How to gain weight with pancreatitis: recovering without harm to health

Why do people lose weight with pancreatitis? Almost every patient with inflammation of the pancreas inevitably suffers from weight loss; the disease affects the tissues of the organ, which provokes the loss of the enzyme-forming features of the gland. The pathology is also associated with other disorders of the digestive tract. Together with pancreatitis, diabetes mellitus and cholecystitis are usually diagnosed.

One of the disorders is the loss of the ability to absorb valuable substances that enter the body along with food and vitamin complexes. Problems with absorption begin, and they cause weight loss.

As weight loss progresses, general health deteriorates and immune defense decreases. For this reason, for pancreatitis and similar diseases, it is recommended to follow a special diet; its main goal is to gain weight and normalize the functions of the gastrointestinal tract.

Is it possible to stop weight loss?

Weight loss with pancreatitis is a serious complication. It can be dealt with by strictly following the recommendations of doctors. It is necessary to undergo a comprehensive medical examination and identify diseases that aggravate the course of pancreatitis. This includes gastritis, cholecystitis, diabetes and other diseases. Without getting rid of diseases, it will be difficult to gain weight.

In order to compensate for the lack of pancreatic enzymes, gastroenterologists prescribe medications containing pancreatin: Mezim, Creon, Panzinorm, Biozim and others. Take during meals with alkaline mineral water without gas.

To stop losing weight, you need to carefully review your diet.

Prohibited Products

When thinking about how to gain weight with pancreatitis, the first thing you need to do is get rid of foods that are prohibited for this disease - they will only aggravate your condition, causing another series of blows to the inflamed pancreas. So, you need to say “no” to the following foods and drinks:

“heavy”, fatty foods;
spicy, smoked dishes;
alcoholic drinks;
baked goods, confectionery products (especially sweet ones, with fatty creams);
rye flour products;
concentrated fruit juices;
gas water;
strong tea and coffee;
raw vegetables;
fatty primary meat broths;
fried food.

And don’t forget to additionally overcome your craving for smoking.

What should be the diet for pancreatitis?

A strict diet becomes an indispensable attribute of patients diagnosed with pancreatitis. Recovery and restoration of normal body weight depends on the accuracy of following the recommendations. Deviations from the diet threaten to worsen the disease.

Basic principles

Dietary recommendations for inflammation of the pancreas boil down to the following:

Food is taken six times a day in small portions;
Products, vegetables and fruits, are boiled or baked;
Avoid eating too hot or too cold food. The optimal temperature is 37 degrees;
Food must be chewed thoroughly to soak in saliva. Saliva contains amylase, a protein that helps break down carbohydrates;
Do not drink water or drinks during meals. The exception is mineral water to wash down your pills;
Half an hour to an hour before meals, it is useful to drink a glass of mineral water without carbon. Borjomi, Narzan, Essentuki are considered the best for pancreatitis;
It is recommended to minimize the consumption of salt, which provokes the secretion of gastric juice. Hydrochloric acid produced in the stomach causes swelling of the pancreas.

It is necessary to consume foods recommended by gastroenterologists and nutritionists. For pancreatitis, a diet that is gentle on the pancreas and other organs of the gastrointestinal tract is recommended. You should not eat foods that provoke fermentation and putrefactive processes in the intestines. When prescribing a diet, doctors take into account the stage of the patient’s disease - acute or remission, the presence of concomitant diseases.

A strict diet is the path to recovery

In the first days of acute inflammation, a regimen of complete abstinence from food is indicated. A small amount of still mineral water heated to 37 degrees or unsweetened warm tea is allowed. On the third or fourth day, when the patient feels normal, pureed soups and purees are gradually added. Then gradually move on to other products. The pancreas recovers slowly, the diet will last at least two months.

What is allowed for pancreatitis:

Lean meat (veal, chicken, rabbit, turkey are suitable) minced, steamed;
Boiled low-fat fish - pollock, hake, pike;
Eggs, soft-boiled or scrambled eggs, no more than once a week;
White bread, slightly stale, biscuits;
Pasta without dressing. You can add a little olive oil;
Porridge - buckwheat, oatmeal, semolina, rice, boiled in water;
Vegetables only boiled and pureed, in the form of casseroles, soufflés, pureed soups;
Fermented milk products – kefir, fermented baked milk, cottage cheese with minimal fat content;
Among the drinks, jelly and compotes, weak tea are preferable;
Baked fruits.

Products prohibited for pancreatitis

When the pancreas is inflamed, it is recommended to exclude from the diet foods that stimulate the activity of the organ. Reducing the production of enzymes helps relieve inflammation. Prohibited products include:

Fried and uncooked smoked products;
Meat and fish broths;
Animal fats;
Bakery products made from rye flour, baked goods;
Alcohol, sweet carbonated drinks, juices, coffee;
Raw vegetables;
Hot spices.

By strictly adhering to the recommendations of doctors, following a diet and taking medications, you can reduce or completely eliminate inflammation of the pancreas and stop weight loss.

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Tips on how to eat healthy

In order for a person to have a normal weight, you need to know the basics of proper nutrition. To gain weight, you don’t have to overeat on buns, sweets and pasta. Proper nutrition is a lifestyle that will help regulate metabolism. By eating right, you will always be in a great mood, your skin, nails and hair will glow, and the problem of excess and underweight will no longer bother you.

The main meal of the day is breakfast; it should be hearty and rich. This is the time when we can even afford simple carbohydrates: sweet buns, cakes, sweets. If you want to gain weight, then the ideal breakfast for you would be: oatmeal with milk with a spoonful of honey, banana, tea, coffee with cookies, waffles or delicious chocolate. A couple of hours after breakfast, have a light snack: yogurt, whole grain sandwich, fruit.

Dinner is a modest meal. Even if you want to gain weight, you don’t need to overeat foods that are forbidden for proper nutrition: sweets, chips, crackers, sweet carbonated water. The body prepares for rest in the evening, so you should not strain it. For a proper dinner, the following are suitable: grilled vegetables, salads, chicken - boiled or baked, turkey fillet, fish. Cottage cheese is an ideal evening dessert; those who want to gain weight can add a spoonful of honey or jam to it.

The goal is to gain weight

Patients face the challenge of gaining weight with pancreatitis after the end of the acute period of the disease. Your body weight is no longer decreasing; you have to try to regain the lost kilograms.

It is necessary to reconsider your diet. It is advisable to seek the help of an experienced nutritionist; he will calculate the amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates to be consumed daily in order to gain weight. Based on the calculations, a menu is drawn up and suitable recipes are selected.

It is important to include more protein foods in your diet. It is protein that becomes the building material for new cells. It is better to eat animal proteins - lean chicken, beef, low-fat cottage cheese, eggs.

To recover from pancreatitis, you need to restore the metabolism that was disrupted during the acute period of the disease. The result is achieved by taking vitamin and mineral complexes. This technique adjusts the metabolism of the digestive system, food is better absorbed. It would be useful to remind you that vitamin preparations should be prescribed by the attending physician.

Some nutritionists recommend eating baby food - fruit, vegetable and meat purees - to gain weight. The unusual recommendations make sense, since canned food for children contains essential substances that promote growth and proper development. Purees packaged in small jars are ideal for fractional meals.

Reasons for stopping muscle growth

By eating right, engaging in permitted types of physical activity and getting plenty of rest, you are guaranteed to start gaining weight. However, be prepared for the fact that muscle gain may stop. This is a pressing problem faced not only by people with pancreatitis, but also by healthy athletes. The reasons for its occurrence may be:

high energy expenditure (you spend more calories than you take in);
lack of sleep;
hormonal disorders;
improper execution of exercises;
lack of protein in the diet;
change in metabolic rate;
rapid fatigue and overtraining.

Protein shakes and amino acids

To increase body weight, drink protein shakes. Protein is an easily digestible protein used by athletes to quickly gain muscle mass. For chronic pancreatitis, take protein drinks in remission, under the supervision of a doctor. Before you start taking protein shakes, you need to make sure there are no contraindications. This includes abnormalities in the liver and kidneys, protein intolerance, in particular protein.

You can buy ready-made drinks or prepare cocktails at home. The recipe uses skim milk, cottage cheese, ice cream, and fruits - strawberries, raspberries, bananas. Beat the products in a blender, drink in the morning or at night slowly, in small sips.

To fully restore the body after illness, it is recommended to use biological supplements and products with a high content of amino acids, which help restore the digestive system and gradually increase body weight. Remember, amino acid supplements are prescribed by the attending physician after a detailed analysis of the patient’s condition. Chicken eggs are a natural source of amino acids; they are best consumed boiled.

It is possible to gain weight if you have a pancreatic disease without causing harm to the body if you eat right and do not overeat. There is no need to count on quick results. Patience, perseverance and daily work will ensure victory over the disease and return lost kilograms to the body.

Should I take a gainer?

Gainer is a well-known nutritional supplement taken by lean athletes to accelerate weight gain. Rapid weight gain occurs due to the high percentage of easily digestible carbohydrates.

The gainer contains 60% carbohydrates. Other ingredients are proteins, vitamins, soy isolate, maltodextrin, and some fat. The composition of the additive varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.

Typically, for athletes without serious problems in the body, gainers do not cause harm to health. It is undesirable to oversaturate the body with any product. A guarantee of safety is to take the gainer strictly according to the regimen recommended by the manufacturer or doctor.

Good nutrition, coupled with the right choice of sports supplements, ensures full compensation of the athlete’s significant energy costs and enhanced nutrition of the athlete’s body. Amateur athletes do not have to take supplements; they do not urgently need them, and professionals cannot do without gainers, protein and other nutritional supplements. Bodybuilding professionals get the desired results in their body work faster thanks to supplements. Athletes successfully recover from exercise and build muscle.

Summarize.

If you have skin problems, such as spots and rashes, this may be one of the manifestations of an allergy to any ingredient in the supplement (for example, the body of some people cannot digest the protein lactose and signals this - after taking the supplement, an allergy appears).
If there are disturbances in the gastrointestinal tract (for example, bloating, pain) or characteristic symptoms of intoxication of the body, one should suspect individual intolerance, a reaction to a cheap, low-quality or incorrectly stored product. Often the product deteriorates due to the packaging not being tightly closed or expired and due to the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria.
When you are concerned about an increased increase in fat mass instead of muscle, you should look for the cause in an excess of carbohydrates in the diet or in the composition of the gainer.

And one more thing - for people working on relief, it is wise to focus on proteins rather than carbohydrates after training. In this case, the fat mass will be minimal, and the muscles will be more visible.

Diet planning

How to gain weight after pancreatitis? Create a special menu for yourself or under the guidance of a nutritionist, based on these rules:

Half an hour to an hour before meals, it will be useful to drink still water (Borjomi, Essentuki, Narzan).

Try to consume as little salt as possible - it is this that causes increased secretion of gastric juice and leads to swelling of the pancreas.

The most important thing is that your body receives the amount of fats, carbohydrates and proteins it needs - an experienced nutritionist can easily create such a balanced diet for you.

The most important thing for you is not to forget about the proper intake of proteins, the building blocks of our cells. These are crackers, buckwheat, oatmeal, rice, and cereals.

Pay attention to baby food and canned food - vegetables, meat, fruit. They already contain the necessary proportion of useful substances.

Include protein shakes in your diet, but during remission. Protein is a fairly quickly digestible protein that allows you to quickly gain muscle mass. However, before this you need to make sure that there are no contraindications to taking it.

Don't forget about the natural source of amino acids - chicken eggs. But you shouldn’t abuse them either.

Give preference to vegetables containing soft fiber - cauliflower, zucchini, carrots.

Baked, stewed, boiled low-fat fish will help replenish potassium, phosphorus, and minerals.

Low-fat milk is a source of additional calories, fatty acids, and calcium.

Drinks: weak tea, jelly, rosehip decoction.

During the period of exacerbation

You should think about how to gain weight in remission of pancreatitis already during the period of exacerbation:

The first days of acute inflammation are a complete refusal to eat. As an exception - unsweetened weak tea, warm (within +37 degrees) still mineral water.
On the third or fourth day after an exacerbation, it is possible to begin adding purees and pureed soups to the menu.
You will have to follow a strict diet for 2 months. This is exactly how long it takes for the pancreas to more or less recover.

Preparing products for consumption

If you are concerned about how to gain weight with pancreatitis, then you need not only to choose the food allowed for the disease, but also to prepare it correctly:

You will need scrupulous control over portion sizes - for this it is recommended to purchase accurate kitchen scales.
All products should be either boiled or baked before use. The meat is cooked only by steaming.
Food must be pureed - soufflé, puree, cream soup, gruel.
If you decide to restore weight with protein shakes, then you should use low-fat cottage cheese and milk, as well as fruits and berries - bananas, strawberries, raspberries, etc. If apples - then only baked and without peel. All ingredients are thoroughly beaten in a blender. The product is consumed in the morning or at night, in small sips, slowly.
Add butter to dishes only after they are cooked, often stopping at butter.

Don't forget about treatment

Speaking about how to gain weight with chronic pancreatitis, we must not forget about taking dietary supplements and medications that contribute to this process:

The lack of digestive enzymes can be neutralized by taking double-shelled pancreatin.
On the recommendation of a specialist, patients are often prescribed vitamin and mineral complexes (C, P, B and retinol), which help the body digest food more easily and restore metabolism faster.
Dietary supplements containing amino acids, which help both restore gastrointestinal functions and increase body weight, will also be useful.

The main advice to those trying to gain weight with pancreatitis is to strictly follow the diet agreed upon with a specialist. You must follow the rules for preparing and eating food and completely exclude prohibited foods from your diet. Restoring your previous body weight with this disease is not easy, but it is quite possible.

Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas. In most cases, the cause of the disease is the abuse of alcoholic beverages and fatty foods. Other risk factors include gallstone disease, taking certain medications, genetic predisposition, abdominal trauma, and others.

The pancreas produces enzymes that promote the digestion and absorption of food entering the duodenum. With inflammation, the number of enzymes increases and the outflow slows down, leading to disturbances in the digestive process. Particles of food gruel settle on the intestinal walls, irritating and causing diarrhea. As a result, the body loses essential proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Replenishment of losses occurs initially due to the burning of subcutaneous fat and glycogen located in muscle tissue, then rapid weight loss begins.