Can I Eat These Foods On Holidays? Happy New Year 2013 Everyone

Happy New Year ya'll and best wishes for 2013.

Avoid acute pancreatitis or even a flair and ...

Stay well!

I know that many of you didn't pay attention to my previous warnings about eating only what you cook and ...

Of course abstaining from inflammatory foods such as red meat, pork, lamb, duck, butter, margarine, cooking oil, chocolate and anything else with FAT or alcohol in it and some of you have been paying the price. It would be much wiser to avoid those foods.

I also know how difficult it is during this time of year when everyone else is celebrating, eating, drinking and making merry, yet, when you or I do we often get sicker than a dying dog.

Yes I know it isn't fair but who said life was fair?

I keep seeing "key words" being used to find this blog such as:

Can I eat lobster with pancreatitis?

Can I drink champagne with pancreatitis?

Can I eat chocolate with pancreatitis?

So I thought I'd go ahead and answer even though I have a few posts around that pretty much say the same thing I'm gonna say now.

Q: Can I eat lobster with pancreatitis?
A: Yes, as long as it is not cooked in some high fat sauce, butter, margarine or oil and ...

As long as you do NOT dip it in butter before you stuff that tasty morsel into your mouth.

Lobster, crab, shrimp, scallops and other shell fish are just fine BY THEMSELVES. It's the shit that they are either cooked in or dipped in that is the problem.

See the lemon on the plate?  The lemon is just fine but the butter in that little dipping bowl IS NOT fine. Lobster with lemon juice may make your taste buds tingle but that butter may be what causes you to be doubled over in massive pain and puking on your shoes while trying to get to the hospital, so ...

Make sure nothing is cooked or prepared in a way that will make you sick this New Year and don't be afraid to tell some waiter that it is very important that your directions in cooking your food be followed. I've done it many times. I've even asked/required that my food be cooked seperately, in freshly cleaned, non-stick pans with no oil, butter or any other type of fat. If you point out you will come back from the dead and haunt their asses (waiter & chef) forever if they fail to follow directions the job gets done.

Q: Can I drink champagne, wine, beer, hard liquor with pancreatits?
A: UHH NO! Are you insane? It is all alcohol! Alcohol is extremely toxic to a damaged pancreas and or someone who has the gene (genetic factor) that makes alcohol toxic to their pancreas anyway.

NO ALOHOL! None, zip, nada and watch for it in cold remedies, mouthwash, ripe bananas and vanilla extract.

Toast with carbonated water and lemon juice or some alcohol FREE stuff that tastes just as bad :-)

Q: Can I eat chocolate with pancreatitis?
A: Those chocolate covered strawberries look good don't they? I bet they are too. I love chocolate covered strawberries, especiall with good champagne but ...

You know champagne is out and chocolate can be bad too because it contains tons of fat but it also is made with vinilla extract and vinilla extract contain alcohol. So, what do you think my anser is? You're right, it's NO!

Now just because you can't eat or drink anything good doesn't mean you can't have an enjoyable evening. After all would you prefer to be carted off to the nearest ER on New Years Eve or kissing that special someone and having passionate sex until the wee hours of New Years Day?

Make the right choices and have a safe, HAPPY New Year!

Pancreatitis Blog Comments

I really enjoy receiving quality comments and questions on this blog about living with and Beating Pancreatitis. If you have questions or comments regarding your acute and/or chronic pancreatitis please feel free to share. Your experience with acute or chronic pancreatitis may help someone else or you may give me a good pancreatitis subject to write about :-)

NEVER lose hope!

Always remember this: IF you believe you can be healed, you can be healed. God Almighty is still in the healing business. He may heal you completely and He may not heal you but if He chooses to not heal you like when Paul asked Him to remove the thorn (2 Corinthians 12:8-10) He'll give you grace to see you through.

I have a comment below I am going to answer here in a post because if I'd have published it in the regular manner my reader's email address would have been available for anyone who might want to spam her. Please comment, ask questions but don't put personal info (email, phone, etc.) in your comments or questions. And asking questions or making comments is NEVER a "bother" to me. So do NOT feel that way at all. If I can help you feel better, lessen your pain maybe even help you heal your damaged pancreas from chronic or acute pancreatitis, via any of my personal experience, I am more than happy to do so.

Ok, let's get to the comment.

"Hi. My name's Julie and I left a comment a couple or few weeks ago including my email address and you responded via my email address. My email is so full of junk that I thought I'd ask you a question this way instead of searching for that email. I was wondering if you ever recommend any certain nuts/seeds. I love sesame sticks and was eating them but not sure if they were affecting me or not. I love nuts but know they have fat and not sure what I should try if I put some in a rice recipe. And then I saw a recipe including sunflower seeds. I also wonder if the instant oatmeal packets are ok. I was eating a lot of the cinnamon oatmeal and didn't know if that was affecting me. I guess I'm just so afraid to get sick again and was wondering if you had any insight on any of this. I know I need to add one thing at a time and then wait 48 hours. I did that lastnight with turkey breast. So far so good. I'm new at this and sorry if I'm bothering you. I really really appreciate all you've posted and wish you had a book with all the info in it. I'm planning on printing a lot of your articles and keeping them in a notebook to make things easier. Thank you so much for whatever you can tell me. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks again :)"

My answer:

Hi Julie ...

From the sounds of things you are feeling better - that is great! I hope the New Year is kind to you and your pancreatitis symptoms remain a memory.

Just as you already know and mentioned seeds such as sunflower and nuts all contain natural oils and fat. You may or may not be able to tolerate the fat content. If you have been well for 6 months (no pancreatitis symptoms) and want to try eating some seeds and nuts I would suggest going with SMALL amounts. You may want to hold off using nuts and sunflower seeds in cooking and simply try some alone first and see how they work for you.

Instant oatmeal shouldn't be a problem. If you eat it plain. If you eat it with milk or worse, cream, you may have problems due to fat from the milk or cream.

The 48 hour thing is for fruits, vegetables and other non animal or non dairy products. Any type of animal or dairy product should be given a weeks surveillance, even 10 days to see what the affects are going to be because it takes upto 2 weeks to digest animal type proteins. And for some reason many foods that trigger instant pancreatitis pain and symptoms one day will maybe take a week to do the same next time or visa-versa.

In ALL cases of MY pain and nausea, the culprits are ALWAYS foods that contain FAT or ALCOHOL. I made myself sick one time eating oatmeal and that is how I found out that vanilla extract just doesn't work. I used to add vanilla into my oatmeal for flavor, I don't do that anymore.

If you like chocolate be advised that most chocolate manufacturers use VANILLA. Chocolate also contains FAT. It may be a source of unwanted pain so tread lightly.

If anyone has some questions that need answers be sure to ask me.