Pancreas is one of the organs of the body that has a very important function, but often underestimated his health. The pancreas is par...
Pancreas is one of the organs of the body that has a very important function, but often underestimated his health. The pancreas is part of the digestive system located in the abdomen. Pancreas serves to produce various important hormones such as insulin, polypeptide, somatostatin, and glucagon.
The pancreas is like a sponge and produces an enzyme that serves to digest food. Problems with the pancreas can cause pain, fever, and diarrhea. The health of the pancreas is of course very important for overall health. To protect the health of the pancreas there are some foods that you can consume the following.
There are many things in life you can live without, but the pancreas is not one of them. This oddly shaped organ has been described as looking like everything from a pear to a fish or a tadpole. Buried deep inside the abdomen, located behind the stomach and located between the heart, the spleen, and the gallbladder, you may not even be entirely sure what it does. The pancreas produces a number of enzymes, which are necessary to digest food. It also makes insulin, the hormone needed to keep blood sugar levels in check. This is an important organ, and the health of the pancreas should not be ignored.
Understanding the Pancreas
Pancreatitis occurs when the pancreas becomes inflamed and the digestive enzymes that should only be active in the gut begin to "digest" the pancreas itself. This condition can be painful and affects the digestion, keeping the food well absorbed, causing nausea, vomiting, bloating, fever, and diarrhea. As a result, you can develop serious nutritional deficiencies and lose weight.
Causes of Pancreas
When the pancreas suddenly becomes inflamed, there are two common causes: gallstones and chronic alcohol consumption. Gallstones, or gravel made from hardened bile, can trigger acute pancreas if they leave the gallbladder and pass through or get lodged in the bile ducts, the tubes connecting the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas into the small intestine.
Other causes of acute pancreas may include:
1. High levels of fat in the blood
2. High levels of calcium in the blood
3. Stomach injury that damages the pancreas
4. Hormonal abnormalities
5. Certain medications, such as steroids and estrogens
6. Viral infections
7. Genetic disorders of the pancreas
Research has also shown that excessive alcohol drinking is a major risk factor for chronic pancreatitis. A 2012 study published in the journal Nature Genetics notes that there may be a genetic link between chronic pancreatitis and alcohol consumption.
How To Maintain Pancreatic Health:
1. Limit your alcohol consumption
By drinking less or not at all, you can help protect your pancreas from the toxic effects of alcohol and reduce your risk for pancreatitis. A number of studies, including a population-based study in Denmark involving 17,905 people, found that high alcohol intake was associated with an increased risk of pancreatitis in both men and women.
2. Eat a low-fat diet
Gallstones, the main cause of acute pancreas, can develop when too much cholesterol builds up in your bile, the substance made by your liver to help digest fats. To reduce your risk for gallstones, eat a low-fat diet that includes whole grains and a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. To help prevent pancreatitis, certain foods to avoid include fats or fried foods as well as full fat dairy products. High triglyceride levels, or the amount of fat carried in your blood, can increase the risk for acute pancreatitis. So it's also important to limit foods high in simple sugars, such as sweet candy and high-calorie beverages, which can raise your triglyceride levels.
3. Exercise regularly and lose excess weight
Overweight people are more likely to develop gallstones, putting them at greater risk for acute pancreas. Losing extra pounds gradually and maintaining a healthy weight by eating a balanced diet and doing regular physical activity can help prevent gallstones from forming.
4. Skip the dietary accident
The objection to losing weight is to do it gradually. When you get into accident-diet mode, encouraging rapid weight loss, your liver ramps up the production of cholesterol in response, which increases your risk for gallstones.
5. Don't smoke
The studies show that smoking is associated with acute pancreatitis. Researchers in Sweden followed 84,667 healthy women and men between the ages of 46 and 84 to study how smoking affects their risk for acute pancreatitis. The study, published in the journal Gut, revealed that people who smoked the equivalent of at least one pack of cigarettes a day for 20 years had more than doubled the risk of non-gallstones associated with acute pancreatitis versus non-smokers. Quitting smoking reduces the risk of smokers to acute pancreatitis at the same rate as non-smokers.
Pancreatitis can be a serious condition and if left unmanaged it can develop into an EPI. If you have a pancreatic risk factor or have experienced it before, make the right lifestyle changes to prevent it from happening in the future.
