Nutrition in case of pancreatic hypofunction | Pancreatic hypofunction

Nutrition in case of pancreatic hypofunction

If you are affected by an endocrine pancreatic hypofunction (diabetes mellitus), the essential nutritional rules result from the therapy plan that you should draw up together with your diabetologist. It goes without saying that the monitoring of carbohydrate intake is particularly important, as this increases the blood sugar level particularly quickly and strongly. Consequently, the consumption of sugary food should be reduced as much as possible and, ideally, monitored by self-measurement of the blood sugar level.

Since proteins and fats raise the blood sugar level more slowly and less strongly, their share in the total diet should be increased in comparison to healthy people. In addition, several smaller meals a day are more advisable than a few large meals. In the case of exocrine pancreatic hypofunction, many patients experience relief of their symptoms if they reduce the proportion of fat in their diet. The undigested fat is the main reason for the unpleasant symptoms (foul-smelling diarrhoea, abdominal pain, flatulence). However, the consistent intake of replacement enzymes before meals is of crucial importance for the development of the disease, in order to prevent malnutrition and vitamin deficiency.

Course of disease

An existing pancreatic hypofunction is irreversible, regardless of whether it is endocrine or exocrine impairment. However, even if the affected persons consequently have to deal with the disease throughout their life, most courses of the disease can be influenced very positively with the means available today. Especially in the case of endocrine underfunction (diabetes mellitus), the symptoms can usually be reduced to an absolute minimum and the actual burden on the patient is limited to the immensely important therapeutic discipline. Nevertheless, over the course of time there is usually a gradual deterioration in the functioning of the organ. In order to be able to monitor this and its possible consequences, consistent adherence to regular check-ups is highly recommended.

Consequences

The treacherous thing about endocrine pancreatic hypofunction (diabetes mellitus) is that it usually remains without any symptoms for a long time and yet it sometimes triggers serious consequential damage, sometimes resulting in life-threatening events. The consequences of endocrine hypofunction include vascular calcification (which can later lead to heart attacks or strokes), kidney damage (diabetic nephropathy), reduced vision (diabetic retinopathy) or damage to nerve tracts (diabetic neuropathy). A further consequence of the disease is the diabetic foot, in which impaired wound healing occurs due to the diabetic vascular and nerve damage.

In severe cases, this secondary disease can even make amputation of individual toes or even limbs necessary. Disciplined adherence to the therapy guidelines and regular check-ups with various specialists (above all diabetologists, ophthalmologists, neurologists) can considerably slow down the progression of these secondary symptoms! Exocrine pancreatic hypofunction often leads to weight loss over time if the therapy instructions are not followed adequately (e.g. irregular intake of the replacement products before meals).

While weight loss in itself is not inconvenient for some sufferers, many underestimate the negative effects of long-term malnutrition: Since not only is less energy absorbed by the body, but also the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K is limited, weight loss is accompanied by vitamin deficiency. Depending on the functions of the individual vitamin classes, this can lead to increased susceptibility to infections and reduced visual acuity (vitamin A), brittle bones (vitamin D) or an increased tendency to bleed (vitamin K). This topic may also be of interest to you: Vitamin deficiency