Gastritis is the name given to inflammatory processes of the gastric mucosa, which inevitably lead to digestive problems. A person begins to digest food poorly, as a result of which his health deteriorates, weakness and lethargy appear. According to statistics, approximately half of the inhabitants of our country experience the painful symptoms of gastritis to some extent.
Diet for gastritis
Many people are wondering: what kind of diet should you follow in case of gastritis? This is a very important question, since proper nutrition is one of the main parts of the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. If you have gastritis, you must always follow a gentle diet, and if your health condition improves, you can only gradually return to normal eating habits. In some cases, doctors prescribe a personal diet for gastritis.
It should also be remembered that in the case of gastritis, an enzyme deficiency develops, so in some cases, in addition to a diet that improves digestion, it is also worth using enzyme preparations, such as Micrazim.
There are two types of gastritis: acute and chronic. In different people, these forms can be accompanied by both high and low stomach acid. Acute gastritis is of the following types:
- fibrinous (worsen with the appearance of infectious diseases);
- catarrhal (with a violation of the integrity of the outer mucous membrane of the stomach);
- phlegmonous (causes purulent inflammatory processes on the stomach wall);
- corrosive (a side effect of poisoning).
Chronic diseases, on the other hand, appear in the following forms:
- superficial;
- hypertrophic;
- polyposis;
- bacterial;
- granulomatous;
- autoimmune.
Another form of chronic gastritis is characteristic of people whose stomach wall is damaged due to the systematic consumption of large amounts of alcohol.
Basic principles of the gastritis diet
Remember that a proper gastritis diet is the key to successfully managing the symptoms. If the acidity of gastric juice increases, you should eat foods that reduce its activity. Follow three rules:
- Mechanical principle. Avoid foods with coarse fiber. Such products include onion crops, cured meats and bran. Also, food cooked in oil is strictly prohibited.
- Chemical principle. Avoid foods that may increase gastric secretions. This list includes alcohol, carbonated water, citrus fruits (including juices), coffee, black bread, cabbage, and rich broth.
- Thermal principle. Do not eat very high or very low temperature foods. They irritate the esophagus, cold food stays in the stomach longer than usual, among other things.
What foods can you eat if you have gastritis?
Include lean meat (such as rabbit) in your diet. Duck, lamb and goose are not allowed, but chicken can only be eaten without the skin.
Other acceptable foods and meals include:
- River fish;
- Seafood;
- egg white omelette;
- oatmeal and buckwheat porridge;
- milk;
- zucchini, pumpkin, tomato, carrot, various greens;
- berries with a high sugar content;
- cooked and pureed fruits.
What is missing from the diet?
If you have been diagnosed with gastritis caused by Helicobacter pylori bacteria, it is not advisable to prescribe a diet for yourself. Be sure to consult with a gastroenterologist or nutritionist to ensure that your gastritis treatment is consistent and effective.
With this disease, the menu should not include:
- Fresh baked goods, especially rye bread and puff pastries. Instead, it is better to eat white bread, plain cookies and pies.
- Soups with rich broth, including mushroom soup, cabbage soup and borscht. Such dishes should be replaced with light vegetable soups with potatoes, cabbage, carrots and onions.
- Smoked foods and fatty and sinewy meats. Instead, it is better to eat dishes made of boiled or steamed meat (slices, meatballs). The permitted types of meat are chicken and lamb.
- Hard-boiled egg and fried omelette. These should be replaced with soft-boiled eggs and steamed omelettes.
- Any salty and spicy food, pickles, chocolate, carbonated drinks, coffee and kvass.
- Alcohol.
Diet for high acidity
With this form of gastritis, you should not overdo the fruit and vegetables, because they can worsen your health. However, these products should not be completely removed from the menu. Avoid foods that can stimulate the production of stomach acid and choose foods that reduce acid. If you eat right, you're more likely to lose weight than gain weight. The table below shows the permitted and prohibited products:
| Vegetables: carrots, pumpkins, potatoes, beets. Easy vegetable salads. Tomatoes: ripe, chopped. Cucumber without skin. | Foliage. |
| Fruits: non-acidic, ripe, without skin (bananas, pears, apples). The fruit is best eaten not raw, but fried. Watermelon and cantaloupe - very limited. | Fried potatoes, sour foods, sauerkraut. |
| Milk (cow or goat), cream, yogurt. Fresh cottage cheese. | Sour cream, kefir, hard cheese. |
| Soup with diet broth. | Cabbage soup and borscht in a rich broth. |
| Pasta | They are legumes |
| Boiled chicken or rabbit meat, lean river fish. | Smoked meats, fish and high-fat meats, canned goods. |
| Oatmeal and buckwheat | Dried fruits |
| Soft-boiled eggs. | Chocolate |
| Biscuits, white bread (which has been out for a few days), dry biscuits. | Hard-boiled eggs, fried omelette. |
| Weak tea and coffee, cocoa with added milk. | Rye and freshly baked bread. Cakes, confectionery products with creamy filling. |
Low acid diet
In such circumstances, you have to eat differently than in the previous case. You should eat foods that promote gastric secretion. The table below shows foods suitable for remission. If you have severe stomach pain, you should exclude from the menu those foods that irritate the stomach tissue.
Vegetables: fried potatoes, tomatoes, greens, carrots, beets, pumpkins, pickles.
Diet for gastritis - general recommendations
Patients with gastritis should exclude spices used in cooking from the menu. You can improve the taste of food with fresh herbs (parsley, dill, celery). Greens also help to supplement your diet with vitamins: try to season as many meals as possible with finely chopped greens.
Eat small amounts but avoid snacks; so it will not be difficult for the stomach to digest the food. Chew your food thoroughly and eat slowly. Food eaten in haste can worsen your health and aggravate gastritis. Chews food until it becomes an easily digestible pulp.
Do not forget that proper and balanced nutrition is the key to treating gastritis. Many patients who followed a strict diet during treatment say that it helped them successfully overcome all symptoms and pain associated with the disease within 4 weeks.
Important: read the instructions or consult your doctor before use.
What should you eat in case of gastritis?
Characteristics of gastritis
Gastritis is a chronic inflammatory condition of the lining of the stomach that leads to pain, loss of appetite and other symptoms. Among all pathologies of the digestive system, most patients suffer from this disease.
Many people underestimate the importance of timely diagnosis of gastritis and consider it a minor abnormality that does not require treatment. It is believed that the disease does not cause any harm and will gradually go away on its own without treatment. But if the treatment methods and diet are not used in time, the pathology can gradually turn into gastric and duodenal ulcers, as well as malignant transformation.
Etiological factors
Many studies have been conducted and statistics have been collected, according to which Helicobacter pylori is the basis of the development of inflammatory pathologies of the stomach. This is a bacteria that attacks the walls of the stomach and duodenum. Most people are just carriers of the bacterium, but under the influence of negative factors, it actively multiplies and causes pathology. It is Helicobacter pylori that, over time, can lead to the formation of atypical cells in the mucosa, causing malignant degeneration.
- Eating poor quality food. These include fatty, fried, spicy, smoked and excessively salty foods. This type of food aggressively affects the stomach wall, causing an inflammatory process. Due to the damage, Helicobacter pylori begins to multiply actively.
- Kurenie) When smoking, nicotine and smog spread to the respiratory tract and digestive system. It negatively affects the mucous membrane, causing irritation and increased inflammation.
- Drinking large amounts of alcohol. This has a toxic effect on any tissue in the body, including the gastrointestinal tract. It leads to the development or strengthening of inflammation.
- Tension. Great physical and psycho-emotional stress. These factors cause active cortisol production. This leads to an increased release of hydrochloric acid. If food acts on the stomach wall in the absence of a bolus, damage occurs.
If the patient is affected by several factors at the same time, the disease develops faster.
Clinical symptoms
In the initial stage, the patient and the doctor do not notice visual signs. The more damage occurs, the more actively the inflammatory process develops.
- pain in the epigastric region, aggravated by stress, eating, hunger;
- nausea, vomiting, which occurs regardless of food;
- constipation, diarrhea.
There are signs by which it can be determined whether the patient has a gastroenterological pathology.
- frequent occurrence of epigastric pain;
- point pain in the middle of the abdomen;
- heartburn;
- frequent belching;
- constipation, diarrhea;
- occasional nausea;
- vomiting for no reason;
- the presence of any gastroenterological disease in close relatives;
- the presence of bad habits (smoking, frequent alcohol consumption, overeating);
- regular application of a strict diet.
It is impossible to determine the diagnosis independently, since the symptoms can appear in temporary disorders or other acute, chronic diseases. It is important to undergo examination and diagnosis by a doctor, who prescribes conservative or radical treatment depending on the resulting lesion.
Diet
- gastroenterologist;
- nutritionist.
It is better if these doctors work together for quality treatment.
- degree of mucosal damage;
- extent of spread of the lesion to different parts of the gastrointestinal tract;
- reasons for defeat.
After collecting all the information, a nutritional plan is prepared. This is one of the basic treatment methods that reduce the burden on the gastrointestinal tract.
- with a high acid content;
- with a low acid content.
Regardless of the type of diet chosen, the gastroenterologist should remind you of the basic principles of a proper diet during the disease.
- To break up. The total amount of products consumed by the patient within 1 day is determined. It is divided into 6 parts, evenly distributing the meals throughout the day. That is, the patient must eat every 3 hours. You should not overeat or starve, as these factors negatively affect the condition of the stomach. A portion of food has a volume of about two palms.
- Chewing. The food eaten is digested in the oral cavity under the influence of saliva containing enzymes. Therefore, it is important to chew each piece for a long time.
- Rest after eating. You need to sit and lie down for 30 minutes so that the digestive process can start smoothly.
- Temperature. If an inflammatory process is suspected, warm food should be consumed. It can't be too hot or too cold.
- Water mode. Drink at least 2 liters of water per day to maintain a stable water-electrolyte balance and prevent dehydration. Drink water little by little throughout the day.
- Mandatory protein intake. Proteins are the basis from which the body is built. Thanks to them, damaged tissues recover faster after gastritis.
- Prohibition of consuming excessively coarse foods. It should not contain pieces that could damage the affected structure of the mucous membrane.
- Proper cooking. They cook, steam, bake. No baking or smoking.
- Prohibition of alcohol consumption, caffeine, energy drinks, soda.
- Maintaining vitamin concentration. If they are normal, metabolism and metabolism are improved, the nervous system and digestive system are strengthened. If there are not enough nutrients, multivitamin preparations are used.
Application of these rules reduces the load on the stomach during treatment.
Fruits with high acidity
Gastritis accompanied by normal or high acidity requires special nutrition. The temperature of the food must be monitored: it is not recommended to eat food with a temperature above 40-50 ⁰C. Fruits can be pureed, steamed, boiled, fried or steamed, but also pureed, foamed, jelly, jelly or compote. It is not recommended to eat fruits with a high organic acid content (pomegranates, citrus fruits, fresh apricots), unripe or sour fruits. During exacerbation, all fruits should only be used in pureed form. The rest of the time it is better to use:
- sweet apple varieties;
- avocado.
Fruits with low acid content
For the opposite form of gastritis, when acidity decreases, doctors recommend other fruits:
- citrus fruits - prevent the formation of malignant cells, keep acidity normal;
- pomegranate and its juice help restore the stomach lining;
- peach - promotes the production of gastric juice, but can only be consumed by patients who are not allergic to the fruit.
Attention! In case of any gastrointestinal pathology, it is important not to overload the stomach and follow the diet prescribed by the doctor.
Diet for gastritis with high acidity
- excessive production of hydrochloric acid;
- an increase in the acidity of hydrochloric acid.
In general, the purpose of hydrochloric acid is to break down the contents of the stomach. But it must be within certain limits so as not to damage the body's own tissues.
- inflammation;
- erosion;
- ulcer;
- perforation.
Gastritis can develop at different ages. Long-term exposure to a harmful factor is sufficient for the development of the inflammatory process. If the acidity of gastric juice increases, then you need to follow a certain diet that reduces these indicators.
Attention! Many patients know that taking antacids reduces the acidity of gastric juice. However, these medicines should not be taken on their own. They have contraindications and side effects.
When using the diet, it is important to follow certain rules in order to be successful.
- Avoid foods that cause or aggravate damage to the stomach wall. It is a food containing fiber and solid elements. For example, cereals, buns, bran, stringy meat. All food should be as mild and easily digestible as possible.
- Rejection of all foods and drinks that increase the acidity of hydrochloric acid. For example, citrus fruits, canned goods, coffee, alcohol, soda.
- Eating hot food. Do not consume boiling water, hot liquids or food. Cold food is also unacceptable. The optimal limit is 25-35 degrees.
If the patient's gastritis has seriously worsened and causes unbearable pain, a strict diet should be started immediately. This helps significantly reduce the inflammatory process and allows tissues to recover. Already on the 3rd day you will feel relief. But this is possible only with the further use of drugs prescribed by a doctor.
- low-fat chicken or vegetable soup with crackers, which can be replaced with soft porridge (for example, oatmeal);
- pasta soup with milk (hard pasta is allowed);
- boiled young potatoes without cream, salt;
- reduced-fat milk, so as not to cause an increased load on the gastrointestinal tract due to the appearance of a high concentration of lactose.
In case of severe exacerbation and acute pain, all products are added gradually in small doses. This allows the digestive system to get used to it and does not cause negative reactions. But if the food causes nausea or increased pain, it is better to replace it with another type of food.
After the acute period, the diet continues.
- boiled, fried eggs, containing a high concentration of protein (the yolk can be removed to limit the amount of fat);
- lean chicken, rabbit, beef that can be fried, boiled, steamed (remove the skin before cooking);
- fish and seafood, which contain a large amount of omega-3, which has a beneficial effect on the digestive system and the nervous system;
- milk, which must first be boiled;
- soups with added cereals (any cereal is allowed, except semolina);
- vegetables that are sold in the store according to the season;
- fruits, which are recommended to be eaten between main meals, so as not to cause stress in the gastrointestinal tract, but not to leave the stomach empty;
- quality sausage;
- olive oil, sunflower oil;
- dumplings and similar products made at home from natural minced meat and a thin layer of dough;
- offal, of which the liver has the most positive effect, as it contains a large amount of microelements and vitamins;
- soft cheeses;
- honey, weak tea, herbal decoctions, dried fruit compote.
- baked goods, muffins, fresh pastries;
- candies, chocolate;
- dairy products.
All these foods increase the acidity of the stomach. Carbohydrates negatively affect any part of the digestive system, causing strong acidity, which is a favorable environment for the proliferation of Helicobacter pylori. In addition, they are not inclined to chew gum, as hydrochloric acid is actively produced during its use. If there is too much of it, acid gastritis is aggravated. This can lead to erosions and ulcers.
Diet for gastritis with low acidity
In the case of this type of inflammatory process of the stomach, the concentration and acidity of hydrochloric acid decreases. Therefore, the food is poorly digested, large pieces enter the intestines, which leads to a large load. This negatively affects the overall state of the digestive system. People over 40 years of age usually suffer from this type of gastritis.
- atrophic state of the gastric mucosa;
- tissue thinning;
- decreased parietal cell function.
Gastritis with low acidity is one of the most dangerous diseases that are difficult to treat. Therefore, it is important to start the treatment at an early stage, before the precancerous condition develops.
To correct the pathology, you need to eat foods that stimulate the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. You also need to increase your acidity to process the food bolus.
Attention! At the same time, acidity should be increased and the gastrointestinal tract should not be burdened. Therefore, fatty, spicy, fried, smoked foods, fast food and alcohol consumption are prohibited, regardless of the fact that they increase acidity.
- drink 200 ml of slightly carbonated mineral water before meals;
- chew food thoroughly, eat each piece gradually; the entire meal takes at least 30 minutes;
- Between meals, it is recommended to eat fruits that increase acidity, these can be pre-fried so as not to cause stress.
- lean types of meat - chicken, turkey, rabbit, young veal;
- any type of fruit and vegetable that does not have a coarse fiber structure (citrus, white cabbage and cauliflower are recommended);
- vegetable and meat soups;
- low concentration of carbohydrates in the form of sweets and baked goods;
- any type of fermented milk product;
- canned food;
- herbal decoctions, tea, berry and fruit compote.
Since milk in any form reduces the acidity of gastric juice, its consumption when preparing a diet is prohibited.
Gastritis is one of the most common digestive problems among the population. The disease can affect patients of any age. It can be prevented if you follow the rules of prevention. But if the pathology has already developed, it is important to diagnose it in time and start treatment in order to prevent the development of complications. The basis of therapy is correct and high-quality nutrition, improving lifestyle, and avoiding bad habits. The diet is selected individually for each patient, depending on the degree of damage and the acidity of gastric juice.