What is pancreatitis?
The pancreas is a large gland behind the stomach and next into the small gut. The pancreas does two main things:
It releases powerful digestive enzymes to the intestine to help the digestion of meals. These hormones help the body control how it uses food for energy. Pancreatitis is a disease in which the pancreas becomes inflamed. Pancreatic damage occurs when the digestive enzymes have been activated before they’re released into the small intestine and begin attacking the pancreas.
There are two kinds of pancreatitis: chronic and acute.
Acute pancreatitis
Acute pancreatitis is a sudden inflammation that lasts for a very brief time. It could range from mild discomfort to a serious, life-threatening illness. Most people with severe pancreatitis recover completely after getting the right treatment. In severe situations, acute pancreatitis can lead to bleeding into the receptor, severe tissue damage, infection, and cyst formation. Severe pancreatitis can also harm other essential organs like the heart, lungs, and kidneys.
Chronic pancreatitis
Chronic pancreatitis is long-lasting inflammation of the pancreas. It most often happens after an episode of acute pancreatitis. Heavy alcohol drinking is another large cause. Damage to the pancreas out of heavy alcohol use might not cause symptoms for several years, but the person may suddenly develop severe pancreatitis symptoms.
Symptoms of pancreatitis
Signs and symptoms of pancreatitis may vary, depends on which type you are suffering.
Acute pancreatitis symptoms are :
- Pain in the upper abdomen
- Abdominal pain that feels in the back too.
- Abdominal pain that feels worse after eating
- Rapid pulse rate
- Fever
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Tenderness while touching the abdomen
Chronic pancreatitis symptoms are:
- Upper abdominal pain
- Weight loss without trying.
- Oily, smelly stools (steatorrhea)
Causes of pancreatitis
Pancreatitis occurs when digestive enzymes become activated while still in the uterus, bothersome the cells of your pancreas, and causing inflammation.
With repeated bouts of acute pancreatitis, damage to the pancreas may occur and lead to chronic pancreatitis. Scar tissue can form in the pancreas, causing loss of function. A poorly working pancreas may lead to digestion issues and diabetes.
Conditions that can lead to pancreatitis include:
- Abdomen surgery
- Alcoholism
- Certain medications
- Cystic fibrosis
- Gallstones
- High calcium levels in the blood (hypercalcemia), which may be caused by an overactive Parathyroid gland (hyperparathyroidism)
- High triglyceride levels in the blood (hypertriglyceridemia)
- Infection
- Injury to the gut
- Obesity
- Pancreatic cancer
- Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), a procedure used to treat gallstones, also can lead to pancreatitis.
Sometimes, a cause for pancreatitis is not found.
Foods to avoid in pancreatitis
- Organ meats
- Fried foods
- Mayonnaise
- Margarine and cheese butter
- Fatty dairy items
- Soft drinks and sugary foods
- Pastries
- Potato chips
- Trans fatty acids
Natural treatment for pancreas problems
Non-drug, non-surgery healing methods improve one’s quality of life also can delay the worsening of pancreatic disorders. Natural, alternative medicine approaches may be used effectively using traditional”Western Medicine” treatments.
Alternative medicine may offer Different, evidence-based, scientific, time-proven healing methods such as:
- Eating an alkalized, healing diet.
- Drinking healing mineral water.
- Applying acupuncture.
- Taking herbs.
- Having chiropractor manipulations and abdominal massage
- Taking nutritional supplements.
- Participating in medical hypnosis, meditation, and relaxation techniques.
The key to success with your pancreatic needs would be to utilize a knowledgeable licensed specialist or team of specialists
Yogurt for Pancreatitis
Folks consume yogurt for a lot of reasons, but it is primarily to regulate the balance of bacteria in the stomach to improve digestive efficiency and prevent diseases in the intestine. This may considerably strengthen the immune system, which may then work harder to decrease inflammation in different areas and glands close to the stomach, such as the pancreas.[1]
Probiotics for pancreatitis
Adding a high-quality probiotic nutritional supplement for those with acute pancreatitis is shown to decrease gastrointestinal inflammation, organ dysfunction and pancreatitis symptoms. Require 50 billion CFUs of probiotics daily while symptoms persist for best results. The introduction of probiotics will also help rebuild healthy gut function during and after several antibiotics. (4,5)
Note: Probiotics May Be Harmful To Patients With Acute Pancreatitis
Maintain your weight
Maintaining a Wholesome lifestyle and a healthy weight–or losing weight if needed–can help to
- Create your pancreas work better
- lower your chance of getting Infection, a chief cause of pancreatitis
- Prevent obesity–a risk factor for pancreatitis
- Stop diabetes–a risk factor for pancreatitis
- Keeping a healthy weight–or even losing weight if necessary –can help lower your odds of getting gallstones, a chief cause of pancreatitis.
Reishi Mushrooms for pancreatitis
This particular variety of mushroom is among the most densely packed foods when it comes to antioxidants and active organic compounds that may influence our health. In pancreatitis, reishi mushrooms can soothe the gut and also bring down inflammation. [2]
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Adding 1 to 2 tbsp each day of a high-quality omega-3 fatty acid nutritional supplement is shown to decrease inflammation and enhance immunity. At a meta-analysis published in the journal Nutrients, supplementation decreased the risk of mortality, infectious complications, and decreased the amount of hospital stays for pancreatic patients. experts encouraged large scale multi-center randomized clinical trials. (3)
Glutamine for pancreatitis
According to a study published in the journal Pancreatology, glutamine is related to a substantial reduction in the duration of hospital stays and also a decrease in complications for patients with severe pancreatitis. Insert three servings of foods full of L-glutamine like bone broth, grass-fed beef, and cottage cheese, aiming for a total of 8–12 grams each day. (6.7)
Blueberries
The existence of free radicals may aggravate or contribute to pancreatitis. Among the ideal free-radical-fighting foods you may consume include blueberries, that are packed with antioxidants and also may decrease inflammation through the body very quickly. Eating a couple of blueberries each morning can decrease your chance of suffering this illness.
Use research links
- https://www.nature.com/subjects/pancreas
- https://www.news-medical.net/?tag=/Pancreas
- https://pancreasfoundation.org/research/
- https://www.cedars-sinai.org/research/areas/digestive-disease/current-studies/pancreatic.html
- https://journals.lww.com/pancreasjournal/pages/default.aspx
- https://pancreas.imedpub.com/
- https://www.niddk.nih.gov/research-funding/research-programs/pancreas-clinical-research-epidemiology
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5117429/
- https://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/pancreatic-cancer/latest-research