Cucumbers are a healthy and low-calorie product, which is often included in the list of permitted vegetables for various diseases. Digestion of such food does not place a burden on the gastrointestinal tract, since the digestion process does not require the active production of enzymes. However, with pancreatitis, not everything is so simple. It is also necessary to make allowances for the form in which the cucumbers are planned to be consumed. Pancreatitis is a very serious disease, which is an inflammatory process in the pancreas. Inflammation can be both chronic and acute, so the disease is most often characterized by alternating remissions and exacerbations. Each stage has its own restrictions regarding the consumption of certain foods.
Choosing vegetables for pancreatitis: general recommendations
Proper nutrition is one of the most important components of the treatment of pancreatitis. It also includes vegetables that saturate the body with useful substances. However, not all of them are allowed.
So, at the acute stage, vegetables are prohibited altogether for several days. Next, you should pay attention to the list of vegetables that are allowed. During the remission stage, the diet can be varied and include a minimum of restrictions. All vegetables must be fresh and of high quality. You should also consider the following recommendations:
- You need to start consuming products with small quantities.
- Canned and pickled vegetables are prohibited. Also, don't fry them.
- Broths should also not be consumed.
- Most vegetables need to be boiled.
- You can include starchy vegetables in your menu.
- The seeds need to be removed.
- Fresh vegetables are allowed during the remission stage. It is recommended to cook them with sunflower oil.
How to support pancreatic health.
Is it possible to eat
In case of inflammation of the pancreas, it is necessary to follow a special diet and strictly follow the instructions of the attending physician. Before including cucumbers in your diet for pancreatitis, you should consult a specialist. In addition, it is important to consider in what form the vegetable is introduced into the diet - fresh or canned.
In case of inflammation of the pancreas, it is necessary to follow a special diet and strictly follow the instructions of the attending physician.
Fresh
Fresh cucumbers have a beneficial effect on the pancreas, relieve the organ, helping to relieve inflammation and pain, so eating this product is not prohibited if you have pancreatitis.
Salty
It is not recommended to eat pickled cucumbers if you have inflammation of the pancreas.
When preparing them in large quantities, salt is used, which provokes irritation of the mucous membrane of the organ, increases the symptoms of the disease in acute cases and can cause exacerbation of the chronic form of pancreatitis.
Pickled
Pickled cucumbers are even more harmful for inflammation of the pancreas than pickled cucumbers. When preserving, not only salt is used, but also various seasonings, vinegar, and garlic. All these products are prohibited for pancreatitis, as they increase inflammation and aggravate the course of the disease. During the cooking process, pickled cucumbers lose most of their vitamins and microelements, so they do not provide any benefit to the body.
What vegetables can you eat if you have pancreatitis?
There are a number of vegetables that help restore pancreatic tissue after inflammation and promote rapid healing. These include potatoes, carrots, young zucchini, beets, eggplants, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, greens, and certain types of cabbage.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are contraindicated during exacerbation of the disease, but they can be consumed during remission. It is recommended to start with tomato puree in small quantities, which is made only from ripe vegetables. You can also add them to salads.
Please note that the composition contains acids that can have an irritating effect on pancreatic tissue and secretory functions. The same applies to tomato juice. The latter has a choleretic effect, which can cause the reflux of bile components into the ducts and activate the action of aggressive enzymes.
Video on the topic: Vegetables for pancreatitis.
Beet
Beets are one of the healthiest vegetables for pancreatitis. It has a laxative and diuretic effect. Fiber and organic acids in the composition help cleanse the intestines, normalize blood pressure, and prevent infiltration of liver tissue.
You need to cook the beets for at least two hours. You need to introduce it into your diet starting with one tablespoon. When cooking, do not use vinegar or citric acid, as this can provoke an attack of the disease. Before processing, root vegetables are cut in half or into four parts. The product, crushed in a blender, or beet juice contains practically no coarse fiber.
cucumbers
Cucumbers are 95% water, but due to the presence of fiber, they are considered roughage. You can eat them if you feel normal by introducing fresh peeled cucumber into your diet. It is better to grate it.
Pickled cucumbers are contraindicated regardless of the stage of pancreatitis - they can provoke an exacerbation. Lightly salted cucumbers are allowed in small quantities, but only with stable remission and without the addition of pepper and vinegar.
What to expect if you go on a diet break
Pancreatitis is considered a fairly common disease.
It is believed that the precipitating factors for its occurrence are nutritional deficiencies and errors, unfavorable ecology and genetic predisposition. It is important to understand that pancreatitis is not a pathology that can be cured. The patient's quality of life directly depends on how he eats. If you ignore the advice of doctors, the consequences can be very sad. Common complications:
- diabetes;
- renal or liver failure;
- cholecystitis;
- pancreatic necrosis.
Sometimes the only life-saving solution for such a patient is removal of the organ. If this happens, you will have to stick to a very, very strict diet for the rest of your life. Therefore, it is better not to play with fire, not to self-medicate and not to ignore nutritional rules. It is clear that diet alone is not enough; serious drug treatment is also required, however, proper nutrition is the key to long-term remission.
Diet for pancreatitis
In mild situations, a violation of the diet is manifested by an acute inflammatory process in the organ. As a rule, all this is accompanied by pronounced pain that is difficult to endure. In most cases, an inflammatory attack can only be stopped in a hospital. This requires treatment with powerful detoxification and anti-inflammatory drugs.
The dietary diet involves the complete exclusion or severe limitation of the number of irritant foods. Caring for the organ largely depends on the correct formation of new eating habits. There is no need to rely on your intuition and convince yourself that nothing bad will happen from half a pickled cucumber. Even a vegetable that is completely harmless at first glance can serve as a factor in the development of serious problems and complications. It is better not to provoke unnecessary stress on the pancreas, because then you will only have to suffer due to your own negligence and frivolous attitude towards your health.
Vegetables for acute pancreatitis or exacerbation of chronic
In the stage of acute inflammation, it is important to keep the pancreas calm and prevent increased production of enzymes. For this purpose, on the first day the patient should refuse food and drink only still water. After a couple of days, when the manifestations of pain and dyspeptic syndromes decrease, you can carefully introduce permitted foods, including certain vegetables.
List of healthy vegetables for acute pancreatitis
A few days after the attack, you can introduce the following vegetables into your diet:
Along with their benefits, vegetables can also cause harm if consumed incorrectly. zucchini;- potato;
- pumpkin;
- broccoli;
- carrot;
- cauliflower.
In case of acute pancreatitis, even permitted vegetables cannot be eaten raw - their proper heat treatment is important.
Beneficial features
As you know, 95% of the composition of cucumbers is water. They are also rich in vitamins and microelements necessary for the functioning of the body. This vegetable is easily digestible in the digestive tract due to the enzymes it contains. In addition, it helps improve digestion of other types of food. Therefore, it is recommended to eat it along with meat dishes. At the same time, cucumbers increase urine flow, which makes them useful for patients with kidney diseases.
Cucumbers and tomatoes contain fiber. It improves the functioning of the digestive system, promotes better absorption of nutrients by the intestinal mucosa. Cucumbers contain absorbent substances that attract toxins and help remove them from the human body.
If you have gallstones, cucumber juice can be very beneficial. It destroys stones, thereby preventing the development of acute pancreatitis. If inflammation of the pancreas has already occurred, cucumbers and tomatoes help reduce the severity of pathological changes in the tissues of the organ.
Many experts allow the use of tomatoes for pancreatitis. The delicate fiber of these vegetables is well absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract. The serotonin they contain helps increase appetite and improve mood. Tomatoes slow down cell destruction, which is very important for the recovery of patients with pancreatitis. Like cucumbers, these vegetables relieve swelling of the inflamed organ and increase diuresis.
Vegetables for chronic pancreatitis and during remission
During remission, especially persistent and long-term, the menu can be made more varied. It is still important not to overuse fresh vegetables, since fiber and other substances in the composition can cause aggravation.
List of healthy vegetables during remission
In addition to vegetables that were allowed during an exacerbation, during remission you can add the following to the diet:
- cucumbers;
- tomatoes;
- sea and Chinese cabbage;
- beet;
- greenery;
- eggplants and others except those that are prohibited.
Can I drink vegetable juices?
Vegetable juices are often recommended by traditional healers for the treatment of pancreatitis. It is very important that they are freshly squeezed - store-bought, frozen and canned are not suitable. In the first time after an exacerbation, they need to be diluted by half with water and gradually switch to pure ones in small quantities. You should drink the juice immediately after doing push-ups.
Potato juice
Potato juice can be drunk only during stable remission. It can be used as a general strengthening, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic effect, and contains a number of useful minerals, proteins, and vitamins. You need to start with minimal dosages, literally one spoon, gradually increasing to 100-200 ml per day. It is not recommended for use by those who suffer from diabetes or have reduced enzymatic function.
Beet juice
It relieves nervous stress well, calms you down, and normalizes sleep. Although it is quite useful, in case of pancreatitis you need to be careful with it. It contains a lot of iron, so it is useful for hematopoiesis, the cardiovascular system and normalization of blood pressure. But at the same time, amino acids can provoke inflammation of the gastrointestinal mucosa.
During an exacerbation, beetroot juice should not be consumed; during stable remission, it is allowed in small quantities and subject to certain rules. After preparing the juice, you need to infuse it for a couple of hours in a cool place. It is better to combine it with pumpkin or carrot juice. It is better to start using one tablespoon, gradually increasing. But the daily norm should not be more than 50 ml. Frequency of use: 1-2 times a week.
Tomato juice
Due to the presence of acids in acute pancreatitis, beetroot juice is prohibited, as it can aggravate the inflammation. For chronic conditions, small portions are acceptable. First you need to dilute the juice with two parts of water, then in equal proportions. If the body tolerates the juice well, you can increase the daily intake to 100 ml of the drink in its pure form or 250 ml diluted with a third of water.
Herbal juices
Juices based on medicinal herbs can significantly improve the patient's condition. They can supplement treatment with the permission of a specialist. The most useful plants are considered to be chamomile, dill, and immortelle. You can also pay attention to juices from celery, dandelion, agave, and birch.
Salted tomatoes and cucumbers
Earlier in the text we talked about fresh vegetables. It is prohibited to eat pickled cucumbers and tomatoes in case of chronic pancreatitis, as in any other disease of the digestive system. They increase enzyme activity and increase the load on the pancreas.
It is better to replace such dishes with steamed vegetables without adding salt and spices. We should also not forget about tomato juice, which can help in the treatment of this inflammatory pathology. Do not also forget that the diet should always be agreed with a specialist. Each person's disease has individual characteristics, so treatment should be selected taking them into account.
How to choose vegetables in the store
The best option for pancreatitis is vegetables prepared in your own garden. This way you can be sure of the quality, usefulness and freshness of the products.
If you can only buy products in a store, then when choosing, you should consider a number of rules:
- It is important that vegetables are stored in a dark, dry and cool place.
- They should have a natural color, be clean, ripe, but not too fresh.
- Signs of mold, rot, and mechanical damage are not allowed.
- Products should be firm to the touch and not have soft areas. The peel is not allowed to be damaged.
Canned and pickled vegetables should not be consumed. For long-term storage, you can freeze vegetables, and they will retain almost all the useful components.
Cooking methods
Before heat treatment, vegetables are peeled and seeded, and the skin is removed. At the acute stage, it is allowed to consume them only boiled or steamed. During remission, other methods are also acceptable:
- stewing with a little oil;
- cooking vegetable stew;
- baking in the oven;
- preparation of fresh juices;
- preparing salads from chopped vegetables with vegetable oil.
Any new dish should be consumed in small portions - no more than 1-2 spoons. If the body tolerates the administration well, the amount and frequency of use can be increased.
Recipes for vegetable dishes for illness
There are many recipes that can be used for pancreatitis. Here are some of them.
Vegetable pudding
To prepare, you need to take 0.5 kg of vegetables (zucchini, pumpkin), 2 tablespoons of semolina, 0.5 cups of low-fat milk (to be diluted with water), an egg, a tablespoon of vegetable oil.
Peel and seed the vegetables, chop, cover with water and simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes until they become soft. Add semolina and diluted milk, leave on low heat for 10 minutes. Cool the mixture and mix with beaten egg. Divide the resulting mass into small molds or place on a baking sheet greased with vegetable oil or a multicooker mold. The pudding is steamed or baked in the oven for about half an hour.
