Tips for diet for pancreatic cancer and weight loss

If you have lost weight or have a small appetite, you might need more calories (energy) and protein in your food to help you put weight back on. This is called a build-up or fortified diet. Your dietitian can help you to make changes to your diet.

16 tips if you have lost weight with pancreatic cancer

1. Have high calorie foods, such as full fat milk, yoghurt and butter. You can also enrich your food to increase the calories and protein.
2. If you are eating a higher fat meal, you will need to take more PERT.
3. Use high fat foods in your usual recipes when you are cooking. For example, use full fat milk, margarine, butter or ghee.
4. Try to have a pint of whole milk every day. You can add it to other foods and drinks, such as hot drinks, cereal, soups and sauces.
5. Try to eat more foods that are high in protein, such as meat, fish, milk, cheese, eggs, beans and lentils, nuts, and yoghurt. Try to include protein in all three of your meals each day.
6. Try to have snacks between meals. These can include sweet things like cake, fruit, teacakes and malt loaf. Or savoury things like crumpets, samosas, cocktail sausages and cheese. High protein snacks such as yoghurts, cheese, nuts or cold meats are particularly good.
7. Have a snack instead of a main meal if this is easier.
8. Have a pudding once or twice a day. For example, ice cream or kulfi, sponge pudding, rice pudding, sweet pastries and pies or ready made desserts.
9. If you can, try to drink about eight cups of fluids a day. Try having nutritious drinks such as milk, fruit smoothies (made with yoghurt, ice cream or whole milk), hot chocolate and fruit juice.
10. If you find that drinks fill you up at mealtimes, it may help to have your drinks in between your meals.
11. Eat what you feel like and try not to worry about ‘normal’ meals. It’s fine if you fancy breakfast cereal for supper, your pudding before your main course, or ice cream for breakfast.
12. Have some fruit and vegetables every day. But don’t fill up on these if it means you can’t eat foods that are high in calories and protein.
13. Avoid low-fat, fat-free or ‘diet’ food.
14. There are vegan options available if you need them. For example tofu, hummus and dairy-free milk, cheese and yoghurt.
15. Dairy alternatives, such as soya or oat milk, often have fewer calories and less protein than dairy. Choose higher fat options that contain calcium and vitamins.
16. If you have any special dietary needs, speak to your dietitian, doctor or nurse. They can advise how to get more calories and protein into your diet.

Speak to your dietitian if you don’t put on weight. They may suggest nutritional supplements.

What if you have other health problems?

If you have other health problems, such as heart problems, you may have been told in the past to reduce the amount of fat in your diet. But if you have lost weight because of pancreatic cancer, eating some types of higher fat food can help you put weight on. You might want to choose options such as olive oil, nuts, seeds and oily fish. Speak to your dietitian for advice about enriching your food.

Updated March 2025

Review date March 2028