The list of functions of the human pancreas includes the production of most digestive enzymes, without which the normal course of vital processes of 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 a suspension of normal enzyme secretion.
Peculiarities of diet in acute and chronic pancreatitis
In the absence of pathologies in the body, enzymes enter the intestines, but due to pancreatitis they remain inside this organ, beginning to gradually erode its inner shell. Often, patients with pancreatitis develop intoxication, as a result of which intestinal particles and enzyme residues enter the bloodstream. The acute course of the disease usually ends with surgery if the therapy and diet do not give the desired results.
Chronic pancreatitis is usually caused by overeating, alcohol or drug abuse, the use of hormonal or estrogenic drugs, as well as existing gallbladder and liver diseases. In addition to the two types of this disease, gastroenterologists recommend following a special diet for pancreatitis, which involves compiling an approximate menu.
Acute pancreatitis: diet menu for the week
To normalize the patient's condition, the nutritionist prescribes special therapeutic foods to remove the swelling and inflammation in the pancreas. In addition to drug treatment, short-term fasting is prescribed, thanks to which surgery can be avoided. During fasting, the production of gastric juice stops, and the activity of enzymes decreases, which will help the damaged organ to recover in a few days.
In the first days of such a fast, it is recommended to drink mineral healing water without gas, diluted green tea or rosehip soup in small meals several times a day. Drinking will help prevent dehydration, but once you get out of fasting, you need to gradually switch to eating. In the presence of acute pancreatitis, a strict diet is followed, and a menu for a week should be compiled by an expert. The standard 5-day diet includes the following foods:
- dry bread or wheat flour bread;
- liquid jellies or fruit drinks;
- slimy soup of rice or oatmeal;
- liquid mashed potatoes without added oil;
- pureed cereals, such as oatmeal, rice, semolina or buckwheat; dry biscuits;
- bread or crackers.
After 6 days, other meals and drinks can be added to the pancreatitis menu. It can be black or green tea sweetened with a little sugar or honey with the addition of milk, beet juice with a little mineral water. The list of allowed meals includes:
- steamed protein omelet;
- raw souffle;
- minced or minced meat;
- liquid slimy soups;
- mousse and berry or apple jelly;
- vegetable purees and steamed puddings without oil.
Example of a menu for pancreatitis for a week
The diet for acute pancreatitis should be quite strict, so the patient should adhere to the menu compiled for him for a week. An example of such a diet is presented below, but the exact list of dishes must be agreed with the doctor.
Day 1
- Breakfast. Liquid porridge of rice or semolina, one fruit, for example, orange, pear or apple, weak tea with the addition of honey.
- Late breakfast. Pumpkin puree in puree, steamed cutlets of fish or minced chicken, pomegranate soup.
- Lunch. Fish or beef soup, mashed potatoes, dried white bread, baked apple as a dessert.
- Afternoon snack. A small portion of cottage cheese and weak tea with the addition of honey.
- Dinner. Steamed protein omelette, dry white bread, mashed vegetables.
Day 2
- Breakfast. Milk oatmeal, jelly or tea (green or black).
- Late breakfast. Apple puree mixed with cottage cheese.
- Lunch. Broccoli or cauliflower puree soup, steamed chicken meatballs.
- Afternoon snack. Dry biscuits and green tea.
- Dinner. Rice or cottage cheese pudding, jelly or tea.
Day 3
- Breakfast. Liquid porridge based on rice, green tea with one dry cookie.
- Late breakfast. Baked apple with honey or cottage cheese.
- Lunch. Vegetable soup based on cauliflower, potatoes, green peas or carrots in combination with meatballs, dried fruit compote.
- Afternoon snack. Refined cottage cheese and weak tea.
- Dinner. Lean fish, baked or steamed.
Common recipes
The sample menu may contain special recipes recommended for pancreatitis. To prevent deterioration of the condition, each component of an individual dish must be agreed with a doctor or nutritionist, who usually themselves recommend the preparation of certain first and second courses, as well as special desserts.
Pumpkin and carrot puree
To prepare such a diet puree, you need 400 grams of pumpkin and two carrots, they must be peeled and cut into medium cubes. Then the vegetables are cooked in boiling water until they soften. After cooking, the water from the pan can be drained completely or partially to obtain a thinner mass. Using a blender, you need to turn the vegetables into a homogeneous mass and serve.
Fish soup
To prepare liquid puree soup, you need to take half a kilogram of any lean fish, for example cod, hake, pike or flounder, one and a half liters of water, a teaspoon of butter and 50 ml of milk. The fish fillet is cut into small pieces and cooked in water or vegetable broth until soft. Heat specially heated milk with melted butter, pour in the fish broth 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, drink alcohol, yeast, kefir and carbonated beverages.
My pancreas is inflamed
As for the diet for pancreatitis and the approximate menu, many gastroenterologists recommend adhering to the well-known diet no. 5, which is usually prescribed after the improvement of the patient's condition in the acute form of the disease. Foods that are allowed as part of a diet can be safely included in the diet after fasting. Typically, such a diet is divided into two phases, each of which differs in time.
In the process of the first phase, you can take the pureed food only for two weeks, after it is finished, the patient switches to another, less strict menu option, it lasts at least six to eight months. In the first stage, you can eat liquid unsalted dishes with a predominance of carbohydrates, drink fruit drinks, juices, decoction of rose hips with the addition of honey or sugar. Fatty, fried or salty foods are strictly forbidden.
After the fifth day of the diet, calories should be gradually increased, with a restriction of fat intake. From the sixth to the ninth day of such a diet, the total calorie content of the food eaten daily should not exceed 1000 calories. After the tenth, the number of calories can be increased, and the patient is switched to another diet for pancreatitis for a week.
Diet for chronic diseases
Pancreatitis often becomes chronic, in this case special diets for pancreatic pancreatitis are more relevant than ever, thanks to which it is possible to completely normalize the condition of the gastrointestinal tract. Characteristic seizures occasionally occur due to improper diet, especially if the list of foods includes prohibited foods, including boiled eggs, sweets, chocolate, milk, soda, and other similar foods. Symptoms of the disease are bloating, noticeable heaviness after the next meal, frequent vomiting. Often, chronic pancreatitis provokes the appearance of diabetes mellitus, especially in cases when the patient did not go to the doctor on time and did not start taking special medications.
A dietitian or gastroenterologist must necessarily develop a special menu for pancreatitis for a week, which includes light and quickly digestible foods. It will be especially useful to drink mineral water without gas for two days, as well as a decoction of wild rose or weak weak tea. It is necessary to switch to a low-calorie diet as soon as possible, prepare meals with a minimum content of fat and carbohydrates. Food intake should be partial, it is necessary to eat at least 5-6 times a day. The list of products that make up the menu for chronic pancreatitis must include:
- wheat rusks (purchased or prepared independently);
- liquid vegetable or cereal soups; roasted or cooked meat, including chicken, veal or rabbit;
- dry lean fish;
- low-fat cottage cheese;
- unsalted and non-fat cheeses;
- semi-liquid and liquid cereals;
- vegetable puree and stew;
- roasted and grated fruit;
- light jellies, mousses and compotes.
Sample menu and list of forbidden dishes
The menu for chronic pancreatitis in adults and children must certainly be varied, despite fairly strict restrictions, while it is necessary to carefully monitor compliance with the daily routine and eat by the hour. Usually the weekly menu is compiled by a specialist who also gives the patient detailed instructions and advice, helps in choosing suitable recipes for meals 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 compiling your own diet:
- Breakfast. Oatmeal with milk, bar decoction.
- Second breakfast. Steamed chicken or beef, weak tea.
- Lunch. Carrot and pumpkin puree soup, steamed fish and tea.
- Afternoon snack. Fresh cheese for baby food.
- Dinner. Zucchini stew with carrots, boiled chicken breast, dried fruit compote.
- Evening meal. A glass of low-fat kefir.
The pancreatitis diet and approximate menu imply strict restrictions, as many foods can over-stimulate pancreatic secretion and gastric juice production. The list of prohibited products includes:
- fatty meat and fish, smoked meat, sausages and canned food;
- meat and fish soups, as well as mushroom soups;
- cabbage soup, borscht, okroshka;
- fatty dairy products;
- fried and boiled eggs;
- all kinds of legumes, white cabbage, radishes, onions, garlic, spinach, sorrel, eggplant, peppers and mushrooms;
- bakery products made of butter and flour, sweets, chocolate;
- coffee, black strong tea, cocoa, carbonated drinks.
Recipes for chronic pancreatitis
The diet of pancreatic pancreatitis and the correct menu should be chosen by a specialist, patients will have to master several new recipes that are ideal for the normalization of the digestive tract.
Vegetable puree soup
To prepare it, you need one unsweetened yellow or green pepper, 200 g of broccoli and cauliflower, 1 zucchini. Cut the vegetables into cubes, add 1. 5 liters of water and cook until soft. Then you need to drain the water and use a mixer to make mashed potatoes.
Apple Lozenge
To make a healthy mallow, you need 1 kg of sliced and peeled apples, put them in a pot, add water and let it cook. Once they have boiled enough, you need to remove the pan from the heat, drain the water and cool the apples. Then grind with a blender, the resulting puree must be squeezed, and the excess juice poured into a separate bowl. Then the juice is separately boiled in a pot until it thickens, add there 100 g of liquid honey and cook until a syrup is obtained. After that, the juice is mixed with mashed potatoes, spread the mass on a baking sheet and place in an oven preheated to 120 degrees to dry the marshmallows.
Doctor's recommendations
In most cases, a diet with pancreatitis and adherence to a strict menu for a week give excellent results, as such a diet system has a very gentle effect on the internal organs. According to doctors, according to the results of such diets, the work of the pancreas is stabilized, primarily due to a decrease in the concentration of gastric juice. Experts recommend complete elimination of alcohol during treatment and constant adherence to a balanced and proper diet. In addition to improving the digestive tract, thanks to the menu with inflammation of the pancreas and light foods, you can significantly reduce weight and improve the general condition of the body.