Contents:
- Medical Video: Eating Healthy with Pancreatitis
- What does the pancreas have to do with food?
- What foods for pancreatitis are recommended?
- What foods should be avoided?
- Tips for regulating your diet for pancreatitis
Medical Video: Eating Healthy with Pancreatitis
Pancreatitis is a disease that occurs when the pancreatic organs become inflamed. When the pancreas is inflamed, you need to pay attention to the right diet so that the symptoms of the disease don't get worse. What foods for pancreatitis are right? Look below here.
What does the pancreas have to do with food?
The pancreas functions very closely with the digestive system. If the pancreas has a problem, the digestive process in the body must be disrupted. A healthy pancreas plays a role in producing enzymes and hormones needed to digest food that enters the body. With the presence of hormones and enzymes from the pancreas, nutrients will be absorbed properly.
If the pancreas is inflamed, this organ must work harder to produce these enzymes and hormones. Therefore, the enzymes and hormones that are produced will not function properly. So people who experience pancreatic inflammation are highly recommended to arrange the right foods in order to reduce the workload of the pancreas.
What foods for pancreatitis are recommended?
To reduce the workload of the inflamed pancreas, basically you are encouraged to eat foods that are rich in protein, low fat, and foods that contain high antioxidants.
Example:
- Meat without skin (and remove the fat).
- Nuts.
- Green vegetables like spinach, but also complete with brightly colored vegetables rich in antioxidants such as tomatoes, carrots and eggplant. Vegetables should be served with clear gravy.
- High antioxidant fruits such as blueberries, strawberries, grapes, mangoes and pomegranates.
- Low-fat milk or alternative milk substitute products such as almond juice and soy juice.
These foods will ease the work of the pancreas. Vegetables and fruits rich in antioxidants also help protect the digestive system to fight free radicals that can damage body cells.
If pancreatitis patients are cravings for sweet foods, choose fresh fruit rather than foods that contain added sugar. Because, people with pancreatitis have a high risk of developing diabetes mellitus.
What foods should be avoided?
- Fatty red meat
- Offal
- Fried
- Mayonaise
- Margarine and butter
- High-fat dairy products
- Drinks or foods with added sugar
These foods should be avoided to reduce the workload of the pancreas so as not to worsen the inflammation that occurs. Because, these foods contain high fat. The higher the fat, the more enzymes needed to break it down, while the condition of the middle pancreas is unable to produce enzymes as they are healthy.
In addition, foods for pancreatitis that should be avoided are foods that contain a lot of added sugar, such as sweets and ice cream. The high added sugar that enters the body requires the hormone insulin produced by the pancreas to maintain blood sugar levels. However, the production of the hormone insulin is disrupted when people experience pancreatitis. Therefore, drinks or sweet foods with added sugar are not recommended as food for pancreatitis.
Tips for regulating your diet for pancreatitis
- Eat small portions 6-8 times a day to help restore the pancreas. Eat a little but often will be easier to digest than eating 2 to 3 times a day in large portions.
- Avoid eating too much fiber at once because this can slow digestion. In addition, the entry of fiber should be balanced with the amount of digestive enzymes that are very sufficient so that all nutrients are absorbed maximally. However, when you experience inflammation of the pancreas the amount of enzyme released is limited and less effective. Therefore, high-fiber foods must be eaten in small portions to give a break in the pancreas to produce enzymes.
- Consumption multivitamin supplements so that you get the nutrients you need. Especially for people with chronic pancreatitis. You are at risk of lack of calcium, iron, folate, vitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin D, and vitamin B12. So it is necessary to check regularly for nutritional deficiencies and whether you need special supplements.
- Fulfill fluid intake in the body by drinking a lot. Don't forget, avoid alcohol and caffeine which can make you get rid of a lot of body fluids.
