Diet, Fats, Carbs, Insulin, etc.

[Guest guest]

Fliss,

You wrote, re: dietary fat, " My MD recognizes that low fat is helpful but

have tried, and, I think, succeeded, in getting me a good balance between the

amount of enzymes I take and as near-to-normal a diet as possible. I do follow a

low fat diet but not quite as low as some sufferers. This is what both my

gastro and panc specialist wanted so as to keep good vitamin absorption. "

I just wanted to ditto that dietary philosophy. There are many important

aspects to this. One, has to do with quality of life, it's important to have as

much normality as possible, and if trial and error, in consultation with your

health care provider, indicates a more liberal diet, I feel it is important to

not get stuck on textbook protocols on dietary needs of a disease, they barely

discuss in their training. Common sense is the main thing. Eat a balanced,

healthy diet. Nobody should indulge in grease laden fast foods, and on the flip

side, compulsion on eliminating normal essential fatty acids, will cause

unnecessary and possibly even more toxic outcomes than the fat grams in

question.

Remember this is IMHO only. (IMHO=In My Humble Opinion)

Alcohol, in any form or fashion, is toxic to the human body, Pancreatitis or

not. There is statistical research to support this data.

Re: Carbohydrates, I avoid too many, as my frail pancreas just cannot handle

the insulin required for the conversion to fat and glucose. You can

essentially eat as many carbs as you want, and supplement with insulin, but when

insulin

is required from alternative sources other than your own body, the insulin

can also be toxic, or cause the body to develop a tolerance to the injected

insulin, called insulin resistance. When the body consumes more carbs than the

body can handle through its own production of insulin, not only does the body

not

produce enough insulin, it becomes unable to use the insulin to complete the

metabolic cycle. (FYI: Did you know that the primary role of insulin is to

convert carbohydrates to fat, prior to converting the fat to energy and FYI:

Insulin is an appetite stimulant, that is why so many people are so hungry after

a

meal in which they had to give themselves insulin)

The body is very resilient and has an incredible ability to compensate years

of overindulgence and abuse. But, only for so much and for so long. Many of us

had warning signs of impending Pancreatitis, which we ignored. Many of us had

warning signs of Diabetes, which we ignored. I pledge that we should respect

the voice of our bodies. listen, and take note, for what it is saying.

I don't wait to go to the doctor, to get to know every part of my body. I

adapt my diet based on the subtle changes I see. Etc., etc., etc.

One of the tools that I use in monitoring how my body is handling

metabolizing the components of my diet is to monitor my stools. I look at the

quantity,

character, color, and odor of the what ends up in the commode. It is very

important, and can be the most valuable tool to determine the efficacy of the

pancreas, GI tract and metabolic byproduct of my diet.

(I don't know about you, but getting diagnosed with Pancreatitis, took the

joy out of eating, dinner parties, etc.)

Karyn E. , RN

Executive Director, PAI

http://www.pancassociation.org

Pancreatitis Association International