Tucked slightly behind your stomach and curved down toward the small intestine is an oddly shaped but vital organ called the pancreas. It has two main functions: to create digestive enzymes and to produce two hormones important for controlling your blood sugar. Without a healthy pancreas, you become malnourished or vulnerable to digestive and metabolic disease like diabetes. Diet plays a significant role in maintaining and healing the pancreas, but diet alone may not cure severe pancreatic disease.
Types of Pancreatic Disorders
Acute or chronic pancreatitis results from inflammation of the organ leading to bleeding, pancreatic tissue death, abscesses, or toxic fluids leaking from the pancreas to blood vessels and other organs. Mild pancreatitis attacks can heal with dietary changes, but severe pancreatitis causing internal bleeding warrants medical intervention. Potential causes for pancreatitis include alcoholism and drug abuse, smoking, high triglycerides, heredity, infection and injury to the abdomen. According to the National Pancreas Foundation, pancreatic cancer is the fourth and fifth most common cause of cancer death in American men and women, respectively. It is difficult to detect and diagnose early, but depending on the stage of cancer, it can be controlled if found before spreading. Healthy diet and lifestyle lowers your risk of pancreatic cancer.
The Role of Diet
A high-fat or high-sugar diet increases the triglycerides in your bloodstream, which is a risk for pancreatitis. When you eat more calories than needed, your body converts the excess calories into triglyceride fats that are stored in your fat cells. High triglycerides can impair pancreatic functions by resulting in poor hormone production, which causes your blood sugar to rise beyond normal limits. Excess alcohol consumption can increase triglycerides in your bloodstream and impair enzyme production in your pancreas. Over time, alcohol promotes pancreatic tissue damage, increasing the risk of oxidative stress and cancer formation.
Healing Diet
Your dietary needs may vary depending on the type of pancreatic disease, but getting your basic nutrients is important in the healing process. Limit your saturated fat intake and consume a total of 20 g of fat or less per day, notes the National Pancreas Foundation. Baked or grilled poultry, fish, beans and nuts are foods with healthy fats to include in your diet instead of high-fat red meat, fried foods or whole dairy. Eat a diet plentiful in fruits and vegetables like leafy greens, citrus, berries, carrots, onions, broccoli and squash. A 2005 study published in "Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention" found that a high produce diet provides protective nutrients that can slow the progression of pancreatic cancer. Avoid all alcohol consumption and high-fat, sugar-filled processed foods.
Additional Dietary Considerations
Symptom flares -- including nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and fatigue -- can make eating difficult. A liquid diet may be indicated to supply you with some nutrients until symptoms subside and you can return to whole foods. Apple and cranberry juice or bouillon, broth and vegetable juices may help, but consult your physician for recommendations to prevent malnourishment. Dehydration can increase the risk of symptom flares. Drink plenty of fluids daily like water and sports drinks with electrolytes to help keep you hydrated.
Preventive Diet
Healthy eating habits can protect you from developing problems with your pancreas. Prevent future complications with a well-balanced diet that is low in saturated fat and high in daily servings of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. If you drink alcohol, drink in moderation, which is two standard drinks or less per day. Limit consumption of fatty processed foods, including fast foods, junk snacks and processed lunch meats. Opt for fresh fruits or vegetables to get the most nutritive value from your foods.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Pancreatitis
- The Ohio State University: The Pancreas: Anatomy and Functions
- National Pancreas Foundation: Common Disorders of the Pancreas
- National Pancreas Foundation: Nutrition and Pancreatic Disease
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Pancreatitis
- "Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention"; Vegetable and Fruit Intake and Pancreatic Cancer in a Population-based Case-control Study; J. M. Chang, et al; September 2005
