Gastritis is a common disorder that affects approximately 20% of the population at some point in their lives. Your symptoms are bothersome and are often aggravated by eating certain foods that make the disease worse.
In this article we will explain what you should consume if you are affected by gastritis, so that it happens more quickly and causing as little discomfort as possible.
What is gastritis?
Gastritis is a stomach disorder, where the walls of the stomach become irritated, causing inflammation. This occurs by consuming certain types of food, by some unhealthy habits such as stress, smoking tobacco or excessive alcohol consumption. It can also occur from the action of certain bacteria, such as Helicobacter pylori.
Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that is transmitted through the saliva or feces of infected humans. It colonizes our stomachs, burying itself in the protective mucosal layer that covers the walls of this organ. It causes irritation and degradation of the protective barrier, exposing the stomach to its own stomach acids, which leads to gastritis, ulcers and, in some cases, stomach cancer.
Gastritis has several causes, but its effects are clear. Our stomach needs a certain degree of protection in order to function properly, and if this protection disappears or degrades, it can cause gastritis.
Recommended diet for patients with gastritis
To begin with, an important component of improving gastritis is the give up those habits that degrade our stomach protection layer. Factors such as prolonged stress can also cause inflammation of the stomach, so if we are subjected to long periods of stress, taking a break from that stressful activity may be enough to see an improvement in symptoms.
Stop taking medications that degrade our stomach wall, such as ibuprofen or aspirinas well as avoiding at all costs the consumption of alcohol and tobacco can cause an improvement in gastritis without having to vary our diet.
Unfortunately, the infection by H.pylorione of the most common causes of gastritis, will not go away with dietary changes. For this infection to disappear it will be necessary for the doctor to prescribe an antibiotic treatment, which usually lasts one or two weeks depending on whether the first treatment prescribed is effective against our particular bacteria.
We can still alleviate our symptoms of gastritis, whether caused by bacteria or not, by avoiding certain foods.. The objective of avoiding the consumption of these foods is to diminish the stomach acidity and/or the inflammation itself, thus improving our discomfort. Some of the foods we should avoid are:
[tie_list type=”starlist”]
- High-fat foods
- Foods high in sugar
- Spicy foods
- Coffee
- Acidic foods, such as tomatoes and fruit
- Carbonated beverages
- Foods that we know feel bad (symptomatic)
- You might be interested in: “How to eliminate gases? 12 effective natural remedies.”
[/tie_list]
Recommended foods for gastritis
Gastritis usually disappears without treatment in less than a week. Your symptoms may be relieved by avoiding the foods and behaviors listed in the previous section, but it may also help to take medication that relieves these symptoms.
The medication recommended for patients with gastritis is usually one that decreases acid levels in our stomach. Examples include antacids as well as proton pump inhibitors such as omeprazole.
In addition to the gastritis medication, certain foods have been shown to be effective in decreasing the population of H.pyloriwithout ever eradicating it.. The decrease in the bacterial population in the stomach will decrease its inflammatory effects on our stomach lining. Some foods tested for decreased activity of H.pylori are:
1. Cow’s milk
Cow’s milk contains lactoferrin, an iron chelating protein. This means that it binds to this mineral necessary for life, depriving bacteria of the opportunity to consume it and diminishing the viability of the colony.
Still, we must be careful when consuming milk if we have gastritis. Due to lactose intolerance, This is a symptomatic food for many people.which could end up irritating your stomach more looking for the opposite effect.
Vegetables with isothiocyanates
Isothiocyanates are compounds found in some vegetables of the cabbage family, brassicaceae. Broccoli, kale, cauliflower or turnip, for example, are foods rich in isothiocyanates.
Isothiocyanates decrease our risk of stomach cancer and have bactericidal effects on H.pylori. These effects appear to be linked, as lowering the levels of the bacterium it would decrease our risk of stomach cancer in the long run..
However, the benefits of isothiocyanates are negated by the consumption of alcohol or tobacco, so we must continue to avoid them even if we eat broccoli every day, if we want to improve our symptoms of gastritis.
3. Honey
Honey has aseptic and bacteriostatic properties. Weekly honey consumption has been shown to decrease the risk of gastritis. derived from H.pylorilowering the levels of bacteria in our stomach.
4. Vegetable fatty acids
Although we should avoid high-fat foods to improve our gastritis symptoms, vegetable oils have bacteriostatic effects that help lower bacterial levels and improve our symptoms. Olive oil, for example, might be a good option.
There is weak evidence that other foods, such as probiotics, green tea, garlic, or red wine may help improve cases of gastritis. The science supporting these conclusions is scarce for now, partly because food is not patentable and does not offer a complete cure for infection by H.pylori. Even so, this type of research is carried out, albeit more slowly than other, more cost-effective clinical research.
Our diet can be key to treating gastritis. Still, if you notice chronic symptoms of gastritis we recommend that you consult a health professional so that I can diagnose you and offer the most appropriate treatment for your particular case.
Bibliographic references
- Hołubiuk, Ł., & Imiela, J. (2016). Diet and Helicobacter pylori infection. Przeglad gastroenterologiczny, 11(3), 150-154. doi:10.5114/pg.2016.61487.
- Cologne, Germany: Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG); Gastritis: Overview. 2015 Jun 30.
- Vomero, N. D., & Colpo, E. (2014). Nutritional care in peptic ulcer. Brazilian Archives of Digestive Surgery: ABCD = Brazilian archives of digestive surgery, 27(4), 298-302. doi:10.1590/S0102-67202014000400017.