It may sound strange, but the fruit richness and diversity of the summer season does not bring joy to everyone. You must admit that it’s difficult to rejoice when there are fragrant slices of sweet and juicy melon on the table, and you can’t enjoy them in connection with an exacerbation of pancreatic diseases. At such moments, the question arises sharply: is it possible to eat melon with pancreatitis, the answer to which you will find in this article.
Can I use melon for pancreatitis
The constant companion of pancreatitis is a strict diet, which the patient must adhere to, so as not to provoke complications of the disease. Therefore, before eating your favorite treat, a person suffering from pancreatitis should carefully study how this will affect his well-being, and make sure that he can eat the desired product.
Did you know? According to legend, one of the angels gave the melon fruit to people, for which it was soon expelled from paradise.
Given the richness of melon fruits with vitamins and minerals and not having knowledge about the features of pancreatic diseases, it can be said that melon berries are eaten with pancreatitis.
But in fact, a patient with pancreatitis can consume such a treat only on the condition that his illness has a chronic form or goes through the stage of a long and persistent remission process. And also you need to balance your taste preferences with all the rules of nutrition.
You can not immediately attack the berry and eat it in unlimited quantities. It is worth going through a kind of testing - eat melon mousse or jelly. If after that you feel good, then you can eat a melon slice. You can also make your own juice from this berry, but you can’t drink it concentrated: dilute it with warm water.
The advantage of the juice is that it does not contain fiber, which can provoke digestive problems, cause flatulence and diarrhea.
If your ailment worsens, then eating melon is strictly prohibited: fiber and carbohydrates, which the fetus is rich in, work to stimulate the digestive system, and this is a detrimental phenomenon in acute pancreatitis, when you often need to not only eat a harsh diet, but also starve.
Important! For diseases of the pancreas, strictly coordinate your diet with your doctor.
Chemical composition
Melon belongs to low-calorie fruits: 100 grams of berries have only 35 calories. Regarding nutritional value, the composition of the fruit contains most carbohydrates (7 g), protein and fat is much less (0.6 and 0.3 g, respectively). Almost one gram out of a hundred goes to dietary fiber. The remaining 90 g of melon composition is water.
In connection with such “wateryness”, one can often hear skeptics' remarks that eating melons is a waste of time, money and effort. But this is far from the case, because the fruit is a real vitamin storehouse. So, the berry contains reserves of thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), choline (B4), pantothenic acid (B5), pyridoxine (B6), folates (B9), ascorbic acid (C), phylloquinone (K), alpha tocopherol (E )
Also in the melon composition contains potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, chlorine macrocells. Among trace elements, iodine, iron, cobalt, manganese, copper, selenium, fluorine, and zinc are predominant.
Rich in melon and digestible carbohydrates:
- fructose;
- sucrose;
- glucose
- monosaccharides;
- disaccharides;
- starch;
- dextrins.
Did you know? Melon was grown in Ancient Egypt, as indicated by the fact that during scientific work in the tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun melon and cucumber seeds were found.
The properties of melon for the human body
The rich vitamin and mineral composition of melon is undoubtedly a source of benefits for the human body. But, before starting to consume berries, a patient with pancreatitis must carefully weigh all the pros and cons, for more details about which read further.
Benefit
- During the use of a melon, you have the opportunity to enjoy not only its juiciness, aroma and sweetness, but also to saturate your body with benefits, because this variety of melons works for:
- strengthening immunity and human blood vessels;
- restoration of water-salt balance;
- stimulation of blood circulation;
- removal of sand and stones from the kidneys and genitourinary tract;
- mood boost;
- providing the body with antioxidants necessary to prevent aging, the formation of cancer cells;
- elimination of inflammation in organs and systems;
- additional activation of antibacterial drugs;
- improved cleavage of substrates from food;
- expulsion of worms from the body;
- activation of laxative activity, which is especially important for constipation;
- providing an antitoxic effect;
- improving the condition of hair, nails and skin.
With such an impressive list of useful properties, the question of whether or not to eat melon fruits, if a person is chronically ill with pancreatitis (or is in remission), disappears by itself.Important! Folk healers recommend eating melon in order to cure a number of diseases: atherosclerosis, cardiovascular, anemia, renal, hepatic and nervous disorders. Also, the fruit will help to resume faster after surgical procedures.
Harm and contraindications
- Even if the pancreatitis disease occurs during a period of prolonged remission, then before using the melon, you must obtain the permission of a doctor, since it can be contraindicated in connection with the inherent concomitant diseases and conditions, namely:
- The second type of diabetes: the berry contains glucose.
- In acute colitis or ulcer: melon fiber additionally activates the digestive system and provokes a deterioration in the patient's condition.
- Tendency to edema, which may be associated with diseases of the kidneys or urogenital system: melon is 90% of the water.
- Late toxicosis during pregnancy, which leads to serious disruption of the body.
- Period of breastfeeding: eating berries can provoke an upset baby’s stomach.
A particularly harmful effect on a patient with pancreatitis is produced by melon during an exacerbation of the disease.
Important! Pancreatitis patients are strictly forbidden to eat an unripe melon.
- The harm is manifested in the following:
- Stimulation of the production of gastric juice and the release of hydrochloric acid - enzymes that provoke pancreatic secretions, which leads to increased inflammation.
- The presence of simple sugars and fiber in the melon composition causes fermentative dyspepsia in the intestine. The result is frothy and plentiful stools, increased gas formation, bloating and abdominal pain.
- Cells of the endocrine system function in the pancreas. Under the influence of carbohydrates in the melon, these cells operate under heavy load, which negatively affects the pancreas.
Norms of use
A single serving of berries under the condition of pancreatic calm is 100 g. The maximum daily dose is 400 g, although with good tolerance you can afford more, but it’s better not to risk it. It is strictly forbidden to eat melon fruit on an empty stomach, before eating or after a hearty meal.
It should be remembered that the melon consumed by the patient should be sweet and ripe. The pulp needs to choose the one that is closer to the middle of the fruit, not to nibble the part located near the skin.
Diet recipes for pancreatitis
Melon is a fruit that is included in various diets for patients with pancreatitis.
At the same time, it is recommended to consume not so much fresh fruit as dishes from it, for example:
- Melon jam. To prepare it, you will need 1 kg of berries, 2 lemons, a kilogram of sugar and a glass of water. Initially, it is necessary to prepare the melon itself: it should be washed well, peeled, cut into two parts, remove the seeds and cut into small pieces. Then add sugar and leave for 10 hours. After the specified time has elapsed, the mixture must be put on fire, after cutting 1 lemon into thin slices into it. Another citrus is squeezed and only its juice is added to the jam. Cooking time - 1 hour. Cooled jam can be consumed right there.
- Melon Jelly. Prepared from 150 g of melon pulp, 1 tbsp. l sugar, 200 g of water and 1 tbsp. gelatin. The purified amount of melon is placed in a pan, where sugar syrup has previously boiled. The mixture should boil for 10 minutes until the melon is soft. In parallel, you need to prepare gelatin: dilute in water and heat until completely dissolved. Then the melon must be removed from the syrup in which it was cooked, placed in gelatin and mix well. It remains to pour everything into separate forms and put in the refrigerator for cooling.
- Melon Mousse. To prepare it, you need to stock up on melon puree (300 ml), water (150 ml), gelatin (12 g), sugar (80 g), lemon juice (1 tsp). Initially, gelatin should be properly dissolved so that no lumps form. Melon puree is obtained by rubbing berries or grinding in a blender. Then you need to prepare a syrup from water, sugar and lemon juice (boil for 2 minutes). Add dissolved gelatin, crushed melon to the syrup and mix well and mix to cool. The cooled jelly is beaten with a mixer to a white foam, poured into glasses and put in the refrigerator. Mousse can be a healthy snack.
As you can see, it is possible to eat melon with pancreatitis, but only if done correctly, in compliance with all the doctor's recommendations and taking into account contraindications.
Important! No matter how healthy a melon dish, do not overeat.
Otherwise, the benefits easily turn into harm to health, recovery from which can be long and painful.
