Acute pancreatitis: Watch what you eat!

I read with interest the article by Oskarsson et al. (1), which suggested a potentially beneficial role of a diet rich in fish in preventing non–gallstone-related acute pancreatitis (AP). Although an attack of AP may generally run a benign course, a fair proportion of patients do experience morbidity with an attendant risk of mortality (2). The role of diet in AP has been studied over the past few decades (3). Although the evidence to suggest a causative role is not strong and, at best, implicates diet as a cofactor along with the more common causes (gallstones and alcohol) of AP (3), there have been fewer studies on the protective effects of diet. Previously, Oskarsson et al. (4) reported on the potential preventive action of vegetables on AP, and the current study looked at fatty and lean fish consumption and its relation to AP.