.
- All canned food is limited - with anchovies, sardines, etc.
At the slightest sign of exacerbation of chronic pancreatitis, the following should be excluded:
- fresh vegetables and fruits;
- spices;
- meals with a lot of fiber, such as cabbage;
- store products with a lot of preservatives;
- fast food products (hot dogs, hamburgers, various pies);
- sweets and pastries;
- all mushrooms in any form;
- sparkling water;
- alcohol.
Dieting will help reduce the onset of an exacerbation and will not lead to an attack.
Approved products
Good nutrition in pancreatic pancreatitis prolongs the remission phase, which significantly improves the quality of life of the patient. At the time of the attack, the pain is so bad that patients cannot do their usual tasks, work in the company is impossible, hospitalization is often required. It is impossible to bring acute pancreatitis, it is necessary to select a menu from the list of foods allowed by the diet.
What you can eat with pancreatic pancreatitis:
- Yesterday's whole grain white bread. Black bread, which causes bloating, is not recommended.
- Lean meat. For example, chicken, turkey, rabbit, and veal are still allowed.
- Low fat river or sea fish. It is baked in foil, steamed and can be eaten boiled.
- Low fat fermented dairy products. For example, kefir, biocefir and natural yogurts are allowed at 0-1% fat.
- Vegetable soup, vegetable stew. Different vegetable dishes need to be steamed, stewed or boiled for a long time.
- Moderate consumption of honey is permitted.
- Porridge cooked in water or milk. You can eat oats, buckwheat, rice. A small piece of butter can be added to the porridge.
It is important to understand that in pancreatitis, a diet is not a temporary limitation, it is a diet for life. The patient must get used to eating food that is mainly boiled or steamed. Baked foods are rarely allowed. Fried foods or grilled meats are completely excluded.
If the patient does not adhere to the diet, exacerbations of pancreatitis will systematically cause pain, worsen quality of life, and medical treatment in a hospital will be required. Frequent inflammation leads to adhesions and stagnation of the contents of the gland, which will provoke the formation of stones. Such complications will require surgical treatment and a long recovery period.
Characteristics of baby food for inflammation of the pancreas
Therapeutic nutrition for pancreatitis in young patients is to use diet number 5. The child should eat more protein, which is present in meat, kefir, cottage cheese, sea fish, legumes and other plants. You have to limit sweets, that is, carbohydrates, you cannot eat fatty foods.
Diet for inflammation of the pancreas in children depends on their age. A sample menu should be drawn up in accordance with age recommendations and restrictions typical of diet number 5. Regardless of age, with pancreatitis, fried and salty foods, preservatives and marinades are prohibited. You should limit sweet fruits, fruits which can disturb digestion, for example peas, plums. Sweets and other products rich in dyes and preservatives are prohibited. Fast food, fries, colored drinks are strictly prohibited.
Example menu for 3 days with pancreatitis: table
A week's menu with pancreatitis should be based on protein foods. The diet includes a variety of lean meat and fish dishes, and many dairy products are allowed. Fatty foods should be avoided; it is not recommended to get carried away by sweets.
Sample menu for each day:
| Meal times | Meal of day 1 | Meal of day 2 | Meal of day 3 |
| Breakfast | Liquid rice pudding with apple slices, green tea. | Porridge on pumpkin and millet water. You can add 20 g of butter. Honey herbal tea. | Muesli with kefir. |
| Brunch | Steamed pumpkin puree. It is allowed to add half a teaspoon of honey or a little cream. | Mashed applesauce. | Low fat cottage cheese. |
| Lunch | The first course is the vegetable borscht. Tuna stew with broccoli. Crackers. | Vegetable stew (carrot, cauliflower, squash). Ground turkey meatballs. | Pumpkin puree soup. A slice of boiled veal. |
| Snack | Low fat cottage cheese whipped with skim milk. | Low fat yogurt with dried fruit wedges. | Rice and curd pudding |
| Dinner | Steamed lean meatballs with a piece of bread from yesterday's pastries. | Low fat fish cooked in foil with rye bread. | Mashed vegetables with boiled beef. |
Before going to bed, if desired, you can drink a glass of kefir with a fat content of 0-1% or a decoction of rosehips. You should not eat fruit before bed, which causes fermentation and bloating, which will complicate the digestion process.
Recipes for pancreatitis
A very gentle diet is chosen at any stage of the disease. Dishes should be heat treated or boiled. Recipes for pancreatitis should not be based on ingredients for frying, salting, rich baking is excluded.
Food for pancreatitis should be non-nutritious fatty food, sweets are excluded.
Vegetable puree
You will need: pumpkin - 300 g, 2 large carrots, 1 young zucchini, 1/3 teaspoon of salt. Vegetables should be put in a slow cooker and cooked for 40 minutes. In the absence of a multicooker, they can be boiled in a small amount of water until completely softened. Then the ingredients should be wiped through an iron sieve or beaten with a blender. Vegetable puree is served with meat or a separate dish.
Vegetable Stew Recipe
You must peel 3 potatoes, 1 carrot, 1 squash, 2 eggplants. It is advisable to choose vegetables without thick skin, that is, not old. All components should be cut into small cubes. Then the chopped ingredients are folded into a saucepan, filled with water so as not to slightly cover the top layer. You need to add a pinch of salt. The pan is put on low heat, after the water boils, the stew is cooked for 40-50 minutes. It is recommended to serve vegetables with the fish.
Meat soufflé
Meat soufflé can be made with rabbit or beef. For 500 g of meat you will need 5 quail eggs, 100 g of broccoli, 1 carrot, 10% fat cream - about 100 ml, salt to taste.
It is necessary to cut pieces of fat, film, tendons of meat. The meat is minced in a blender. Grind the carrots and broccoli separately. It is necessary to combine the crushed ingredients and add eggs, salt. At the last stage, heated cream is added and everything is mixed with a spoon.
The oven should be preheated to 200 degrees. Place the meat patties on a baking sheet and cover with foil. After 40 minutes, the soufflé will be ready. You can serve it with vegetables or a separate dish.