The pancreas is a very capricious organ of the gastrointestinal tract. Having once become inflamed due to poor nutrition, it will take revenge with attacks of pain and nausea at the slightest provocation. Relapses can be reduced to nothing if you know exactly what you can eat during pancreatitis and what you will have to give up.
What can you eat if you have pancreatitis?
Before you study the list of products in detail, you need to firmly understand the basic principles of nutrition for an inflamed pancreas. First of all, you should not eat anything prepared by frying, drying or smoking. All products are boiled or stewed.
The freshness of the ingredients is also extremely important. Even approved products can cause irreparable harm if they are expired. Therefore, you should always check the shelf life on the packaging.
Diet No. 5 includes a fairly wide list of permitted foods. But there will be no room for salted nuts or chips. Spicy solid foods are prohibited. Therefore, men need to forget about beer with dried fish, and children – about fast food. And this is not a reason to be upset. On the contrary, this is an excuse to cleanse the body of toxins and start a healthy lifestyle.
| Allowed | Forbidden |
| Stale bread, a day old, oatmeal cookies, honey, crackers, marmalade, marshmallows | Fresh bread, muffins, puff pastries, pies and other baked goods |
| Soups made from vegetables, cereals and thin noodles | Steep broths with fatty meat and fish, borscht, okroshka |
| Meat that does not contain fat: chicken, veal, sea fish, rabbit, turkey | Fatty beef, pork, duck, dumplings, cod liver |
| Homemade cottage cheese, yogurt, goat milk | Sausages, frankfurters, sausages, smoked meats |
| Omelet from chicken eggs without yolk, quail eggs | Pickles, marinades, sauerkraut, peppers |
| Buckwheat, semolina, oat flakes, rice | Condensed milk, confectionery, jams, different types of ice cream |
| Zucchini, potatoes, sea cabbage, dill, beets | All legumes |
| Non-acidic fruits of fruit and berry plants, dried fruits; from nuts: almonds, hazelnuts, groundnuts (peanuts) | Spicy snacks, vegetables, sour fruits, including cherries |
| Lightly brewed warm tea, rosehip decoction, Borjomi, Essentuki-4, fresh homemade juices | Alcohol of any strength and sparkling water, steeply brewed tea, cocoa, coffee |
Menu for 7 days for patients with chronic pancreatitis
For patients, it is recommended to create a menu in advance; this will allow you to eat a balanced diet, while your health will significantly improve.
Menu option for the week:
| day of the week | dishes |
| Monday |
|
| Tuesday |
|
| Wednesday |
|
| Thursday |
|
| Friday |
|
| Saturday |
|
| Sunday |
|
Knowing the basic requirements for dishes, you can create your own menu.
What vegetables can you eat?
Vegetables are very important in a healthy human diet. They contain many useful vitamins and minerals necessary for the proper functioning of internal organs. However, herbal products should be administered with great caution.
The first week after a pancreatic attack, they are content with only carrots and potatoes. During this period, they are eaten exclusively boiled and mashed into a liquid puree, without salt, without oil or any seasonings.
After a couple of weeks, table No. 5 is expanded with beets, pumpkins, and zucchini. Also boiled and crushed, but with a spoonful of butter and a pinch of salt.
After a couple of months, with a stable condition, without acute attacks, the menu may include other vegetables:
- cauliflower;
- tomatoes;
- cucumbers;
- green pea.
Try no more than a teaspoon at a time of any new vegetable. Cabbage and peas can only be boiled, as part of vegetable soup or puree.
Folk remedies
A herbal mixture that contains the following plants, taken in a 1:1 ratio, relieves inflammation well;
- galangal (root);
- rose hip;
- green bean shells;
- horsetail;
- St. John's wort;
- dill (seeds);
- yarrow.
You need to add a little celandine to them. Take the mixture (2 tbsp), pour 500 ml of boiling water, leave for 8 hours. Drink 1/3 glass 3 times a day 30 minutes before meals. The treatment course lasts 6-8 months. In case of exacerbation, it is necessary to increase the plant material to 3 tbsp. l.
What fruits and berries can you eat for pancreatitis?
In acute pancreatitis or cholecystitis, any fruits and berries are undesirable for the first days after the attack. The exception is dry rose hips. A decoction of them has a beneficial effect on the pancreas.
With the improvement of the symptomatic picture, new berries and fruits are gradually introduced:
- baked apples (by themselves or in casseroles);
- dried apples and pears (compotes are made from them);
- black currants, chokeberries, raspberries (in jelly, compotes, mousses, casseroles).
For chronic remission pancreatitis, pieces of melon and bananas are allowed. And if the pancreas has been quiet for six months, they begin to pamper themselves with cherries, strawberries, apricots and plums.
For dietary food, fruits and berries are purchased only fresh, not frozen. It’s good if you have the opportunity to purchase vegetables and fruits from trusted suppliers (for example, in villages) who do not use harmful additives when growing produce.
Dish recipes
Diet cake
Ingredients:
- natural unsweetened yogurt (without fat) - 500 ml;
- instant gelatin - 2 packs;
- bananas - 2;
- peaches -2;
- water - 1 glass;
- cookies - about 200 g.
Leave the gelatin to swell, then combine with yogurt and mix. Assemble the cake, alternating layers as you wish. Place in the refrigerator to harden.
Baked pike perch
Ingredients:
- fillet - 500 g;
- butter - 1 tbsp. l.;
- carrots - 2;
- greenery;
- lemon juice - 2 tbsp. l.
Salt a portion of fish, grease the top with oil, sprinkle with grated carrots and place on foil, form into balls, bake for half an hour at 200 °C. Serve sprinkled with herbs.
Diet for pancreatitis is an addition to conservative therapy. Medicines with antisecretory properties inhibit the production of enzymes. During pregnancy, the intake of medications has to be adjusted, since many of them can harm the fetus.
What kind of bread can you eat if you have pancreatitis?
For pancreatitis or cholecystitis, bread is not prohibited. You can eat almost any type of this product, except for hot sweet baked goods. But for different stages of pancreatic diseases there are restrictions:
- Immediately after an exacerbation, flour is completely excluded for several days.
- After a week or two, with positive dynamics of calming the pancreas, add a few crackers of rye or wheat bread to the soups.
- A month after an acute attack, you can eat small slices of bread without crust. It is important that the product is baked from not the highest grade flour. Preference is given to wheat and rye bread. And you can’t eat fresh baked goods.
Usually, for diseases of the pancreas, alternative bread options are used. Breadbreads made from rice and buckwheat flour are popular.
Bagels and biscuits are perfectly acceptable for tea or fruit jelly, as a substitute for cakes and unhealthy sweets.
Features of dietary nutrition
The diet for acute pancreatitis is determined depending on the current state of health of the patient. The first option is recommended for the development of acute pancreatitis or during an exacerbation of the chronic form. This type of nutrition creates maximum rest for the pancreas, which helps eliminate the pain syndrome characteristic of the condition.
Therapeutic fasting is necessary in the first few days of exacerbation of pancreatitis
The diet begins on the third day after the end of the fasting period. Its duration should not exceed three to seven days, since it does not meet the physiological needs of the human body.
Important! Dishes are served exclusively in a semi-liquid consistency, since this format is the least stimulant of pancreatic activity.
After completing the fasting period, the patient's menu should include carbohydrate dishes, since they also do not cause too much stimulation of the pancreas. The diet during this period includes:
- Slimy cereal soups (corn and millet are not used) with vegetable broths.
- Puree porridge cooked in water.
- “Weak” sweet tea.
- Kissel, mousse and jelly from the juice of permitted fruits.
- Pumpkin, zucchini, potato or carrot puree, as well as steamed vegetable puddings.
- Compotes from pureed dried fruits.
- Homemade crackers, biscuits.
After two days, the menu can be expanded to include cream soup with meat, steamed protein omelet, soft-boiled eggs, steamed cutlets, meat soufflé, quenelles from permitted types of meat, cottage cheese in the form of soufflé, paste, and steamed curd pudding. Butter is allowed to be added to prepared dishes. Vegetables cannot be used.
After eliminating pathological symptoms, relieving pain and improving the digestive process, the patient is transferred to the second version of the 5P diet. It can also be practiced for mild exacerbation of pancreatitis. This option retains all the principles of cooking food. The difference lies in the consistency of the dishes served: at first they are pureed, then simply chopped.
What sweets are allowed?
Many sweets are undesirable for the inflamed gland. This applies to fatty, high-sugar or cocoa-rich foods such as ice cream, chocolate, and buttercream cakes.
Sugar is also harmful because diabetes mellitus is a frequent accompaniment of pancreatitis. Therefore, it is unwise to provoke an excessive increase in glucose.
Baked apples and pears can brighten up your diet menu. Natural sucrose is much healthier for the body and tastes better. Fruits can be sprinkled with cinnamon or coated with honey.
Berry puddings with cottage cheese are delicious. In addition, for chronic pancreatitis, you can drink strawberry or raspberry jelly. It is important to choose fresh berries for dishes, moderately sweet and sufficiently ripe, without obvious sourness.
Consequences of not following the diet
Undisciplined behavior of the patient leads to serious complications, including:
- encephalopathy (dystrophy of brain tissue);
- diabetes;
- pancreas cancer;
- obstruction of the lumen of the duodenum;
- pleurisy (inflammation of the serous membrane of the lungs);
- blockage of blood vessels (splenic or portal) by a thrombus;
- hepatic hypertension (increased pressure in the portal vein system);
- bleeding in the digestive canal;
- disruption of the outflow of bile and, as a result, yellowness of the tissues.
Meat and eggs
Steamed egg omelet is one of the dishes that is included in the diet of table number 5. Although nutritionists warn about the difficult digestibility of the yolk. That’s why omelettes are usually made from whites alone. Boiling eggs or, especially, frying them is prohibited.
Gastroenterologists advise choosing dietary varieties of meat and poultry. You can buy chicken or turkey fillet and cook steam cutlets or meatballs. If chronic inflammation of the pancreas is in remission, it is allowed to eat lean veal.
When preparing meat dishes, you need to carefully remove all films, cartilage and veins. For minced meat, mince the meat twice. That is, they do everything possible to spare the digestive process as much as possible and not burden the gastrointestinal tract with harsh solid food.
Is it possible to eat apples during an acute form of the disease?
It is not recommended to buy apple juice in the store.
Despite the many beneficial substances that are found in apples, they should not be consumed during an exacerbation of the disease on the first or second day. After forty-eight hours, you can start drinking apple juice, which is diluted with water to reduce the concentrate.
It is not recommended to purchase apple juice in stores, as they contain various preservatives such as citric acid, sodium benzoate and sorbic acid. You should not give such juices to a patient, so as not to irritate the already inflamed pancreas and thereby worsen its condition. Therefore, it is best to prepare juices with your own hands using a juicer for acute pancreatitis.
After a week, the patient can include a whole apple in his diet, only baked or grated. When the patient manages to finally overcome the disease, he is allowed to eat one small apple every day.
Apples help lower blood cholesterol levels.
The fruit of the apple tree, the apple, is considered one of the most popular fruits on the planet and has beneficial properties, as well as:
- reduces the possibility of diarrhea due to the pectin contained in the fruit;
- helps reduce cholesterol levels in the blood and prevents anagenesis of atherosclerosis;
- by eating the fruits, you can reduce vomiting and nausea;
- Constant consumption of apple fruits helps to normalize the intestines, thereby reducing the risk of constipation;
- improve appetite and normalize the digestive process, thanks to vitamin G;
- Doctors recommend including this fruit in your diet if you have avitaz, as it contains many trace elements and vitamins;
- Apple fruits contain a high iron content, which is most important for anemia;
- with increased physical and mental activity, it is recommended to include apple juice in your diet;
- Apple juice is necessary for diabetes, since the fruit itself does not contain sugar;
- Doctors can prescribe this fruit to patients suffering from insomnia;
- To increase mental abilities and normalize a person’s mental state, apple fruits are prescribed, as they contain a large amount of phosphorus;
- There is an opinion that apple juice can slow down the aging process and rejuvenate;
- by consuming the fruit daily, you can avoid the formation of caries, as they have antimicrobial properties;
- baked apple fruits improve the human digestive system, are able to cleanse the body and remove harmful substances from it.
Despite the many useful substances in apples, they cannot always be eaten; for example, you need to be careful with pancreatitis and take into account their properties:
- the amount of fat is only half a percent;
- high content of microelements, vitamins and organic acids;
- calorie content is low and reaches fifty calories per hundred grams of fruit;
- solid structure.
Most often, the pancreas “sicks” for the following reasons:
- Poor nutrition (consumption of the above foods).
- Binge eating.
- Night meals.
- Eating on the run.
- Eating food that is too hot or cold.
- Unbalanced menu.
Separately, it is worth mentioning the state of the nervous system. The fact is that stress can also contribute to the development of diseases of this organ. This is explained by the fact that with neuroses a person’s immunity decreases and he becomes more vulnerable.
To get rid of this, it is recommended to keep a food diary in which you need to write down everything you ate during the day.
What kind of fish can you
Fish cutlets are an excellent dietary dish. Such food is easily digestible and well supported due to the content of useful elements. The main thing is to choose the right type of fish based on fat content:
- The first varieties acceptable after an acute attack has subsided are types of so-called skinny fish, the fat content of which does not exceed one percent. You can prepare fish dishes from perch, pike perch, blue whiting, saffron cod, cod and lemonade already in the second week of recovery.
- Pike, lamprey, Argentine, and mullet are considered a little fatter. Their fat content reaches two percent. Dishes from this fish are introduced into the menu after they have been convinced from previous types that pancreatic juice can cope with them.
Nutritionists advise starting your fish menu with pike perch. This is an excellent form for a weakened body, is very well absorbed and does not cause allergies or unexpected complications.
What are the benefits of apples for the human body?
Almost every vegetable or fruit can bring certain benefits to the human body, and as for apples, the list of their positive properties is impressive, because they are capable of:
- improve sleep;
- cope with diarrhea;
- eliminate avitaz;
- improve metabolism;
- eliminate nausea and vomiting;
- increase the strength of the immune system;
- slow down the development of caries;
- remove manifestations of dyspepsia;
- increase stress resistance;
- saturate the blood with iron ions;
- promote the removal of toxins;
- normalize the functioning of the heart and blood vessels;
- stimulate intellectual activity;
- cleanse the body of toxins, both endogenous and exogenous;
- reduce the likelihood of developing malignant neoplasms;
- reduce the risk of atherosclerotic changes in blood vessels by reducing cholesterol levels in the blood.
In addition, due to their low glucose concentration, they can be recommended for patients with various forms of diabetes.
| Nutrients | Value (grams) |
| Squirrels | 0,4 |
| Fats | 0,4 |
| Carbohydrates | 11,3 |
| Calorie content per 100 g | 53 Kcal |
Dairy products what to choose
You need to be careful with dairy products if you have problems with the pancreas. Much of this category of food causes unnecessary stress on all organs of the gastrointestinal tract.
Definitely exclude fatty cheeses, yoghurts, processed cheese, and condensed milk from the menu. Sour cream and cottage cheese are chosen only with low fat content.
Kefir stimulates gastric peristalsis well and restores intestinal flora. It is useful to drink it with the addition of a small pinch of turmeric and cinnamon. This is a natural probiotic that restores after taking medications in large quantities or after antibiotics.
But there is a contraindication in taking fermented milk products for those who suffer from gastritis with high acidity. In this case, it is not advisable to drink kefir, so as not to further increase the alkaline imbalance.
Regular milk (necessarily processed) can be added to cereals during periods of remission. Children recover faster than adults from pancreatic attacks. They are given milk soup with homemade noodles after just a few days of the diet.
Eating baked apples
Baked apples are recommended for use for pancreatitis. Unlike fresh fruits, there are no restrictions in such a dessert; they begin to be consumed much earlier. The heat treatment to which fruits are subjected changes the properties of the fruit and its effect on the human body. Apples cooked in the oven or microwave become sweet and soft, and there is no irritation of the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines.
Baked apples should be eaten not hot, preventing irritation of the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines. It is better to wait until the fruit reaches a comfortable temperature.
You can cook an apple in the oven along with pumpkin or other fruits - apricot, pear. The fruits are first thoroughly washed, peeled and pitted. The core is carefully cut out and filled, for example, with low-fat cottage cheese with the addition of raisins or honey.
Fruits filled in this way are laid out on a special baking sheet and placed in the oven for 20 minutes at a temperature of 180 degrees. Instead of the oven, you can put the fruit in the microwave.
The mentioned apple dessert, allowed for consumption in pancreatitis, will diversify the patient’s limited table and will bring considerable benefits.
Are all cereals allowed?
Porridge is one of the most versatile dishes for any diet. But here there are rules for people with pancreatitis:
- during acute periods of illness, only pureed liquid mucous porridge-soups made from crushed oat grains or rice are allowed;
- during periods of remission, they eat regular oatmeal, rice, buckwheat and semolina porridge, adding a little butter and just a little salt.
Porridges made from corn and peas can cause exacerbation of pancreatitis. Even in small quantities, as part of soup, legumes cause a disruption in the production of pancreatic juice. Fresh green peas are carefully introduced into the menu only after months of stable remission.
It is also highly undesirable to use barley and wheat cereals. Gastroenterologists consider them difficult to digest and break down.
What seasonings can you use?
To diversify the menu, even with pancreatitis, you can use many useful spices. We are talking about the following types of spices:
- turmeric and cloves;
- fennel and cumin;
- sesame;
- Provençal herbs;
- celery;
- parsley and dill (both fresh and dried).
The listed spices can be safely used during remission of chronic pancreatitis or after a few weeks of exacerbation. Garlic, horseradish, vinegar and any type of pepper (peas, crushed, fresh) are strictly prohibited.
Onions cause controversy among nutritionists. Some gastroenterologists argue that these greens are not recommended for pancreatitis. Others allow the addition of onion decoction to soups. If relapses are not observed for more than six months, then a little green onions are allowed in vegetable salads.
Features of diet in children
Acute pancreatitis can occur not only in an adult, but also in a child. The principles of children's dietary nutrition do not differ from the general recommendations, but have some features. It is more difficult for a child to follow a certain diet. For example, the diet of kindergartens or schools is common to all children, and some products from the menu may be on the list of prohibited foods.
Recommendations:
- The child should be given healthy snacks to school (for example, cottage cheese casseroles, biscuits, fruit puree);
- if a pathology is detected in a child attending kindergarten, then adjustments to the diet should be agreed upon with the teacher;
- A child's body needs useful substances and vitamins for normal development; long-term diets must be supplemented by taking special vitamin complexes.
Diet for acute and chronic pancreatitis has its own characteristics. There are also certain recommendations for pregnant women and children.
Nuts and seeds
Nuts and seeds certainly contain a huge amount of vitamins. But, unfortunately, with a problem pancreas, it is problematic for the body to break down saturated solid foods. Especially high-fat nuts like walnuts.
But there are still nuts that can be added to the diet menu. This is a cedar and hazelnut variety. They are introduced into the diet in the remission stage, in a crushed state. The first time it is better to add a little to the casserole or mousse, no more than one teaspoon, and monitor whether there is any deterioration in the patient’s condition. If there is the slightest feeling of heaviness in the epigastric region or nausea a certain time after eating, this ingredient is excluded.
You can only pumpkin seeds, raw. They are used in baking bread. But it is better to consult with your doctor again, since all cases are individual.
Beverages
In addition to clean water, you can drink mineral water, but without gas. The healing waters of Essentuki, Narzan, Borjomi and other similar drinks, balanced with beneficial minerals, have a positive effect.
Pancreatitis is treated with decoctions of herbs and dried berries or rose hips. Pharmacies offer special pancreatic infusions that are brewed instead of tea.
As for ordinary black tea, weak brewing, it is allowed already on the second or third day after an acute attack. No sugar is added to tea. Instead, you can use a little honey as a bite.
Chicory is considered useful for the diet. It is used instead of coffee and as a medicinal decoction. If the attending physician allows it, drink chicory with milk.
It is not recommended to drink milk in its pure form. Low-fat pasteurized milk is used for milk soups, at first diluted in half with plain water.
You can drink some types of fruit and vegetable juices if the danger of relapse has passed:
- carrot-apple;
- beet-potato;
- apricot;
- pumpkin
An excellent alternative in terms of healthiness and taste are berry and fruit compotes, jelly, and mousses.
Is it possible to drink alcohol if you have pancreatitis?
When asked about alcoholic beverages, gastroenterologists answer unequivocally in the negative. Alcohol is one of the most common causes of pancreatitis.
More than 40 percent of men who regularly drink harmful drinks suffer from inflammation of the pancreas. And drinking alcohol by pregnant women jeopardizes the child’s health and increases the likelihood of pathologies in his pancreas.
What should you not eat if you have pancreatitis?
Pancreatitis is a disease in which you have to give up many pleasures. So, in addition to alcohol, soda, Coca-Cola, and coffee are eliminated from life. And from food - any fast food, fats, lard and canned food.
In Acute
The acute stage of pancreatic inflammation requires careful selection of foods. Avoid hot spices and those vegetables or fruits that contain a lot of fiber and acids:
- cabbage;
- grape;
- oranges and lemons, etc.
When an attack occurs, the first thing that is prescribed is hunger, for absolute rest of the digestive system. Then they begin to introduce liquid pureed food.
Diet No. 5 includes many delicious dishes. There are a lot of permitted products, but it is important to follow the method of preparation. All cereals, vegetables and fruits are boiled and thoroughly ground.
For chronic
Chronic pancreatitis also forces you to follow a strict diet. The products, in fact, remain the same as for acute inflammation of the pancreas. But the way they are processed is less gentle. For example, vegetables can be eaten in slices, without mashing them. You can eat pieces of bread, but you cannot eat hot, fresh flour products with a crust.
Foods that are fried or smoked are still prohibited. You should not eat canned or pickled vegetables or fruits.
All types of fatty meat, fish and dairy products are prohibited.
For any type of pancreatitis, cabbage, radishes, citrus fruits, sorrel and other foods with vegetable acid remain undesirable.
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.
