Does a plant based diet heal the pancreas? From my personal experience I have to say yes. Once I eliminated all the foods with a high fat content I was basically faced with a plant based diet. The plant based diet is nothing new to mankind. In fact …
From the dawn of creation man was originally meant to eat a plant based diet. This is evident from God’s Word, the Bible. In the beginning God Said:
“I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.” Genesis 1:29-30
Heal Your Pancreas With a Plant Based Diet
Both acute and uncontrolled chronic pancreatitis cause pancreas damage. That’s a fact. It is also becoming more widely recognized that FAT and ALCOHOL are the enemies when it comes to a diet for pancreatitis. By eating what God originally intended you may find, like me, that you too can heal your pancreas.
According to God we were never intended to eat high fat animal flesh. Then man sinned against God and then, somewhere about the time of Cain and Abel, began eating animal flesh. God then allowed man to eat certain meats and fish.
Pork and other animals that did not BOTH chew the cud and have cloven hooves were taboo. Seafood that did not have fins and scales (weren’t fish) were taboo (Leviticus 11 – New American Standard Bible). In other words, clams, scallops, shrimp, lobster (no fins and no scales), along with all that high fat bacon you may still be consuming is not a good thing and God does NOT approve. But when it comes to pancreatitis that is NOT the whole story.
Beef, duck, lamb and some plant foods, even though approved foods, have way too much fat content. So healing your pancreas after it has been damaged by acute pancreatitis or uncontrolled chronic pancreatitis is going to take a whole new eating lifestyle, a plant based diet that has been modified to heal the pancreas.
A Plant Based Diet Eliminates Fat!
Obviously God had His reasons for a plant based diet. Some of His reasons may have been to prevent what we now know to be atherosclerosis (coronary and peripheral artery disease), cancer, diabetes, obesity and a myriad of other conditions that are directly linked to diet. Of course this is predicated upon the assumption you believe in God and read His Word. If not then you have to decide whether or not a plant based diet may be beneficial in your life by way of healing your pancreas however …
A plant based diet helped me heal. If you want to heal your damaged pancreas I suggest you pay attention to your diet and make appropriate changes. You can find out how to create your own food diary and thereby know exactly what is safe for you to eat when you have pancreatitis on this blog.
Once you heal your pancreas you can then graduate from a modified plant based diet (vegan) to one that contains certain meats (poultry such as skinless chicken, turkey, quail, pheasant, grouse) and fish for more protein.
Hello. I was just diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis at the age of 20 even though I don’t drink. I really appreciate all the information you provide. You have the same stubborn winning attitude as I have. I’m very determined to beat this. I have cut out all meat (except chicken and turkey) etc. I also take your reccomended supplements. If there is some way I contact you directly, it would be great. I would like to discuss some science and possibilities. It does for example seems very likely that the pancreas has the ability to regenerate accodring to this report: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10925727
Hi Jake – I totally agree. I think there is a very good possibility that the pancreas, under the right conditions, can regenerate. Some science like the info you found on PubMed suggests it is possible, my own experience seems to point in that direction and I have had several blog followers say their CT scans have dramatically improved after adhering to a proper diet and supplements. The only way you can contact me is via this blog and my Facebook page. I don’t do email or calls.
Hi, again! Encouraging to see that you agree. After I started a low-fat diet and the supplements, I am basically pain-free already. I have gained over 6 pounds and I can enjoy eating large meals. Thank you for your dedication. Btw! I have developed something that seems to be fructose and glucose malabsorption over the last few months. Get bloated and get diarrhea (or loose at least) after eating fruit and simple sugar. Do you have any suggestions how this could be solved?
Jake, are you used to eating the amount of fruit that you are now consuming? What type of fruit causes the problem? If you don’t know because you are eating several types at once or making juice blends you should try to find the culprit. Overripe fruit can sometimes be a problem because the sugar in many tends to turn into alcohol. That’s why you have wines and brandy made from fruits. Bananas are notorious for this. You can peel an overripe banana and smell the alcohol. So my suggestion is to eat fruits that are not completely ripe or eat them as they come ripe but NOT overripe.
Pancreatitis is curable ddiseas or not
Hi Rajan – what type of pancreatitis? Mild acute pancreatitis has a pretty good recovery rate if everything goes well with the patient being able to lead a normal life. Other forms not so much.
You have no idea what true pancreatic problems are even like obviously. Your giving false hope and you should stop.
I posted a very long reply but your protected by comment moderation? Why,do you not want to here from a person far more educated than yourself about this particular subject. I have a PH.D in living with pancreatic problems my friend but you need to stop.
Jake, this is the first time I have read your comments and seen this page. I see it was 2014 when you left post. How have you come along the past 4 years in trying to regenerate your pancreas?
Hello. My name is Jeff. I am 53. About a year and a half ago I was diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis. I currently have 2 stents in my pancreatic duct. That was the original concern that the duct showed a stricture. I am on my third stent surgery. First 1 then 2 then 2 larger. They will need to be removed soon. Also my gall bladder was removed as a possible suspect. Your article is the first promise of relief in some time. I am going to try the plant based diet and see if it helps. I would also like to know what kind of supplements you recommend. I am currently trying a pure liquid diet as the pain is excruciating and seems to be getting worse.
Hi Jeff – sorry to hear you are not well. The 3 supplements that do the most good are grape seed extract, curcumin and vitamin C. What type of liquids are you doing? And I am curious did you have pain before the stents?
Long story. The short answer is yes. My first trip to the hospital was from pancreatic pain. The stricture was discovered after c.t. scans. Then the stent was put in.
Hi Jeff – I’m sorry for that seemingly stupid question: “And I am curious did you have pain before the stents?” Of course you had pain, most people who experience acute pancreatitis have severe pain and chronic pancreatitis can be as bad in some cases so … What I should have asked was did the stents relieve the pain to any degree, or did the pain stay the same or increase after the stents were inserted?
I would say it didn’t help. If anything over time it has become worse. I even question whether some of my current pain may be coming from the stents
Hi Jeff – that is what I was basically getting to – your pain could be from the stents but that isn’t necessarily true either; just a thought I had that you seem to have as well. We could both be wrong. I’ve never had stents and I’m not a doctor so I don’t know.
Well they are temporary and have been in for a while. They will be out soon and then I’ll know for sure. Bought a juicer today! Gonna go load up on organic fruits and veggies tomorrow!
Jeff I hope everything begins to get better for you. Let me know how juicing works out for you. 🙂
As far as liquids go it’s a mixed bag. I get a lot of grief over soda. Curious your take. I am going to start a pure juice diet in the coming days. I saw grapefruit and was curios what other juices to start on. The health food store near by offers an array of organic juice cleanses and smoothies. As I have not been eating much solid food lately I certainly have no desire to loose more weight. Your thoughts
Jeff I have no concrete evidence that soda (pop) causes problems. I have no concrete evidence that sugar causes problems. Neither bother me and like I said I can find no scientific papers that suggest sugar has been proven harmful unless of course one is diabetic. BUT sugar IS inflammatory. So there is definitely an existing possibility that in some people sugar could cause pancreas irritation, even inflammation. There is scientific proof that sugar feeds cancer (Nobel Prize recipient Otto Warburg).
Before you start drinking grapefruit juice make sure it doesn’t interact with any medication you may be taking. It is notorious for interacting with prescription medications and some interactions can be lethal so BEFORE you drink grapefruit juice check with your doc and pharmacist to determine if GFJ is ok for you. Any other fruit or veggie juice should be fine. Just make sure that there are no ingredients that contain large amounts of fat that are also included in those commercial juices and/or smoothies.
It is difficult to gain weight or even stop weight loss when trying to heal a damaged pancreas simply because food is not your friend and will often cause pain, nausea, vomiting or even another acute attack (to be avoided at all costs). When a pancreas is damaged and inflamed even safe food can cause problems. I am not trying to scare you or be negative it is just what it is.
You know what,I was diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis at 13 due to pancreatic duct obstruction. The 1 duct a stent can’t be placed and left. I’m 50yrs old now and a Whipple patient with more complications from that surgery then can even be discussed here. Reading what you have posted here about your miracle plant diet just pisses me off. Keep thinking like this and if this did by some miracle of god work for you you one lucky individual.BUT…if you truly have pancreatic issues mark my words it will be back and it will return with a vengeance pal. And if so enjoy..you should be made to for posting this BS. Have a nice day.
Hi Michael – I’m not even going to dignify your comments with a response.
There is soooo much evidence that plant-based is the most healthy alternative for the body. So why wouldn’t it help pancreatitis along with what ever else ails a body? “Michael” has obviously not done any dietary research with any kind of an open mind or he would have found that; of course, at one point he claimed to be a doctor and I “here” they don’t receive much true nutritional training in med school. Unfortunately, haters are just gonna hate. And as much as people don’t want to hear it, plant based is good for the body.
I agree Kathryn – thank you for your input. I appreciate it 🙂
Dear health guy I have lost an awful amount of weight due to heavy diet restrictions owing to Cp I wanted to know from you if its OK to take plant based protein supplements and how do I start if I brought one please help.
Hi Mhathung – vegetable protein mix (pea protein) should be fine. Just read labels because some contain oil.
Hi Health Guy,
thank you for your valuable comments. My mother who is 75 has chronic pancreatitis and we both started whole-food plant-based about 5 months ago. We enjoy it but my mother is developing a lot of gassiness and stomach pain and I read that a lot of fiber and anti-nutrients can cause the body not to absorb the supplemental enzymes she takes. Do you have any experience about how to balance healthy eating with the inability to absorb? I am afraid I am doing more harm to her by eating this healthy. Thank you for your input!
Hi Tatana Syrovatkova you can always try more friendly, good fats such as those found in fish, avocado, nuts, etc just ease your mom into new foods so you can see whether she tolerates them or not.
Hello health guy,
The information on your website has helped my son greatly. He was very ill last year for many months and went through many different tests before he was finally diagnosed with acute and chronic pancreatitis by a pediatrician. (He suffered from chronic stomach pain and constipation through his childhood as well and we don’t know if it could have been pancreas related at the time because he was never tested.) He then went through ERCP but was more ill with near constant pain after the procedure although he had sporadic pain before the procedure. We have followed your suggestions for diet and supplements and this has helped him heal over the last year. Before coming across your site, we had no idea what to do during an attack. Fasting, pasteurized vegetable juices, etc. help during an attack. Your website gave us a lot of information and hope last year when we were going through a very difficult time. Thank you for showing the way that a low-fat plant-based diet with these supplements helps to keep the pancreas healthy. Grapeseed and curcumin are powerful antioxidants that protect from other diseases including cancer, so everyone should take them even if they don’t have pancreatitis. Triphala is another well-known supplement that is an antioxidant and it helps as well. Thank you again for having this informative site available and God bless you for helping those suffering from pancreatitis!
Hi RGrover- thank you for the kind words and blessing! I am super glad to hear that your son is doing better. Good news is always inspiring and welcome. 🙂