Honey for pancreatitis: will it help or hurt?
Diet therapy for chronic pancreatic diseases is quite complex. People suffering from such pathologies can not eat all foods. This article will help you figure out whether honey will help with pancreatitis or hurt.
Features of the treatment of diseases of the pancreas
Unfortunately, pancreatitis is recorded quite often. Initially, this pathology is acute, and later it can become chronic. This disease is characterized by inflammation of the pancreas, which can develop for a variety of reasons. A person can get sick with pancreatitis at any age, and both men and women are susceptible to this insidious disease.
The severity of symptoms may vary. A feature of chronic pancreatic disease is that it usually occurs with alternating periods of well-being and exacerbations.
The period of exacerbation is accompanied by the appearance of severe pain in the abdomen. The severity of the pain syndrome can be so strong that it leads to a significant deterioration in well-being. During an attack of pancreatitis, a person not only has abdominal pain, but also decreases appetite, and general weakness increases. The pain is often permanent. Both acute and chronic pancreatitis require treatment. For this, a sick person is assigned a whole range of different means.In addition to drug treatment, doctors also prescribe diet therapy, and a person suffering from pancreatitis must follow a therapeutic diet for the rest of his life.
Pancreatitis is a pathology that is dangerous because complications can occur during its development. Some forms of this disease can lead to the development of type 2 diabetes. This pathology requires due attention and the appointment of complex treatment. Diet therapy for pancreatitis is determined by the period of disease. So, nutrition during an exacerbation is significantly different from the usual. However, even during the remission of the disease, all foods that can lead to a new exacerbation of the insidious disease are excluded from the menu of a person suffering from pancreatitis.
The pancreas is a secretory organ. Every day, special enzymes are synthesized in the cells that form this organ, which are necessary for digestion. The pancreas is also responsible for the synthesis of insulin, the main hormone that affects the concentration of glucose in the blood. Diet therapy of pancreatitis without exacerbation is based on several principles.
- Fractional nutrition. Pancreatitis should be eaten every 3-3.5 hours. Too long breaks between main meals can lead to deterioration of the pancreas.
- Portion compliance. So, eat in small portions, and avoid overeating. Excessive food intake creates too much stress on the pancreas, which contributes to disruption of its functioning.
- Non-use of forbidden products. So, all spicy, fatty, fried, sour, spicy dishes, as well as alcohol, are completely excluded from the menu.
- Restriction of carbohydrate foods. Excessive intake of carbohydrates in the blood "forces" the pancreas to constantly work, producing insulin to equalize the concentration of glucose in the blood. Foods rich in "fast" carbohydrates in the diet for pancreatitis should be limited.
Of course, people suffering from chronic pathologies of the pancreas should not completely exclude sweets from their diet. However, they must be chosen correctly. For example, honey for pancreatitis is considered a safer product than a greasy cake or pastry.
Is it possible to eat honey with pancreatitis?
The health benefits of honey are enormous. It contains a huge amount of useful components that have a beneficial effect on the work of all cells of our body. The active components contained in honey also affect the functioning of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract. So, the use of honey contributes to the normalization of the stomach, affecting the formation of gastric juice.
Honey is able to have an anti-inflammatory effect, helping to eliminate inflammation that has arisen in the body. And also this product helps to strengthen the immune system and increase the body's resistance to various infections.
Many people suffering from pancreatitis are faced with the problem of broken stools. Problems with regular bowel movements, as a rule, occur in chronic forms of the disease. Incorrectly selected diet therapy of the disease can exacerbate this problem. The use of honey in small amounts helps to normalize the stool and is a good prevention of constipation.
In order to understand whether it is possible to use honey for pancreatitis, you should pay attention to its chemical composition.Honey contains "fast" sugars, but they are completely natural, as they are of vegetable origin. Honey carbohydrates are represented by fructose and glucose, which are quite well processed by the human body.
Thus, it becomes clear that you can eat honey with pancreatitis, but only in limited quantities and not during an exacerbation of the disease. It is quite difficult to predict the individual reaction of a person to honey. Some people tolerate this bee product quite well. And for some, it causes the appearance of adverse symptoms. That is why people suffering from chronic diseases of the pancreas should consult with their doctor before using honey.
The period of exacerbation of pancreatitis is quite difficult. The general condition of a sick person worsens so much that he needs rest to recuperate. The period of exacerbation is accompanied by severe inflammation in the pancreas. The inflamed organ even slightly increases in size due to the resulting edema. During an exacerbation, the diet is perhaps the most strict. On the first day after the onset of adverse symptoms, any food is limited, including honey. In the following days, the nutrition menu of a person with an acute attack of pancreatitis changes significantly; foods rich in “fast” carbohydrates are under a special ban at this time.
Important! It is not worth consuming honey during an exacerbation of pancreatitis or other pancreatic disease.
Harm
There are certain contraindications to the use of bee products. So, you can not use these delicacies for people suffering from allergic pathologies.Biologically active components present in this sweet can trigger the onset of allergy symptoms. Allergic skin rash, puffiness of the face, swelling of the lips, respiratory failure - all these signs should alert and become a significant reason for going to the doctor.
And also you should not use honey for people who have an individual intolerance to this product. The risk of developing life-threatening conditions in this case is quite high.
Recommendations
To avoid adverse symptoms after drinking honey, you need to eat only high-quality bee products. Unscrupulous manufacturers of this sweet treat add various substances to it, even antibiotics. Once in the body, they can provoke the appearance of adverse symptoms. You should choose honey that was collected in environmentally friendly places.
When choosing beekeeping products from beekeepers, it is better to rely on the reviews of friends or relatives who have already tried such a product. When buying on the market, you should definitely ask the seller where the honey was collected.
Honey collected in ecologically clean places in compliance with the correct technology for its collection contains more active ingredients and vitamins. So, quite a lot of substances useful for the body are found in buckwheat and acacia honey. Even eating these foods in small amounts can bring great benefits to the body. Many people wonder if chronic pancreatitis can be cured with honey. Doctors say that it is impossible to do this. Honey should be taken only as a general tonic, but not a panacea for pancreatitis.
To improve well-being, honey in diseases of the pancreas can be used in different ways.The classic option is to eat honey without anything else, just with a small amount of liquid. The initial dose should be minimal. So, use more than 1 tsp. not worth it at first. If after drinking honey in such a dosage no adverse symptoms appear, then its amount can be gradually increased.
Exceed the dosage of 2 tbsp. l. daily is not worth it, since a larger amount of honey can provoke the appearance of uncomfortable phenomena.
Traditional medicine specialists for the treatment of chronic pancreatitis recommend preparing a healthy herbal mixture consisting of only two ingredients. To prepare it, you will need the following ingredients:
- aloe juice - ½ tsp;
- honey - 1 tsp
These ingredients must be mixed well and can be used for application. The herbal mixture should be used three times a day, half an hour before the main meals. Before using such home therapy, you should definitely consult a doctor.
You will learn more about whether honey can be used for pancreatitis in the following video.