Pancreatitis

🌿 Overview

The pancreas produces insulin, glucagon, and digestive enzymes. When inflamed, it effectively begins digesting itself with its own enzymes — an agonizing condition. Acute pancreatitis involves sudden severe burning or stabbing abdominal pain. Chronic pancreatitis produces repeated attacks, fibrosis, and permanent damage, which can result in diabetes and even pancreatic cancer (the fourth leading cancer killer in America). Alcohol is the most common cause. A diet rich in fats and meat 'lays a solid foundation' for pancreatitis to occur. Medications — including oral contraceptives, steroids, and estrogen — are also named as causes.

Common signs

• ACUTE: Sudden, severe burning or stabbing pain in the upper abdomen
• Pain radiating to the back
• Pain worsened by movement, food, alcohol, or vomiting
• Nausea and vomiting
• CHRONIC: Recurring mild abdominal pain, excessive gas, muscle aches, fever
• Abdominal swelling, hypertension, sweating
• Abnormal fatty stools (when lipase production is impaired)
• Diabetes (from islet cell damage)

🔎 Why it happens

Common causes and triggers — spotting yours is often the first step to relief.

• Alcohol consumption (most common cause)
• Viral infection (hepatitis, mumps)
• Gallbladder disease and bile duct disorders
• Diet rich in fats and meat
• Oral contraceptives, steroids, estrogen, ACTH
• Certain prescribed medications
• Abdominal injury
• Obesity and poor nutrition
• Overeating (overworks the pancreas)
• Heavy refined carbohydrate consumption

✅ What to do

Gentle, practical steps you can take at home — start at the top.

1. Take only water until acute symptoms subside
2. Lobelia teaA warm drink made by steeping herbs in hot water. How to make a tea →: 1 heaping tsp in 1 cup boiling water, steep 30 minutes; add 1 Tbsp of this to each cup slippery elm tea; drink 1 cup an hour before each meal and at retiring (relaxes and cleanses digestive tract)
3. Hot steam pack fomentations to abdomen (for severe acute crisis)
4. Charcoal: take internally and apply as poulticeMashed plant material applied right on the skin. How to make a poultice → over the affected pancreas area
5. HERBS: Nettle, Papaya leaf, St. Benedict thistle (increase pancreatic juice flow for digestionHow your body breaks food down into pieces small enough to use for energy. More →)
6. Echinacea, gentian root, goldenseal, cedar berries (strengthen pancreas — do not take goldenseal more than 1 week at a time)
7. Licorice root (helps all glandular functions)
8. Red clover, burdock root, milk thistle (help the liver, which supports the pancreas)

⭐ Community-ranked natural supports

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🍽️ Eating to help

Food is one of the gentlest medicines — small, steady changes help most.

Favor these

• Water only (during acute phase)
• Slippery elm tea
• Carrot juice (during recovery)
• Low-fat plant foods (long-term)
• Beans and nuts (protein source)
• Fruits (break the fast)

Go easy on

• ALL alcohol (most common cause — must stop permanently)
• ALL caffeine
• Meat products (do not eat)
• High-fat foods (pancreas cannot produce lipase to handle them in chronic phase)
• Sugar and refined carbohydrates (can cause pancreatitis)
• Tobacco (directly causes chronic pancreatitis)

There are no medications that can solve pancreatitis — and it may have been medications that caused it in the first place. A lifetime commitment to a low-fat, alcohol-free, plant-based diet is the best long-term protection against chronic relapsing pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer.

💬 Ask Remy about Pancreatitis