Home remedies for pancreatitis treatment

Pancreatitis is a painful condition marked by inflammation of the pancreas – a large gland that plays an integral role in regulating digestion. While pancreatitis requires prompt medical care, a variety of natural remedies (used to complement but not replace traditional care) can help alleviate pain and other pancreatitis symptoms. 

There are two variations of pancreatitis: acute and chronic. Acute pancreatitis is the more common type of condition. 

The pancreas is situated behind your stomach, and release enzymes into your stomach to encourage the breakdown of food. Enzymes, or digestive juices, made by the pancreas are inserted into the small intestine to further break down food after it has left the stomach. The gland also produces the hormone insulin and divides it into the bloodstream so as to modulate the body’s sugar or glucose level. These hormones help the body control the way that it uses food for energy. When pancreatitis occurs, those enzymes erroneously attack the very tissues that produce them. Often brought on by an infection, acute pancreatitis causes such symptoms as severe pain in the upper abdomen, nausea, and vomiting. Treatment usually includes hospital treatment with intravenous (IV) fluids, antibiotics, and pain medication. 

The most common cause of chronic pancreatitis happens to be heavy alcohol use. Symptoms in chronic pancreatitis include nausea, vomiting, weight loss, and fatty stools. Chronic pancreatitis is known to worsen over time, may lead to permanent damage, and result in complications such as diabetes, kidney failure, and breathing difficulties. It is vital to limit your alcohol intake to lower your pancreatitis risk. Keeping a healthy weight, sticking to a balanced eating plan, and getting loads of exercise may also be recommended.

People may eat healthy, organic food, but it won’t matter if the pancreas isn’t functioning correctly. All of the minerals, nutrients, and trace elements that the body needs won’t be going into the bloodstream properly. Lots of these processed foods don’t have natural enzymes. The lack of living enzymes in food forces the pancreas to work harder and create more of the digestive enzymes to digest food properly.

Daily stress is also damaging to the pancreas, and continuous stress negatively affects its hormonal and circulatory system. If the pancreas (an essential digestive organ) is not functioning correctly, then somebody will undergo digestive disorders. This is a traditional cause and effect situation. 

Early detection

Regrettably, pancreatitis isn’t dealt with sooner. Early symptoms of chronic pancreatitis are ignored or not treated properly. From the time experienced medical staff recognizes chronic pancreatitis in a patient, it’s too late. An individual is currently in the end stage of chronic pancreatitis. Trying to cure a pancreas that’s functioning at only a fraction of its capacity is extremely challenging.

The pancreas is such a crucial organ to overall wellness. Some keys tips from this article are worth emphasizing: Pancreatic disorders with reduced pancreatic function are more common than many think. Experts found that 13 percent of individuals who died from various causes exhibited pancreatic disorder. The sooner you begin to deal with pancreatic disorders, the better. Early detection and treatment can have positive results and significant recovery for a person.

Is There a Particular Diet for Pancreatitis?

The diet for those who have acute pancreatitis contains bowel rest for a couple of days. What does bowel rest mean? Bowel rest means taking a rest from food, ie, no food or liquid intake orally. Consequently, patients will need to be supplied fluids and nourishment intravenously in the hospital while the pancreas is given time to recuperate. The individual is then gradually advanced to oral ingestion, starting off with clear fluids and later slowly on to soups.

Patients with chronic pancreatitis are recommended to have a low-carb diet (maximum 20 g/day), smaller sized, and more frequent meals (approximately 5 to 6 every day). If the pancreas develops a flare, the individual should return to bowel rest again for about a day. One should exert caution to continue to taking clear fluids and not become dehydrated. If symptoms do not resolve, medical care should be sought immediately. Patients who have either chronic or acute pancreatitis strongly advised not to drink any alcoholic drinks.

For many people, self-care alone may not be sufficient to deal with pancreatitis. People may have the ability to make themselves more comfortable during an attack, but they will probably continue to have attacks until treatment is obtained for the root cause of the symptoms. If the symptoms are somewhat mild, people might try the following preventative measures:

– Cease all alcohol consumption: This one is a no-brainer. Adopt a liquid diet with foods such as broth and soups. These simple foods may enable the inflammation process to improve. 

– A low-carb diet that restricts fatty, fried, and high fat processed foods are often suggested for both preventing and handling pancreatitis. That is because consuming too much fat may cause your pancreas to release more digestive enzymes than it usually would. An excessive amount of enzymes may result in a flareup. The NPF (National Pancreas Foundation) recommends that patients with pancreatitis restrict their fat intake to 20 grams or fewer per day, with no one meal containing over 10 grams of fat.

– A lot of fluids: According to the NIDDKD (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases), drinking a lot of fluids and reducing caffeine is also suggested for individuals with pancreatitis. 

In some instances of pancreatitis, patients might have to receive total parenteral nutrition. Parenteral nutrition is a way of feeding that provides the patient’s daily requirement of nutrients by intravenous drip.

Over-the-counter pain medicines can also help. Avoid pain medications that may affect the liver like acetaminophen (Tylenol and such). In people with pancreatitis due to alcohol use, the liver is usually also influenced by alcohol.

Healthy Foods to Eat With Chronic Pancreatitis

– Antioxidants

Antioxidants may marginally reduce pain in people with chronic pancreatitis, according to a report published in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in 2014. For this report, scientists examined 12 previously published clinical trials with a total of 585 participants. In their conclusion, they noticed that the “clinical significance of the little reduction is unclear, and much more proof is needed.” It is believed that taking antioxidant supplements may assist in the treatment of chronic pancreatitis by decreasing oxidative stress (a possible element in the growth of this disorder ). It must be noted that, in a systematic review published in 2009, researchers examined 22 clinical trials and concluded that the data don’t support the benefit of antioxidant therapy in the management of pancreatitis. 

– Glutamine

An amino acid naturally within your body, glutamine plays a part in several metabolic processes. Some research shows that glutamine supplementation may help individuals with acute pancreatitis who receive total parenteral nutrition.

– Pancreatitis and Weight Loss

With severe pancreatitis becoming more prevalent in the U.S., it is believed that the obesity epidemic may be a contributing factor in rising rates of the disease. What is more, a research printed in Current Opinion in Gastroenterology in 2017 suggests that obesity can worsen the severity of acute pancreatitis.4 

Although research on using natural remedies for pancreatitis relief is restricted, there is some preliminary evidence that certain supplements can ease symptoms. Here’s a look at several findings from these studies:

– Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Using omega-3 fatty acids can decrease infectious complications and duration of hospital stay in people with acute pancreatitis, particularly when used parenterally. That is the finding of a 2015 report published in the journal Nutrients, which studied eight clinical trials.  One type of polyunsaturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids are found naturally in many foods. A preliminary study indicates that omega-3 fatty acids may help treat pancreatitis by decreasing inflammation and repairing tissue damage. 

– The healing mineral water made from genuine Karlovy Vary thermal spring salt is a natural mineral supplement used in Europe since 1764. Today, Karlovy Vary Healing Mineral Water (KVHMW) is still helping millions of people with various health problems and is used as a preventive remedy. By following the directions, individuals could make the spring water at home and receive the identical curative results as people who went to Karlovy Vary. European physicians prescribed Karlovy Vary mineral water for individuals dealing with a range of digestive disorders. Notice that genuine Karlovy Vary spring salt also significantly helps with significant pancreatic disorders, especially diabetes, and chronic pancreatitis. The latter is long-term inflammation of the pancreas and indicates damage to the pancreatic function.

– An alkaline, recovery diet, acupuncture, herbal medicine, nutritional supplements, healing mineral water, recovery of beneficial intestinal bacteria, abdominal manipulation, comfort, and medical hypnosis are valuable tools, used globally to heal indigestion and pain associated with chronic pancreatitis. Non-drug, non-surgery healing methods improve the quality of life and may delay the worsening of pancreatic disorders. Natural therapy approaches can be used successfully with traditional Western Medicine remedies.

Complementary & integrative medicine may offer various, evidence-based, scientific, time-proven healing methods such as:

– Eating an alkalized, recovery diet

– Having chiropractor manipulations and abdominal massage

– Taking nutritional supplements

– Drinking healing mineral water

– Using acupuncture

– Taking herbs

Participating in medical hypnosis, meditation, and relaxation techniques

The trick to success with your own pancreatic demands is to work with a knowledgeable licensed specialist or team of experts.

As a result of the lack of large-scale clinical trials analyzing their effects in the treatment of pancreatitis, it is too soon to recommend any natural remedies for pancreatitis relief. If you are considering using natural remedies to control pancreatitis pain, speak with your physician first about how to integrate these remedies into your therapy program.

Bear in mind that acute pancreatitis could be life-threatening. If you experience symptoms like severe pain that starts slowly or suddenly on your upper abdomen, seek medical care Immediately