FOR A SMALL, blow-dryer shaped organ deep in the abdomen, the pancreas has a lot of power. It’s a key player in diabetes, which affects more than 38 million people in the U.S. And that’s not the only thing that can go wrong when this organ isn’t at its best. Here’s how to keep it happy so you stay healthy.

The Pancreas Primer

What the Pancreas Does

IT’S AMOST LIKE two organs wrapped in one. First, it makes hormones that regulate blood sugar, preventing diabetes and its complications, like fatigue and ED. Second, it helps digest food. When that goes wrong, you may lose weight and have bathroom issues.

What Your Pancreas Likes

Anti-inflammatory Diets

For people with risk factors for pancreatic issues (family history, alcohol overuse), an eating plan featuring whole foods (like a Mediterranean-style diet) is beneficial. Check out our list of the best anti-inflammatory foods you can eat.

Exercise

Physical activity keeps body fat in check, which helps out your pancreas by working against diabetes. It aids your immune system and may help it avert cancers like pancreatic cancer.

What Your Pancreas Doesn’t Like

Smoking

Cigarettes are harmful because they can cause inflammation and cellular DNA damage that affect the pancreas. Cigars and weed probably are, too, but there’s less data.

Drinking

Alcohol is a toxin to the pancreas and injures it over time.

How to Tell If Something’s Off

MANY SYMPTOMS OF pancreatic issues are generic, but here are distinctive ones to watch for, says Brett Sheppard, M.D., at Oregon Health & Science University.

• Weirdly oily, light-colored, floating poop

• Jaundice (the yellowing of the skin and eyes)

• Abdominal pain that seems to emanate from the center of your body

• Unexpected weight loss

3 Big Pancreas Problems

1. Diabetes

DIABETES HAPPENS WHEN the key hormone the pancreas makes—insulin, which regulates blood sugar—is out of whack. With type 2 diabetes, your body doesn’t respond to insulin well. As a result, the beta cells in the pancreas produce even more of that hormone, get overworked, and can die. We don’t know how to grow more cells. According to Archana Sadhu, M.D., an endocrinologist at Houston Methodist, the resulting high blood sugar can cause major damage—from heart attacks, strokes, and kidney failure to blindness and ED.

Treatment

Start with lifestyle changes, says Dr. Sadhu. More exercise reduces the body’s resistance to insulin, and fewer ultra-processed and sugary foods helps reduce the need for insulin to keep your glucose normal. Ultimately, this better supports the beta cells that make insulin.

NOTE: There are two different blood tests. Fasting blood glucose is a snapshot of your blood sugar (<100 is normal); A1c measures your average blood sugar over three months (<5.7 is normal). Find the best ways to lower it here.

2. Pancreatitis

When the enzymes the pancreas makes to help you digest food can’t get to your small intestine, they can start to digest the pancreas itself. The main symptom is horrific abdominal pain. Per Dr. Sheppard, the most common causes are alcohol abuse, which impairs the organ’s functioning, and gallstones, which block the ducts the enzymes use.

Treatment

ACUTE PANCREATITIS is often a one-off case, though it can lead to relapsing pancreatitis, which can turn chronic. Expect to be in the hospital for up to a week getting pain meds, IV fluids, and other general support. If the root cause is gallstones, you‘ll need treatment for those, too.

CHRONIC PANCREATITIS can lead to scar tissue that creates even more blockages, so it may require surgery as well as prescription enzymes or hormones that your pancreas can no longer secrete on its own.

3. Pancreatic Cancer

There’s no other way to say it: This is one of the scarier cancers out there. The average life expectancy after diagnosis is one to three years. There’s no preventive screening test, and it’s very hard to catch early. But according to Andrew Hendifar, M.D., medical director of pancreatic cancer medicine at Cedars-Sinai, there are reasons for optimism.

Treatment

Depending on how advanced a tumor is, it’s usually treated with surgery and chemotherapy. New therapies that target cells that have a specific cancer-causing gene mutation are on the horizon, says Dr. Hendifar. When they get here, it’ll be a big deal: Unlike most cancers, pancreatic cancer tends to be similar across patients—meaning new treatments will help most people.

A version of this article appeared in the May/June 2024 issue of Men’s Health.

SUBSCRIBE

You Might Also Like