The benefits and harms of dates for the health of the human body

What is pancreatitis, its causes and symptoms

Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas.

Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas. The disease can manifest itself in both acute and chronic forms, accompanied by severe pain in the upper abdomen.

Inflammatory processes in the pancreas are caused by premature activation of enzymes, which become aggressive to the environment and begin to act destructively.

The main group of people suffering from pancreatitis are those who consume large amounts of alcohol, fatty foods, as well as people prone to overeating.

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Pancreatitis can be acute or chronic. Chronic pancreatitis develops against the background of an acute form of the disease or due to diseases of the liver, thyroid gland or atherosclerosis. It is difficult to determine the cause of the disease, but in most cases pancreatitis is caused by excessive alcohol consumption and gallbladder disease.

Factors in the appearance of this disease can also be metabolic disorders, heredity, vascular diseases, hormonal problems, infections, abdominal trauma or surgery on the stomach or biliary tract. Symptoms of pancreatitis:

1. Severe cutting pain;
2. Heat;
3. Very high or low blood pressure;
4. Change in complexion;
5. Nausea;
6. Vomit;
7. Dry mouth;
8. Diarrhea or constipation;
9. Yellow coating on the tongue;
10. Bloating;
11. Yellow skin color.

At the initial stage of the disease, the symptoms of pancreatitis are similar to those of severe poisoning, but if the patient’s condition only worsens, then professional medical help cannot be avoided.

Delayed diagnosis of pancreatitis can cause serious complications. The patient may develop cholecystitis, an inflammation of the gallbladder. Due to infection, acute pancreatitis may be accompanied by purulent complications. In some cases, intra-abdominal bleeding occurs. Serious complications are also destruction of the pancreas and peritonitis.

Chronic pancreatitis can cause diabetes mellitus. Death is also possible. In order to prevent the occurrence of pancreatitis, you need to monitor your diet, consume spicy seasonings and fatty foods in small quantities, give up alcohol, and pay attention to the slightest unpleasant symptoms that can be caused by diseases of the biliary tract or gastrointestinal tract.

Beneficial properties and harm

These fruits, which come to people's tables more often in the form of dried fruits, are rich in amino acids, they contain 23 of the 26 existing organic compounds. A number of mineral substances were found in sweet products: calcium, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, iron, sodium, but most of all potassium in dates (100 g of product contains 696 mg of this element).

Dried fruits contain vitamins of groups B (B1, B2, B5, B6), A, E, C, PP and K.

If you regularly eat just a few fruits, the body receives the nutrients necessary for its normal functioning. Dates with water are a daily breakfast, lunch and dinner for some tribes in African countries. Such a menu does not change throughout a person’s life, but he feels good.

Sweet dried fruits have healing properties:

1. Strengthen the immune system, reducing the risk of catching a cold or viral infection.
2. Dates improve the functioning of the heart and blood vessels, preventing the development of anemia, lowering blood pressure, strengthening the heart muscle and making blood vessels elastic.
3. Reduce severe pain during labor by increasing contraction of the uterine muscles.
4. After childbirth, illness, physical and mental fatigue, dates quickly restore a weakened body.
5. Reduce nervousness.
6. Helps cure respiratory diseases.
7. Prevents the formation of carcinogens and slows down the aging process.
8. Strengthens gums.
9. Prevents the development of malignant tumors in the stomach and intestines.

Although the fruits of date palms have many beneficial properties, they should be eaten in small quantities, because... They are high in calories and quickly increase blood glucose levels.

Therefore, people prone to obesity and people with diabetes are advised to avoid these dried fruits. The carbohydrates found in dates destroy tooth enamel in people with caries. And since this product takes a long time to digest in the gastrointestinal tract, it contributes to constipation in pregnant women, people who are sedentary and with slow intestinal motility.

Methods for diagnosing and treating pancreatitis

A blood test can help diagnose pancreatitis.

You can verify the presence of the disease after a thorough diagnosis, which includes:

• Blood analysis;
• Coprogram;
• Checking the pancreas, liver, bile ducts and gallbladder using ultrasound;
• Computed tomography of the abdominal organs.

Treatment is prescribed by the doctor depending on the severity of the disease. Mild pancreatitis can be cured by following a special diet for a few days.

In case of complications, the patient is provided with intravenous nutrition for 3–5 weeks. In more severe forms of the disease, the patient requires mandatory hospitalization and sometimes surgery. In case of pancreatitis, it is strictly prohibited:

1. Alcoholic drinks;
2. Fast food;
3. Food with hot spices and seasonings;
4. Fatty fish;
5. Canned foods;
6. Coffee, strong tea, cocoa;
7. Carbonated drinks;
8. Citrus;
9. Yogurts, full-fat sour cream;
10. Chocolate, biscuits, caramel;
11. Sausage, sausages;
12. Rye bread;
13. Radishes, spinach, sorrel.

One of the main points of treatment is the content of the diet. When treating pancreatitis, for the first four days the patient should refuse food altogether and drink only warm water without gas. The next stage is to start carefully consuming healthy foods.

Diet No. 5 is considered generally accepted in treatment, the essence of which is the refusal of food, which increases the formation of acid in the stomach and provokes pancreatic enzymes to work actively. It is permissible to eat:

• Vegetables;
• Lean meat, fish and poultry;
• Porridges cooked in water or milk (except wheat);
• Non-acidic dairy products;
• Mild cheese;
• Boiled vermicelli;
• Baked apples;
• Vegetable soups;
• Wheat bread;
• In limited quantities jam, honey;
• In limited quantities, dry biscuits, marmalade, marshmallows;
• Weak tea, compote.

In case of serious complications, the patient must follow such a diet for 8 months, and after that, carefully plan his daily diet.

What dried fruits can you eat while on a diet?

Dried fruits enriched with many vitamins.

Dried fruits are an important source of substances beneficial to the human body. People suffering from pancreatitis limit themselves to a large list of foods for a long time.

Eating dried fruits helps replenish the amount of vitamins and minerals that are lost along with foods that are forbidden to the patient.

Adding dried fruits to the diet is only available for chronic pancreatitis, and even then not all and in small quantities. Allowed to eat:

1. Prunes;
2. Dried pears;
3. Dried apples.

Due to the high sugar content, it is prohibited to consume:

• Figs;
• Dates;
• Raisin;
• Dried apricots;
• Dried bananas.

The best option for consuming dried fruits when suffering from pancreatitis is to prepare compotes from them with the addition of a small amount of sugar.

Such a liquid will not harm the pancreas; rather, on the contrary, it will strengthen the body and fill it with vitamins.

A thematic video will tell you the benefits of prunes:

Why are prunes so beneficial for patients with pancreatitis?

Prunes are plums that have been dried in a special way.

Prunes are one of the healthiest dried fruits. Prune fruits, even in dried form, have many useful things: pectin, fiber, malic acid, vitamins A, B1, B2, C, iron, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, magnesium.

Patients with pancreatitis can add prunes to their diet, but very carefully and in small quantities, and patients with complications should not eat prunes or any other dried fruits at all, since with pancreatitis the pancreas becomes very sensitive to foods with a lot of sugar. Also, prunes can provoke a choleretic process, which is unacceptable in case of pancreatitis.

With a mild form of the disease, the patient is able to independently determine the amount of dried fruit necessary to maintain nutrients, focusing on the individual characteristics of his body. You are allowed to eat no more than ten dried fruits per day. Benefits of prunes for the body:

1. Normalization of metabolism;
2. Normalization of the condition and functions of the gastrointestinal tract;
3. Prevention of constipation;
4. Improved skin condition;
5. Fighting bacteria;
6. Reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases;
7. Reducing the chances of developing cancer;
8. Increased performance.
9. Prunes also have a diuretic effect and a strong laxative effect.

This dried fruit can be consumed without heat treatment, as whole fruit. Prune purees, jelly, and mousses are tasty and healthy. This product is also suitable as an addition to main courses. For patients with severe pancreatitis, only prune tinctures and compotes are allowed.

A person’s health depends on how the pancreas works. A healthy lifestyle, balanced nutrition and attention to the slightest symptoms of the disease are important steps towards a life without problems.

Diet for pancreatitis and cholecystitis is not just abstract nutritional principles; This is part of the treatment, without following the rules of which the medications taken will be wasted money. This is explained simply: both the pancreas and the gallbladder take the main part in the digestion of food (it is these organs that break down foods to their basic structural elements, which are “understood” by the intestines).

Low-fat dairy products are the basis of the diet for cholecystitis and pancreatitis

Depending on the nature of the inflammatory process (it can be acute or chronic), you need to either give the organs rest for a while or gently stimulate their work. In the first case, they will be able to recover, in the second, they will not atrophy.

How to choose and store correctly?

Fruits that have not had time to fully ripen on palm trees are often brought to Russia. Such dates are dried in ovens or soaked in sugar syrups, due to which they become more nutritious and their beneficial properties are reduced. But there are also quality products on sellers’ shelves. They can be recognized by their appearance. Ripe dried fruits have a dark brown color, a matte surface without cracks, dates should not be sticky to the touch.

Industrial intervention in the drying process can be guessed from the following signs:

1. Peeling of the skin and cracks on it.
2. Shiny surface and sugar crystals appearing on the skin.
3. Packed and sticky fruits.
4. Products with a fermented smell and fried taste.

It is better to buy dates with pits, because... they are less often subjected to heat treatment.

After purchasing, dried fruits should be stored in a cool, dark place in a tightly closed plastic container. If the product needs to be left untouched for a month or more, the container should be placed in the refrigerator.

Diet in the acute stage of the process

Nutrition for pancreatitis and cholecystitis in the acute stage or during exacerbation of the chronic process should provide the organs with complete rest, allowing them to recover. For this:

1. in the first three days you cannot eat, you can only drink non-carbonated boiled water and sometimes 100-200 ml per day of “Borjomi” or “Polyana kvasovaya”, from which all gases have previously been removed;
2. by day 3, if the abdominal pain has passed, you can expand the diet. Warm unsweetened tea, ground vegetable soup without frying, oatmeal or rice porridge cooked in milk and water (1:1), crackers, steamed chicken protein omelette are added to it;
3. after another week, low-fat cottage cheese and stewed vegetables (except cabbage) may be allowed;
4. if the above products do not increase abdominal pain, do not provoke diarrhea and vomiting, add boiled low-fat fish, soufflé or steamed cutlets from white chicken or turkey meat, semolina and buckwheat porridge;
5. only after 1-2 months do they move on to the 5p table, which is recommended for adherence for a long time - about a year.

Diet for chronic pancreatitis

It is called “table 5p”, and is characterized as “gentle, with a reduced amount of carbohydrates (mainly sugar) and extremely low fat content”:

• daily calorie content is 2,600 – 2,800 kcal;
• proteins about 120 g/day (no more than 60% animal proteins);
• vegetable fats – about 15 g/day, animal fats – 65 g/day;
• carbohydrates – no more than 400 g;
• sugar – only 1 tablespoon/day;
• instead of sucrose - 20-30 g of sorbitol or xylitol per day;
• salt – no more than 10 g;
• liquids - 2.5 liters, without gas;
• white bread (yesterday's) - no more than 250 g/day.

Principles of the 5p table

To improve digestion in diseased organs, you need to follow the following nutritional principles:

1. meals – 5-6 times a day, in small portions;
2. the temperature of food taken is about 40 degrees;
3. the total weight of food per day should not exceed 3 kg;
4. the basis of the diet is protein foods;
5. fried, salted and pickled foods should be excluded;
6. vegetables should be boiled or steamed;
7. soups - either vegetable or meat broth;
8. drink drinks based on chicory flowers;
9. Eat chicken eggs (or better yet, only whites) 2-3 times a week in the form of omelettes and boiled eggs.

Advice! The diet should contain a sufficient amount of fiber foods. In addition, you need to consume at least 1 glass of kefir and several pears daily.

What you can and cannot eat

Dishes for pancreatitis and cholecystitis should not be fried

Which foods are allowed for pancreatitis and cholecystitis and which are not, see the table:

Let's look at some individual “controversial” products:

1. Bananas for pancreatitis and cholecystitis are allowed, but in small quantities (no more than 1 piece per day), as they contain. It is advisable to use them to add additional flavor to low-fat yogurt, casserole, pie based on low-fat yogurt and dry cookies. You can also drink banana juice, but also in small quantities.
2. Sources of essential omega-3 fatty acids, nuts, are allowed for cholecystitis and pancreatitis if the disease is in the chronic stage. This product is good for snacking. It stops inflammation of pancreatic tissue, protects tissue from destruction. But nuts are a fatty food, so you should eat no more than 15 grams of them (any) and only if you are not allergic to them.
3. Honey for pancreatitis and cholecystitis is allowed only if the inflammation has not affected the endocrine apparatus of the pancreas and diabetes has not developed. In this case, the product is useful - it helps to “expel” bile that has stagnated in the gallbladder.
   

   Advice! For these diseases, you need to consume honey not whenever you want, but in the morning, on an empty stomach, dissolving a tablespoon of the product in 100 ml of water.

4. Persimmon is not recommended for consumption for cholecystitis and pancreatitis. If you really want to eat it, then this can only be done outside of an exacerbation, and only if there is no diabetes.

You can get additional information about nutrition for the pathologies under consideration from the article: 100 approved foods for pancreatitis.

Delicious recipes

So that life with inflammatory diseases of the pancreas and gall bladder does not seem so gray and boring, it is necessary to diversify it somewhat. We offer the following recipes for pancreatitis and cholecystitis.

• Potato cutlets . We take 7 medium potatoes, peel them, cook them, and when they cool down, grate them. To this mass add finely chopped 250 g of milk or doctor's sausage, as well as 200 g of grated hard cheese. Mix in 3 raw eggs, herbs and green onions to taste, salt, 2 tablespoons of flour. You should get a mass from which cutlets are made (they need to be breaded in flour). Prepare the dish in a double boiler.
• Vegetable soup with cheese meatballs. Take 2.5 liters of either water or vegetable broth and put it on fire. Prepare the meatball mixture: grate 100 g of mild hard cheese, mix with softened butter, 100 g of flour and 1 raw egg, herbs and a small amount of salt. Stir and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. For the broth: coarsely grate 1 carrot, cut 1 bell pepper into strips, and cut an onion and 5 potatoes into cubes. Cook for about 15 minutes in boiling water. Next, throw in bean-sized meatballs, formed from the cheese mass that was in the refrigerator.
• Pumpkin – a very useful product. You can prepare many dishes from it. For example, pumpkin casserole with apples.

  
  Pumpkin casserole with apples - both a tasty and very healthy dish

  You need to take 600 g of pumpkin, peel and grate it. Do the same with 200 g of raw apples. Then simmer the pumpkin and apples in a frying pan with 10 g of butter and rub with a fork. Add 100 ml of milk to the resulting puree, bring to a boil, add a little (about 60 g) semolina, cook for 8 minutes over low heat. Next, remove from heat, cool to 60°C, add a tablespoon of sugar and 1 egg, mix . This mass should be placed on a baking sheet greased and sprinkled with breadcrumbs, and baked in the oven. Serve with sour cream.

With pancreatitis, a very large number of foods can cause a sudden exacerbation of the disease. Therefore, some patients have to radically change their diet and for a long time, or better yet forever, eliminate from it everything that cannot be eaten with pancreatitis.

Meat and fish

First of all, you need to give up smoked and fatty foods, including rich meat, fish and mushroom broths, since digesting them requires additional effort. Therefore, sick people should not eat pig, goose and duck meat. In addition, patients of gastroenterologists are prohibited from:

• Kebabs,
• Cutlets,
• Aspic,
• All types of sausages and sausages,
• Stew, etc.

Moreover, with an exacerbation of pancreatitis, patients are forced to forget about all offal and red meat, and instead eat dietary chicken, turkey or rabbit meat. In this case, when preparing food you will have to limit yourself to a small amount of salt as a seasoning, since all other spices and sauces are prohibited for patients. Fatty fish should also not be on patients' tables, for example:

• sturgeon,
• salmon,
• salmon,
• trout,
• herring,
• mackerel,
• catfish,
• sprat.

In addition, it is worth leaving salted fish, caviar and canned fish until better times.

Useful qualities

The date palm is one of the oldest crops known to mankind for more than 4 thousand years. Its homeland is North Africa and Arabia. In ancient times, palm fruits - dates - were considered a symbol of fertility and abundance. They are mentioned in the Koran and the Bible, the works of Herodotus and Pliny, and their images were found on ancient Egyptian monuments. Today, date palms are grown not only in their historical homeland. Introduced to the New World by the Spanish, commercial plantations can now be found in Europe, Asia and the southwestern United States.

Date is an amazing fruit that has the ability to improve health and even prolong life.

Chinese centenarians are known to include only water and dates in their diet. This oriental delicacy is rich in:

• numerous vitamins, including A, E, B1, K, B2, C, B5, PP, B6;
• minerals such as sodium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, magnesium, calcium, aluminum, cadmium, cobalt, selenium, zinc, sulfur, fluorine, boron, manganese;
• a variety of oils and sugars;
• 23 different amino acids, including glutamine and tryptophan.

According to modern medicine, dates:

• improve appetite;
• serve as an excellent tool in the fight against various microbes, bacteria and parasites;
• contain substances that contribute to the normal functioning and development of the muscular system;
• support and improve vision.

Eating dates can be recommended:

• for diseases of the respiratory tract, nervous and cardiovascular systems, as well as colds and arthritis;
• with mental stress;
• with physical exhaustion and fatigue;
• to prevent the development of pancreatic, intestinal and stomach cancer;
• for successful labor;
• to normalize blood pressure;
• to prevent aging and the formation of carcinogens;
• for healing bleeding gums;
• to strengthen the immune system.

Vegetables

Although the health benefits of vegetables are advertised at every turn today, some of them can still contribute to the worsening of the condition of patients with pancreatitis.

This is about:

• white cabbage,
• radish,
• onion,
• radish,
• garlic,
• bell pepper,
• sorrel,
• hell,
• spinach.

Some doctors include tomatoes and cucumbers in this list, but most of them agree that they can be consumed in small quantities in the presence of pancreatitis, and the sensitivity of the pancreas to them can be judged by the body’s reaction. At the same time, similar discussions revolve around the consumption of almost all other vegetables, except, perhaps, sauerkraut. It is sauerkraut with pancreatitis that is very rarely tolerated normally; it is usually poorly tolerated.

Advice: pumpkin can replace most of the prohibited vegetables for pancreatitis. It contains a huge amount of substances valuable for the body, but it can only be eaten if you do not have diabetes.

Mushrooms, not only fried or pickled, but also boiled, create a very large load on the pancreas. Therefore, they need to be completely excluded from the diet. All types of legumes are also contraindicated for pancreatitis, as they lead to increased production of enzymes in the pancreas.

Dates and the remission stage

After a pancreatic attack, can dates be consumed during pancreatitis while the disease is progressing smoothly? You can, but at the same time adhere to the doctor’s recommendations and the prescribed diet.

Pancreatitis after the acute phase becomes a chronic form of the disease, since it is very difficult to completely cure the disease. In the chronic form, an exacerbation occurs every year, especially during the spring and autumn weakening of the human immune system. By following the recommendations in nutrition and treatment, the disease recedes.

dates and pancreatitis in remission

After pancreatitis enters the stage of remission and stability, and the state of health does not show any side or concomitant diseases, especially diabetes, these fruits are eaten. Added to prepare meat dishes, baked goods, and vegetable salads.

What are the benefits of adding dates to food for pancreatitis in a state of stable remission:

• a weakened body receives support to fight harmful and dangerous microorganisms;
• relieves muscle swelling, relieves inflammatory processes in the body;
• prevention of cancer;
• maintains mental and physical condition in a normal social form;
• helps strengthen the myocardial muscle;
• partially relieves pain syndromes, thanks to the oxytocin contained in it;
• enriches the body with essential nutrients and vitamins.

The benefits of consuming fruits are obvious and undeniable, but in case of this pathology, the use should be coordinated with a doctor.

I don’t want to infringe on myself in any way, even when I have been diagnosed with pancreatitis. It is clear that it carries with it a number of restrictions, including many sweet dishes and products.

But you really want to regularly pamper yourself with your favorite delicacies, so how can you move away from this if a habit has been formed over the years? And here the question reasonably arises: what kind of sweets can patients with pancreatitis have? For example, can dates be allowed for dessert with pancreatitis from time to time? Let's find out this question and give an answer to it.

Sweets

No matter how sad it may be, all creams, cakes, pastries, even ice cream, glazed curds and chocolate are strictly forbidden to eat if you have pancreatitis, since they contain a lot of fats and carbohydrates. Moreover, the majority of fats in finished confectionery products are represented by trans fats, which cause significant harm even to a healthy body.

Advice: patients are also advised to give up sugar and try to replace it with natural honey, if their health allows it. Also, you should not eat anything that contains artificial preservatives, flavors or dyes, since such products will not do anything good for pancreatitis.

Thus, the key to a quick recovery is a complete abstinence from any foods that can maintain or increase inflammation, as well as irritate the mucous membranes of the pancreas.

Remission phase

If pancreatitis is not further complicated by the development of endocrine insufficiency, which is a deficiency of insulin production, then during the period of remission of the disease, dates can be eaten dried or used as an additive to confectionery, snacks and meat dishes.

By eating 10 dates allowed per day, provided there is no obesity and normal carbohydrate metabolism, the patient replenishes the entire required daily dose of magnesium, copper and sulfur, a quarter of the need for calcium and half for iron.

Pancreatitis is an insidious disease that has the ability to return. But a complete cessation of alcohol and smoking, constant adherence to diet and nutrition, and a healthy lifestyle will help avoid relapse of the disease. And dates, which have not only excellent taste, but also unique healing properties, will undoubtedly help with this.

Author : Zagorodnyuk Mikhail Petrovich, especially for the site Moizhivot.ru

Useful video about dates