5 Ways to Prevent Pancreatitis and Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency

Pancreas is the organ found deep inside the body, buried under the abdomen. Acute pancreatitis occurs from gallstones or pebbles formed from hardened bile. Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency occurs when the pancreas is not producing many digestive enzymes in the pancreas to digest the entire food.

Managing the pancreas' health to reduce the risk of pancreatitis and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency is crucial if you have chronic digestive issues. We have compiled five easy ways to manage your pancreatitis and EPI condition and reduce the risk of developing the health condition.

What is Pancreatitis?

Pancreatitis is the inflammation of the pancreas. It happens when your pancreas gets inflamed. The digestive enzymes that should be active within your intestine break down the pancreas.

You can feel severe pain in pancreatitis. It impairs your digestive system and subsequent absorption of food. Undigested food can cause nausea, vomiting, bloating, fever, and diarrhea.

Why is the Health of the Pancreas Crucial?

Untreated pancreatitis, particularly chronic one, can cause harm to the pancreas, leading to other health issues. The pancreas produces insulin that carries glucose to cells. If damaged, the pancreas may not generate enough insulin for sugar absorption leading to type II diabetes. The health pancreas is critical.

What is Exocrine Pancreas Insufficiency (EPI)?

Another problem is exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) develops when the food you cannot digest food.` It occurs when the pancreas is not producing digestive enzymes to digest food. In EPI, some enzymes do not function optimally. Digestive enzymes help the body absorb nutrients from the breakdown of food.

What are Pancreatitis Types?

Pancreatitis can be acute or chronic. We can cure acute pancreatitis. A chronic pancreatitis is a recurring form. Acute pancreatitis can convert into chronic pancreatitis if sustained over a long time. 

What are the Pancreatitis Causes?

Pancreatitis' common causes include −

• Gallstone

• Alcohol

Gallstone

Acute pancreatitis occurs from gallstones formed from hardened bile. The gallstones from the gallbladder pass through and settle in a common bile duct. A common bile duct is a tube connecting the liver, gallbladder, pancreas, and small intestine.

Alcohol

Alcohol can severely harm the pancreas, the second most common cause of pancreatitis. Stop drinking to mitigate the risk of pancreatitis. It can lead to chronic pancreatitis.

Other Pancreatitis Causes

• Blood containing high fat and calcium

• Pancreas damage because of abdominal injury

• Abnormalities in hormones

• Medications including estrogen, diabetes medications, antiviral drugs, steroids

• Viral infection

• Pancreas surgery

• Smoking

• Genetic abnormalities of the pancreas

5-ways to Prevent Pancreatitis and Exocrine Pancreas Insufficiency

We have already mentioned a few preventive measures. Let us discuss more precautionary methods.

Stop Alcohol Intake or Moderation

Overconsumption or long-term consumption can cause severe damage to the pancreas, leading to chronic pancreatitis. Qui alcohol is the best solution to prevent alcohol-related causes from harming your pancreas. If you cannot stop, drink with the permissible limit or moderately.

Healthy Diet to Keep you Healthy

Accumulation of cholesterol in your bile is another cause of acute pancreatitis. Bile is a fluid help to break down fast. Due to too much cholesterol in bile, gallstone develops. To mitigate the risk of gallstone, eat a heart-healthy diet, including whole grains and fruit & vegetables.

Avoid oily, deep-fried, highly saturated, fatty food and dairy products. The risk of pancreatitis rises if you have diabetes or high triglycerides because the fat gets into your blood, causing a higher risk of acute pancreatitis.

Lose Weight and Exercise Daily

Being overweight can increase the risk of pancreatitis. If you are obese, you are prone to develop pancreatitis because of the high fat present in your body. Lose those extra fats to maintain body mass and weight per your age and height.

Eat fat-free balanced food and lose an extra pound by exercising five days a week for 30 minutes. It will mitigate the risk of developing gallstones.

Avoid Crash Diet

Gallstone is one of the major causes of cut pancreatitis or exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, creating digestive issues. Fat accumulation can speed up gallstone development. If you get into the crash diet mode to lose weight and fat, your liver responds by producing more cholesterol. It increases the risk of the development of gallstones.

Quit Smoking

Smokers are 1.5 times more likely than non-smokers to develop acute pancreatitis. Make lifestyle changes to manage your pancreatitis condition and to keep your pancreas healthy.

Conclusion

If you change your diet, the acute form can heal quickly. If you drink alcohol, analgesics, pain medicines, and antibiotics, cessation can reduce the acuteness. Pancreatitis, if unmanaged, can turn into exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, a digestive issue in the pancreas.

Manage it promptly when the test diagnoses you with pancreatitis. You can go for non-invasive treatment or invasive where the doctor manually broadens the pancreatic or bile duct.