The pancreas is an important gland (about 6” long) that most people don’t know much about, but is absolutely necessary for proper food digestion. It is located between the stomach and spine, which makes it a difficult organ for a doctor to feel from the outside of the body. Therefore, difficulties with the pancreas are not usually noticed until they interfere with digestive organs such as the stomach, liver, small intestine or gall bladder.

The pancreatic duct flows through 4 parts of the pancreas: head, neck, body and tail. The uncinate is the 5 th part of the pancreas. There are 2 important blood vessels that cross in front of it.

After food leaves the stomach on it’s way through the digestive system it flows into the small intestine where bile from the liver and pancreatic fluid from the pancreas assist in the digestion. Enzymes and endocrine cells are produced in the pancreas. The enzymes help digest fats, carbohydrate and protein. The endocrine cells are necessary because they produce insulin, which regulates the main energy source of the whole body: glucose (sugar).

There are several disorders of the pancreas, which will be discussed here. Pancreatic cancer, the 5 th leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. and around the world, is still without a cure. An estimated 50-80,000 people in the U.S. experience the painful inflammatory disease, pancreatitis, each year. The prognosis is usually good, and although it can be very painful, it does not usually cause death. In this disease damage to the pancreas may occur when the digestive enzymes it produces are activated and begin attacking the organ. The most common cause is gallstones, but alcohol abuse, hereditary conditions, trauma, medications, high lipid levels and abnormalities of electrolytes or hormones may also be the cause. Sometimes (15% of the time), the cause is never determined. Five different kinds of cysts are known to form in the pancreas. Two types are Serous Cysts, which are benign, and pseudocysts, the most common pancreatic cyst type (they account for approximately 75% of pancreatic cystic lesions). They are usually a result of acute or chronic pancreatitis. Another condition that sometimes follows acute pancreatitis is a pancreatic abscess.

If you are having abdominal pain because of your pancreas it might be necessary to rest the pancreas by limiting your food intake for a while. Although not nutritionally sound, a diet of clear liquids (juices, gelatin, broth) may be necessary. At any rate, do not take food that is spicy or high in fat. High protein and high fat foods stimulate the pancreas the most, so they should be avoided. Recipes that do not irritate the digestive process in people with pancreatic diseases such as chicken soup, roasted vegetables, and muffins made with applesauce, bran and oatmeal can be seen at the National Pancreas Foundation website by clicking on this link: http://www.pancreasfoundation.org/recipes.html

Endnotes

http://pathology2.jhu.edu/pancreas/index.htm

http://www.pancreasfoundation.org/diseases.html

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