The list of functions of the human pancreas includes the production of most digestive enzymes, without which the normal course of vital processes in the gastrointestinal tract is impossible, as well as the synthesis of insulin. When this organ malfunctions, pancreatitis develops. This disease is an inflammation of the pancreas, usually caused by the suspension of normal enzyme excretion.
Peculiarities of nutrition in acute and chronic pancreatitis
In the absence of pathologies in the body, enzymes enter the intestine, but due to pancreatitis, they remain inside this organ, gradually starting to corrode its internal shell. Patients with pancreatitis often develop intoxication as a result of intestinal particles and enzyme residues entering the bloodstream. The acute course of the disease usually ends with surgery if therapy and diet do not give the desired results.
Chronic pancreatitis is usually caused by excessive alcohol or drug intake, use of hormonal or estrogenic drugs, as well as existing diseases of the gallbladder and liver. With both types of this disease, gastroenterologists recommend adhering to a special diet for pancreatitis, which involves drawing up an approximate menu.
Acute pancreatitis: diet menu of the week
To normalize the condition of the patient's body, the nutritionist prescribes special nutritional therapy to eliminate swelling and inflammation of the pancreas. In addition to drug treatment, short-term fasting is also prescribed, thanks to which surgery can be avoided. In the fasting process, gastric juice stops being produced and the activity of enzymes also decreases, which will help the damaged organ to recover in a few days.
In the first days of this fast, it is recommended to drink medicinal mineral water without gases, diluted green tea or rosehip broth in small portions several times a day. Drinking can help prevent dehydration, but after you leave fasting, you need to start eating gradually. During acute pancreatitis, a strict diet is followed, and the week's menu must be prepared by a specialist. The standard 5-day diet includes the following foods:
- dry bread or wheat flour bread;
- Liquid gelatine or fruit soft drinks;
- viscous rice or oat broth;
- mashed potatoes without oil added;
- paste cereals, such as oats, rice, semolina or buckwheat;
- dry biscuits;
- bread or cookies.
After 6 days, other foods and drinks can be added to the pancreatitis menu. It can be black or green tea sweetened with a small amount of sugar or honey with added milk, beet juice with a small amount of mineral water. The list of allowed meals includes:
- steamed protein omelet;
- curd souffle;
- minced or minced meat;
- viscous liquid soups;
- mousses and berry or apple jellies;
- steamed vegetable puree and oil-free puddings.
Sample menu for pancreatitis for a week
The diet for acute pancreatitis must be very strict, so the patient must follow the menu designed for him for a week. An example of such a diet is given below, but the exact list of dishes must be agreed with the doctor.
1st day
- Breakfast. Liquid porridge of rice or semolina, a fruit, for example, an orange, pear or apple, weak tea with added honey.
- Late breakfast. Pumpkin puree, chopped fish or chicken cutlets, rosehip broth.
- Lunch. Fish or broth, mashed potatoes, dry white bread, baked apples for dessert.
- Afternoon snack. A small portion of curd and weak tea with added honey.
- Dinner. A steamed omelet made of protein, a dry slice of white bread, mashed vegetable puree.
2nd day
- Breakfast. Milk with oatmeal, gelatin or tea (green or black).
- Late breakfast. Apple puree with cottage cheese.
- Lunch. Broccoli or cauliflower soup puree, steamed chicken meatballs.
- Afternoon snack. Dry biscuits and green tea.
- Dinner. Rice pudding or curd, jam or tea.
3rd day
- Breakfast. Liquid rice-based porridge, green tea with a dry cracker.
- Late breakfast. Baked apple with honey or cottage cheese.
- Lunch. Vegetable soup based on cauliflower, potato, pea or carrot combined with meatballs, dried fruit compote.
- Afternoon snack. Puree curd and weak tea.
- Dinner. Low-fat fish, roasted or steamed.
Common recipes
The sample menu may include special recipes recommended for pancreatic pancreatitis. In order to prevent the condition from worsening, each component of an individual dish must be coordinated with a doctor or nutritionist, who usually recommend the preparation of specific first and second dishes, as well as special desserts.
Pumpkin and carrot puree
To prepare this dietary puree, you will need 400 grams of pumpkin and two carrots, which should be peeled and cut into medium cubes. Then the vegetables are boiled in boiling water until they are soft enough. After the end of cooking, the water in the pan can be drained completely or partially to obtain a finer mass. In the blender, it is necessary to transform the vegetables into a homogeneous mass and serve.
Fish soup
To make a pureed liquid soup, you need to take half a kilo of any lean fish, for example, cod, hake, pike or sole, a liter and a half of water, a teaspoon of butter and 50 ml of milk. The fish fillet is cut into small pieces and boiled in water or vegetable stock until tender. Bring the preheated milk to the boil separately with the melted butter, pour the fish stock and add the fillets, then cook everything together for a few minutes.
It is worth remembering that in the acute form of pancreatitis it is strictly forbidden to eat fatty and fried foods, foods that stimulate fermentation in the digestive tract, drinking alcohol, kvass, kefir and soft drinks.
Pancreatic inflammation menu
When it comes to the pancreatitis diet and an exemplary menu, many gastroenterologists recommend adhering to the well-known diet # 5, which is usually prescribed after the patient's condition improves in the acute form of the disease. Foods allowed as part of the diet can be safely included in the diet after fasting. Typically, this diet is divided into two stages, each different in time.
In the process of the first stage, you can eat only mashed food for two weeks, after filling it, the patient is transferred to the second, less rigorous menu option, with a minimum duration of six to eight months. In the first phase, you can eat liquid dishes without salt with a predominance of carbohydrates, drink fruit juices, decoction of rosehip with added honey or sugar. Fatty, fried or salty foods are strictly prohibited.
After the fifth day of the diet, the calories should be increased gradually, limiting your fat intake. From the sixth to the ninth day of such a diet, the total caloric content of the food eaten per day should not exceed 1000 calories. After the tenth, the number of calories can be increased, and the patient is switched to the second diet option for pancreatitis for a week.
Nutrition for the chronic form of the disease
Pancreatitis often becomes chronic, it is in this case that special diets for pancreatic pancreatitis are more relevant than ever, thanks to which it is possible to completely normalize the state of the gastrointestinal tract. Characteristic seizures occur periodically due to inadequate nutrition, especially if the list of dishes includes prohibited foods, including boiled eggs, sweets, chocolate, milk, soda and other similar foods. The symptoms of the disease are swelling, a noticeable heaviness after the next meal, frequent vomiting. Often, chronic pancreatitis causes diabetes mellitus, especially in cases where the patient has not been to the doctor in time and has not started taking special medications.
A nutritionist or gastroenterologist must necessarily develop a special menu for pancreatitis for a week, which includes light and easily digestible foods. It will be especially useful to drink still mineral water for two days, as well as a decoction of wild rose or weak tea. It is necessary to switch to a low calorie diet as soon as possible, to prepare meals with a minimum content of fats and carbohydrates. Food intake should be divided, it is necessary to eat at least 5-6 times a day. The list of products that make up the chronic pancreatitis menu should include:
- wheat toasts (bought or prepared on your own);
- liquid vegetable or cereal soups;
- roasted or cooked meat, including chicken, veal or rabbit;
- lean steamed fish;
- low-fat curd;
- unsalted and low-fat cheeses;
- semi-liquid and liquid cereals;
- vegetable puree and stew;
- roasted and grated fruits;
- light jellies, mousses and jams.
Example menu and list of prohibited dishes
The menu for chronic pancreatitis in adults and children should certainly be varied, despite the very strict restrictions, although it is necessary to carefully monitor compliance with the daily routine and eat hourly. Usually, a weekly menu is prepared by a specialist who also gives detailed instructions and advice to the patient, helps in choosing appropriate recipes for the dishes and talks about the properties of some products. It is worth paying attention to the approximate menu for pancreatitis, which you can focus on when dieting:
- Breakfast. Oatmeal with milk, rosehip decoction.
- Second breakfast. Steamed chicken or meat, weak tea.
- Lunch. Carrot and pumpkin puree soup, steamed fish and tea.
- Afternoon snack. Cottage cheese for baby food.
- Dinner. Zucchini stew with carrots, boiled chicken breast, dried fruit compote.
- Dinner. A glass of kefir with a low fat content.
The pancreas inflammation diet and the approximate menu imply strict restrictions, as many foods can over-stimulate pancreas secretion and the production of gastric juice. The list of prohibited products includes:
- fatty meats and fish, smoked meats, sausages and canned foods;
- meat and fish broths, as well as mushroom soups;
- cabbage soup, borscht, okroshka;
- fatty dairy products;
- fried and boiled eggs;
- all types of vegetables, white cabbage, radishes, onions, garlic, spinach, sorrel, eggplant, peppers and mushrooms;
- butter and bread flour, sweets, chocolate;
- coffee, strong black tea, cocoa, soft drinks.
Recipes for chronic pancreatitis
Nutrition for pancreatic pancreatitis and the correct menu must be selected by a specialist, patients will need to master several new recipes that are ideal for normalizing the digestive tract.
Vegetable puree soup
To prepare it, you need a yellow or green pepper without sugar, 200 g of broccoli and cauliflower, 1 zucchini. Cut the vegetables into cubes, add 1. 5 liters of water and cook until tender. Then you have to drain the water and make mashed potatoes with the blender.
Pastila Apple
To make a healthy diet marshmallow, you need 1 kg of apples, cut into cubes and peeled, put in a pan, drizzle with water and cook. After they have boiled enough, you have to remove the pan from the heat, drain the water and cool the apples. Then they are crushed in a blender, the resulting puree must be squeezed and the excess juice poured into a separate container. Then the juice is boiled separately in a pan until it thickens, add 100 g of liquid honey and cook until syrup is obtained. Then the juice is mixed with the mashed potato, spread the dough on a baking sheet and place in a preheated oven at 120 degrees to dry the marshmallow.
Doctors' recommendations
In most cases, a diet with pancreatitis and adherence to a strict menu for a week gives excellent results, as this nutrition system has a very mild effect on Organs internal organs. According to doctors, according to the results of these diets, the work of the pancreas is stabilized, mainly due to the decrease in the concentration of gastric juice. Experts recommend the complete elimination of alcohol during treatment and constant adherence to a balanced and adequate diet. In addition to improving the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, thanks to the menu with inflammation of the pancreas and light foods, it is possible to significantly reduce weight and improve the general condition of the body.