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 first enter 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, causing the death of some pancreatic cells.
The causes of pancreatitis can 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 different forms: acute, reactive and chronic.In acute cases the pancreas can become completely or partially inflamed;reactive develops against the background of diseases of the digestive system: peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, gallbladder or liver.
The chronic form can be in remission for a long time, and most often the disease progresses slowly.In most cases, inflammation returns when the diet is stopped.
The nature of nutrition in pancreatitis of the pancreas plays a huge role: it is impossible to prevent an exacerbation without following 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 a flare-up, doctors give adults the following recommendations: “hunger, cold and rest.”If the patient is in the hospital and pancreatitis is in the acute stage, he is advised to refuse food for 2-3 days, and useful substances - salts and liquids - enter the body via drip.If you fast at home, it is impossible to fully ensure normal water and electrolyte balance.You need and can drink, but only in small portions.
Adults also need to replenish their nutrient reserves.Specially designed diets come to the rescue.The most "tested" 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:
- refractory fats;
- purines;
- essential oils;
- cholesterol;
- coarse fiber;
- glucose.
- The nature of the diet: foods with 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.It is necessary to get up from the table with a slight feeling of malnutrition, so as not to overload the pancreas.
- For the first time after a flare-up, you can only eat pureed foods.
- You will have to temporarily give up seasonings, including salt;
- You cannot eat hot or cold foods;dishes should be heated to approximately body temperature – 36°C.
The alcohol consumption 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, it is necessary to immediately take into account its features: the products must 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, an example list:
- baby food: it is possible to use both the one packaged in a jar and the one in powder form, which is subsequently diluted with liquid;
- mashed potatoes, cauliflower or white cabbage;
- blended ricotta.
Proportions of nutrients in the daily menu - fats - 50-70 g, proteins - 130-150 g, carbohydrates - 300-320 g.
About 2-4 days after the flare-up, the nausea goes away and it is necessary to restore the amount of fluid in the body.You need to drink about 1.5 liters of water a day, in small sips, a glass every 6 hours.Heavier dishes are introduced into the diet gradually, after eliminating pain, one food for each meal.
From this moment - approximately day 4 - the menu includes the following dishes and products:
- kefir – only low-fat;
- chicken breast broths;
- egg white omelette;
- non-acidic berry juices, diluted in half with water;
- rosehip decoction;
- up to approximately 30 g of honey per day;
- dry wholemeal bread;
- unsweetened crackers or biscuits;
- boiled pasta - pasta or curls cannot be used, preference should be given to small noodles;
- porridge is passed through a sieve;with pancreatitis you can cook it with buckwheat or oatmeal (some nutritionists allow eating semolina, but it must be cooked thoroughly so that it does not swell in the stomach).
You can eat the following foods:
- lean meat: chicken breast, beef, rabbit;
- fish – boiled, only the meat can be used;you cannot eat fish soup and other soups made with fish broth;
- fruit – cooked or blanched;
- meat broth - secondary;
- vegetable puree: broccoli, cauliflower, pumpkin.
The nature of nutrition during pancreatitis depends on the general condition of the patient.
How does the nutritional model 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 oat soup and half a glass of still mineral water;
- snack – cooked apple without peel and sugar;
- lunch - mashed potatoes - even half a portion - with milk, without seasonings;
- afternoon snack - jelly and bread flour;
- dinner - buckwheat porridge with weak tea, bleached milk;
- go to bed - a little milk diluted with water.
Day 2:
- breakfast – steamed protein omelette, chamomile decoction;
- snack – cooked pear;
- lunch – pearl barley soup, ground, in water, crackers with compote;
- afternoon snack – milk soufflé;
- dinner: semolina porridge, dried fruit puree, light tea;
- go to bed - half a glass of rosehip decoction.
After that, you can ease the diet a little, if the condition has returned to normal:
- breakfast – oatmeal with dried fruits, preferably with raisins, rosehip 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;
- go 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, light tea;
- snack: a protein omelet, a steamed chicken breast cutlet, a piece of dry bread, kefir;
- lunch - 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, a 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 flare-up.