We explain how you should eat to reduce the symptoms of gastritis.
Gastritis is a common disorder that affects approximately 20% of the population at some point in their lives . Its symptoms are annoying and are often aggravated by the consumption of certain foods that worsen the disease.
In this article we will explain what you should consume if you are affected by gastritis, so that it passes more quickly and causes as little discomfort as possible.
What is gastritis?
Gastritis is a stomach disorder, where the stomach walls are irritated causing inflammation. This occurs when consuming certain types of food, due to unhealthy habits such as stress, smoking tobacco or consuming alcohol in excess. It can also occur due to the action of certain bacteria, such as Helicobacter pylori .
Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that is spread through the saliva or feces of infected humans. It colonizes our stomachs, burying itself in the protective layer of mucosa 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 ends up leading to gastritis, ulcers and, in some cases, stomach cancer.
Gastritis has various causes, but its effects are clear. Our stomach needs a certain degree of protection to function properly and if this protection disappears or degrades, it can cause gastritis .
- If you want to know more, visit our article: “Gastritis: causes, symptoms, prevention and treatment”
Recommended diet for gastritis patients
To begin with, an important component of improving gastritis is to stop those habits that degrade our stomach’s protective layer . Factors such as prolonged stress can also cause inflammation of the stomach, so if we are under 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 aspirin , as well as avoiding alcohol and tobacco consumption at all costs, can cause an improvement in gastritis without having to change our diet.
Unfortunately, H.pylori infection , one of the most common causes of gastritis, will not go away with dietary changes. For this infection to disappear, the doctor will need 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.
Even so, we can relieve our symptoms of gastritis, whether or not it is caused by bacteria, by avoiding certain foods . The objective of avoiding the consumption of these foods is to reduce stomach acidity and/or the inflammation itself, thus improving our discomfort. Some of the foods that we should avoid are:
- high fat foods
- Foods high in sugar
- spicy foods
- The coffee
- Acidic foods, such as tomatoes and fruit
- Carbonated drinks
- Foods that we know make us sick (symptomatic)
- It might interest you: “How to eliminate gas? 12 effective natural remedies”
Recommended foods for gastritis
Gastritis usually disappears without the need for treatment in less than a week. Its symptoms can be relieved by avoiding the foods and behaviors that we have listed in the previous section, but taking medication that relieves these symptoms can also help us.
The recommended medication for gastritis patients is usually one that decreases the acid levels of our stomach . Some examples would be antacids, as well as proton pump inhibitors, such as omeprazole.
In addition to medication for gastritis, certain foods have been shown to be effective in reducing the population of H.pylori , without actually eradicating it . Decreasing the bacterial population in the stomach will lessen its inflammatory effects on our stomach lining. Some foods proven to decrease H.pylori activity are:
1. Cow’s milk
Cow’s milk contains lactoferrin, an iron-binding protein. This means that it binds to this mineral necessary for life, depriving bacteria of the opportunity to consume it and decreasing the viability of the colony.
Even so, 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 their stomach more, seeking the opposite effect.
2. Vegetables with isothiocyanates
Isothiocyanates are compounds found in some vegetables of the cabbage family, brassicas. Broccoli, kale, cauliflower or turnip, for example, are foods rich in isothiocyanates.
Isothiocyanates lower our risk of stomach cancer and have bactericidal effects on H.pylori . These effects seem to be linked, since reducing the levels of the bacteria would reduce our risk of suffering from stomach cancer in the long run .
Of course, 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 gastritis symptoms.
3. honey
Honey has aseptic and bacteriostatic properties. It has been shown that the weekly consumption of honey reduces the risk of suffering from gastritis derived from H.pylori , reducing 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 reduce bacterial levels and improve our symptoms. Olive oil, for example, could 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 to support these conclusions is scant at this time, in part because the foods are not patentable or offer a total cure for H.pylori infection . Even so, this type of research is carried out, although more slowly than other more profitable clinical research.
Our diet can be key to treating gastritis. Even so, if you notice chronic symptoms of gastritis, we recommend that you consult a health professional so that they 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 June 30.
- Vomero, N.D., & Colpo, E. (2014). Nutritional care in peptic ulcer. Arquivos brasileiros de cirurgia digestive : ABCD = Brazilian archives of digestive surgery, 27(4), 298–302. doi:10.1590/S0102-67202014000400017.
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