My 15 year old son has just got out of hospital, he has pancreas divisum and needs to eat a low fat diet. Anyone got any ideas of what to feed him please? Any suggestions would be most welcome. By the way he is as skinny as a rake!
buzzy110,
Oct 29, 5:03am
Naturally you will continue to use low fat milk, yoghurt and dairy products.
Lots of fresh vegetables and fruit. Lean meat. Poached fish.
Check out all the labels on processed foods and stick to things that are low fat.
It is quite simple in this day and age to have a wide and varied low fat, even a no fat diet, because all our food manufacturing is geared toward this end.
Instead of potato crisps you could carefully toast pita bread triangles till dry and serve with hummus which you could make yourself without oil or fat. Pasta with homemade pasta sauces made without any oil whatsoever will work.
Does low fat mean he can't eat salmon? Has the hospital made an appointment with a nutritionist for you to help you with ideas?
WW will have tons of good ideas.
lillol,
Oct 29, 5:11am
This is all new to me. He's a typical 15 year old, loved chips, noodles, baked beans etc. He only came home today and no the hospital didn't make an appointment with a nutritionalist. I'm pretty sure I can figure it out for myself. For tea tonight, because we are so exhausted I was going to have spaghetti on toast, but I'm not sure if that's good for him or not. However, I googled it and it seems to be okay, with no butter on his toast. It's going to really change out lives and probably make us alot healthier!
uli,
Oct 29, 5:13am
Good luck!
greerg,
Oct 29, 5:42am
Noodles (well some anyway) and baked beans are fine as are pasta and bread.It will just remove some of the worst elements of teenage boy diet - McD's, KFC, pies etc.As a family we have eaten a low fat diet for decades and it doesn't really limit things at all.It is more the things they eat outside the home.
elliehen,
Oct 29, 7:57am
You can make shoe-string potato chips with no fat at all.Just cut very fine and spread on baking paper on an oven tray and grill till brown.They are so thin that they'll cook without your having to turn them.
lillol,
Oct 29, 10:28pm
Funny thing is we hardly eat McDonalds etc, I don't even remember the last time we tried KFC, yuk! I will try the homemade chips on baking paper. Just as well he can eat Baked Beans he loves them hahaha! I'm going to grill fish and chicken from now on. Will probably fry mince, soak in water and then take off all the fat. Like most Kiwi's my kids love mince based dishes. We will get there! Thanks for all the suggestions :)
uli,
Oct 29, 11:01pm
I think you don't need to "soak" mince - it would be pretty tasteless after that procedure.
Why not buy steak mince instead of the "normal" one - that will have less fat to start with.
Then cook your pasta sauce as usual but put the sauce in the fridge over night to cool off.
Once cold remove the top half with the fat into another pot for the rest of the family that can have fat and serve the bottom bit to the son who is on low fat.
Good luck!
uli,
Oct 30, 1:09am
Has he been in hospital because he had acute Pancreatitis? Or why does he have to be on a low fat diet?
If he has problems with the flow of the pancreatic enzymes then he most likely will have problems with the digestion of proteins and, starches as well as with fat.
Did you get any diet advice from your doctor? Or an appointment with the hospital dietician?
lillol,
Oct 30, 2:36am
He was in hospital because of ongoing acute pain. He didn't have pancreatitis. He has a problem with his pancreas which means it can't deal to fat - they did explain it but it's very complicated. He was in there for a total of 18 days. He also had a twist in his bowel which they corrected, poor guy has been through alot. They have said he now needs to eat a Low Fat Diet. We have a follow up appointment in a month. There is a small operation they can give him to correct his pancreas. I think they just want to see how he goes, he has lived 15 years with this problem and it may correct itself with the help of a low fat diet. Who knows what these clever Doctors think and why they do the things they do! I am going to see a Dietician.
buzzy110,
Oct 30, 2:56am
Yes a dietitian is by far the best thing you can do. There are so many foods with fat in them (e.g. all seeds and nuts, avocado, meats, fish, some breads and so on) so you will require fairly clear guielines as to what level of fat is vital for continued good health (lots of vitamins are only fat soluble and all male hormones are made using fat), and above what level would not be acceptable for him.
The dietitian will also be able to give you a much more precise idea of exactly which foods to avoid. And once, having made contact, he/she should be able to provide ongoing assistance so you are not all alone and at the mercy of the TM message board.
Personally I am saddened that your son has had to endure the pain caused by this problem for 15 years before a proper diagnosis was made.The Drs could have made more effort. It would be a shame if condition wasn't helped by diet because of the want of knowledge.
lillol,
Oct 30, 3:34am
Thanks for that. He hasn't had pain until the past month. That's why it's all so strange. He has always been a healthy boy, tall and very lean. We don't eat junk food very often and eat a good healthy diet. This problem, which they say is a congenital thing he has had since birth only presented itself a month ago and it has taken them this long to diagnose. The other strange thing is he suffered a twisted bowel at the same time, very weird. They say his case is so unusual he could be a case study hahaha. I'm just glad he is home and feeling a bit better. Although I am worried it could occur again.
ferita,
Oct 30, 4:07am
http://www.fatfree.com/ they are vegetarian recipes so may not be to your sons liking but you might find something there
uli,
Oct 30, 5:41am
Maybe you need to read up on pancreas divisum. It is usually not discovered at all because most people have no symptoms and live a normal life.
Since a continuous low fat diet will bring other problems over time it is important that you and he understand what pancreas divisum actually is.
lillol,
Jul 3, 6:10pm
Apparently 10% of the population are born with it and only 1% have problems. We have been told all about it and I have read about it. If he has the operation to open the duct he won't have any problems. I think the Doctors just want to see if it settles and he doesn't have anymore problems without having to put a stent in or do a sphinctererotomy. He was fine for 15 years with no problems at all, it's just weird that it flared up at the same time as he got a twisted bowel. Hopefully a low fat diet will help and who knows, maybe he can go back to eating normal food one day :)
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