Pancreatitis, Paleo/Zone & Crossfit

[Frederic Giraud]

Hi Everyone

After some a bit of research on the subject of Pancreatitis, I'm here asking you guys your opinions.

My mother had quite an huge Acute pancreatitis 3 years ago, and it has resulted in the removal of her pancreas.

She recovered and passed through it thanks to her lifelong fitness that she maintained all those years.

Now I'd like to get her in an even better shape, even though when compared to other woman of her age she is at the top of the spectrum, I know, and she knows, she could be even more fit.

Here starts my questions, due to her condition she was on a straight 0 fat kind of diet. I think it was due to the fact that the pancreas help with the secretion of things that will help with the process of fat, or something along those lines.

Now we all know how much we preach good and solid amount of healthy fat through paleo and zone kind of eating. And I was wondering if due to her condition ( pancreas-less), that it could be bad for her health?

Perhaps gradually changing the ratio of her diet to something more zone-ish, will let time for her body to adapt to the good fatty, but what if the pancreas was the whole point of adaptation for her body versus fat?

Anyone has any wisdom and that fat issue and the loss of a pancreas?

Any general wisdom on her condition would be greatly appreciated as well...

Regards,

Fred

[Cal Jones]

I have a friend with pancreatitis - he gets a lot of problems (bouts of vomiting, and he is always hot and sweaty, even on days I feel cold, and has a lot of candida in his gut). He can't drink alcohol because the doctor said it would kill him (!) but he loves his sweet things and although he knows he shouldn't eat them, he does. (Bad boy).

Main things to note is that if the pancreas is busted, or missing, then digestive enzymes are not being produced, or in lesser numbers, so your mum would be advised to supplement with enzymes and possibly probiotics.
I'm assuming that, as she has no pancreas, she has to take insulin. I think the main thing is to control her sugar levels so a low carb/sugar/starch diet would be most effective. Good oils like fish, olive, flax etc shouldn't be a problem in small amounts if she is taking enzymes. (Though I'm not a doctor so don't take this as read!)