Sugar cravings!! My guess is we’ve all had them and on many occasions we’ve probably succumbed to them and reached for the nearest chocolate bar! Why have we become so beholden to sweetness in our food? My take is that it’s happened gradually over time. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect the amount of sugar added to the foods we eat has gradually increased over the decades as food has become increasingly processed and packaged for easier storage and transportation. We spoke about food additives in a recent post, but sugar is probably the most common additive there is.

I read recently that sugar is addictive. Not sure whether that is the case, however what is certain is that we do find sweet foods more enjoyable, mostly I think because our tastes have been diverted from nourishment towards ‘comfort’ and easy access as more and more sugar has been added to the food we consume. Of course, this can have significant implications for the pancreatitis sufferer. With diminished pancreatic function comes the greater risk of diabetes mellitus. So, it’s important for people with pancreatitis to be particularly mindful of their sugar intake (as well as the fat content in the foods they consume!). The extent to which one must do so of course depends upon the severity of your individual pancreatitis, but it is our belief that everyone with pancreatitis (in fact probably everyone in the western world!) can benefit from keeping sugar intake in check.

Reviewing food labels becomes essential though for anyone with pancreatitis. Sugar seems to be in everything! And, you can’t rely on your taste buds. Things that taste bitter, such as tomato sauce, can have a high sugar content. As we mention in the ebook, ‘Cooking Hints and Recipes for Pancreatitis’, when checking labels, look out for anything with ‘ose’ in the ingredients. Glucose, fructose, sucrose are all forms of sugars and all have the same effect in the body – they make the pancreas work harder! Something we certainly don’t want or need. The same goes for ‘syrups’. Oh, one other thing to watch for is when sugar is listed as one of the first three ingredients. In Australia (and perhaps in other countries – can anyone confirm?) ingredients in foods are listed by amount with the largest ingredient coming first and so on down the list of ingredients.

So, make sure you check those labels! More on how to tame the sugar beast in future posts. Please let us know if you have any thoughts on this. Leave a comment here or email us at info@pancreatitis-advice.com

Bill & Jenny

http://www.pancreatitis-diet.com

Hi everyone

We’ve been hearing a bit lately about a persons waist measurement being a good general health indicator.  The focus of much of the television advertising we’ve seen has been on reducing heart disease, but the incidence of cancer has also been mentioned as having a strong link to girth size.  As it turns out there has been some research in this area relevant to the incidence of pancreatic cancer in women.  And the correlation is quite startling!  In an article in the UK newspaper the Telegraph it was reported earlier this year that obese women who have excess belly fat are 70 per cent more likely to develop pancreatic cancer.  The article referred to a study published in the British Journal of Cancer which found a link between waist-to-hip ratios and pancreatic cancer incidence in post-menopausal women.

Dr Juhua Luo, of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, who led the research said, “We found that the risk of developing pancreatic cancer was significantly raised in obese postmenopausal women who carry most of their excess weight around the stomach.  Of the American women surveyed in the study, 251 developed pancreatic cancer and when other risk factos such as smoking and age were factored out, the disease was far more prvalent in the obese than in those with small waist to hip ratios.

As readers of our book ‘Beating Pancreatitis - How to Get Healthy and Enjoy Life Again’ would know, obesity can be a factor in the development of pancreatitis and having pancreatitis increases one’s chances of developing pancreatic cancer.  The relationship seems quite clear doesn’t it - to reduce the risk of developing pancreatitis keep your waist measurement within the recommended levels.  This factor, we believe also has importance in the management of pancreatitis.  We realize that many with pancreatitis have trouble in maintaining healthy weight and their waist measurements are low as a result of having the condition.  As always, it seems to relate to the severity of the condition. Many with pancreatitis who remain overweight should think very carefully about how they are managing their health.  As Dr Luo said, ” We know that carrying a high proportion of abdominal fat is associated with increased levels of insulin, so we think this may cause the link between obesity and pancreatic cancer”.

The message we think is clear - if you have a fat stomach and you have pancreatitis you are putting too much strain on your pancreas and therefore you are raising the risk of not only a greater number of pancreatitis flares but also your chances of developing pancreatic cancer.

To check on your waist-to-hip ratio take your waist measurement level with the belly button, then divide it by the hip circumference at the widest point.  For men, the ratio should ideally not be over 0.9 and for women it should not go beyond 0.85.

We’d welcome the feelings of others on this matter. Please post any information or thoughts you might have on this matter.

In the meantime if you are interested you might wish to visit our site at http:www.pancreatitis-diet.com

Bye for now

Jenny & Bill