Pancreatitis is often a painful disease, especially at meal time. Sometimes, digestion becomes so painful that you must temporarily abstain from eating. When you are not experiencing severe pain from pancreatitis, a low-fat diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help prevent attacks. Mild cases of pancreatitis can disappear without treatment, but severe cases can lead to life-threatening complications.
Pancreatitis
Your pancreas is a long, flat gland that sits behind your stomach. It secretes enzymes that aid in digestion and produces insulin to help regulate your blood sugar. Pancreatitis occurs when the digestive enzymes created by your pancreas are activated inside your pancreas instead of inside your small intestine. When this occurs, the pancreatic lining becomes inflamed causing pain. If this occurs multiple times, it can permanently damage your pancreas, leading to diabetes and digestive disorders. Pancreatitis can be acute, meaning it occurs suddenly and goes away in a few days, or it can be chronic, or ongoing for years. Symptoms of acute pancreatitis include upper abdominal pain, abdominal pain that gets worse after eating or that radiates to your back, nausea, vomiting and abdominal tenderness. When you have chronic pancreatitis, upper abdominal pain, indigestion, unexplained weight loss and oily stools are common.
Causes and Complications
A number of conditions, including alcoholism, gallstones, cystic fibrosis, high triglyceride levels, abdominal injury, infection, and high levels of parathyroid hormone or calcium in your blood can cause acute and chronic pancreatitis. You are also at risk for pancreatitis if you have a family history of the disease, smoke cigarettes or take certain medications. Complications range from mild to severe and can include breathing problems, diabetes, bacterial infections, kidney failure, malnutrition, pancreatic cancer, and pseudocysts leading to internal bleeding.
Treatment
Acute pancreatitis often requires a hospital stay for pain control. During this time, you typically fast to let your pancreas rest and recover and receive intravenous fluids and nutrition. If you have chronic pancreatitis, your treatment plan depends on the cause. If you are addicted to alcohol, you will need treatment for addiction. If your pancreatitis is caused by high triglycerides or fat in your blood, you will need to follow a strict low-fat diet. Exercising, losing weight if necessary and controlling your blood sugar if you have diabetes are also important aspects of treatment.
Fruits and Vegetables
Free radicals are chemical compounds that can damage tissue. They are byproducts of metabolism and harmful to the cells in pancreatitis. Antioxidants help rid the body of free radicals. Pancreatitis from alcoholism may be related to low levels of antioxidants. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, some studies suggest that increasing your intake of antioxidants, which are found in fruits and green vegetables, may help protect against pancreatitis or alleviate its symptoms. As such, you should consume fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants such as blueberries, tomatoes, squash and bell pepper. You should also eat vegetables rich in the B vitamins and iron including dark leafy greens, such as spinach and kale, and sea vegetables. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend consuming up to 2 1/2 cups of fruit and up to 4 cups of vegetables daily for adults.
Low-Fat Diet
In addition to increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables, other changes in dietary habits can help treat your pancreatitis. As reported on RD411.com, people with chronic pancreatitis are usually encouraged to follow a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet. A low-fat diet means consuming no more than 40 to 60 g of fat per day. High-fat desserts, fried foods, fatty meats, nuts, seeds, whole milk and cream should be avoided. Restricting all types of alcohol is also recommended. Increasing your intake of whole grains, lean protein sources and water is also encouraged.
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