Gastritis is the name of inflammatory processes in the stomach mucosa, which inevitably lead to digestive problems. A person begins to digest food poorly, as a result of which his health deteriorates and weakness and lethargy appear. According to statistics, approximately half of all residents of our country experience painful symptoms of gastritis to one degree or another.
Diet for gastritis
Many people ask: what diet should you follow for gastritis? This is a very important issue, since proper nutrition is a major part of the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. If you have gastritis, you should always follow a bland diet and if your health improves, you can return to normal eating habits only gradually. In some cases, doctors prescribe a personal diet for gastritis.
It is also necessary to remember that enzyme deficiency develops with gastritis, so in some cases, along with a diet to improve digestion, it is worth using enzyme preparations such as Micrazim.
There are two types of gastritis: acute and chronic. In different people, these forms can be associated with high and low degrees of gastric acidity. Acute gastritis is of the following types:
- fibrinous (it worsens with the appearance of infectious diseases);
- catarrhal (accompanied by a violation of the integrity of the outer lining of the stomach);
- phlegmon (causes purulent inflammatory processes in the walls of the stomach);
- corrosive (one of the side effects of poisoning).
Chronic disease, on the other hand, appears in the following forms:
- superficial;
- hypertrophic;
- polyposis;
- bacterial;
- granulomatous;
- autoimmune.
Another form of chronic gastritis is typical for those people whose stomach walls have been damaged due to the systematic intake of alcohol in large quantities.
The main principles of the diet for gastritis diseases
Remember that a proper diet for gastritis is the key to successfully overcoming the symptoms. If the acidity of your gastric juice has increased, then you should eat foods that help reduce its activity. Follow three rules:
- Mechanical principle. Avoid foods that contain coarse fiber. Such products include onion crops, meat with veins and bran. In addition, dishes cooked in oil are strictly prohibited.
- Chemical principle. Avoid foods that can increase gastric secretions. This list includes alcohol, carbonated water, citrus fruits (including their juices), coffee, black bread, cabbage and rich broth.
- The thermal principle. Do not eat foods that are at very high or very low temperatures. They irritate the esophagus and cold food, among other things, stays longer than usual in the stomach.
What foods can you eat if you have gastritis?
Include lean meats (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 dishes include:
- river fish;
- seafood;
- egg white omelet;
- oatmeal and buckwheat porridge;
- milk;
- zucchini, squash, tomatoes, carrots, various greens;
- berries with a high sugar content;
- boiled and pureed fruits.
What should be missing from the diet?
If you have been diagnosed with gastritis caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, then it is not advisable to prescribe a diet for yourself. Be sure to consult a gastroenterologist or nutritionist so that the treatment of gastritis is stable and effective.
With this disease, the menu should not include:
- Fresh baked goods, especially rye bread, as well as puff pastry. Instead, it is better to eat white bread, plain cookies and pies.
- Rich broths, including mushroom soup, cabbage soup, and borscht. Such dishes should be replaced with light vegetable soups with potatoes, cabbage, carrots and onions.
- Smoked dishes, as well as meat with fat and veins. Instead, it is better to eat dishes made from boiled or steamed meat (cutlets, meatballs). Allowed types of meat are chicken and lamb.
- Hard-boiled eggs and fried omelettes. They should be replaced with soft-boiled eggs and steamed omelettes.
- Any salty and seasoned dishes, marinades, chocolate, carbonated drinks, coffee and kvass.
- Alcohol.
Diet for high acidity
With this form of gastritis, you should not overdo it with fruits and vegetables, as they can worsen your health. However, you should not completely remove these products from the menu. Avoid foods that can stimulate the production of stomach acid and choose foods that reduce acid. By eating right, you're more likely to lose weight than gain it. Below is a table showing the permitted and prohibited products:
| Vegetables: carrots, pumpkin, potatoes, beets. Light vegetable salads. Tomatoes: ripe, chopped. Cucumbers without skin. | Greenery. |
| Fruits: non-acidic, ripe, without skin (bananas, pears, apples). It is better to eat fruits not alive, but ripe. Watermelons and melons - in very limited quantities. | Chips, pickles, sauerkraut. |
| Milk (from cow or goat), cream, yogurt. Fresh cottage cheese. | Yogurt, kefir, hard cheese. |
| Soup with diet soup. | Cabbage soup and borsch in a rich broth. |
| pasta | Legumes |
| Boiled chicken or rabbit meat, lean river fish. | Smoked meat, fish and meat with high fat content, canned food. |
| Oatmeal and buckwheat | Dry fruit |
| Soft boiled eggs. | Chocolate |
| Cookies, white bread (that has been sitting for a couple of days), dry cookies. | Boiled eggs, fried omelettes. |
| Weak tea and coffee, cocoa with added milk. | Rye and freshly baked bread. Desserts, confectionery products with cream filling. |
Low acidity diet
In such conditions, you should eat differently than in the previous case. You should eat foods that stimulate the secretion of the stomach. The table below shows the dishes that are suitable for forgiveness. If you have severe stomach pain, then you should exclude from the menu dishes that irritate the stomach tissues.
Vegetables: baked potatoes, tomatoes, greens, carrots, beets, pumpkin, pickles.
Diet for gastritis - general recommendations
Patients with gastritis should exclude spices used in the cooking process from the menu. You can improve the taste of food with fresh herbs (parsley, dill, celery). Greens will also help to add vitamins to your diet: try to enjoy as many dishes as you eat with finely chopped greens.
You should eat small meals, but avoid snacks; in this way the stomach will not have difficulty in digesting the food. Chew food thoroughly and eat slowly. Food eaten in a hurry can worsen your health and aggravate gastritis. Chew your food until it turns into an easily digestible paste.
Remember 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 the symptoms and pains associated with this disease within 4 weeks.
Important: before use, read the instructions or consult your doctor.
What should you eat for stomach gastritis?
Characteristics of gastritis
Gastritis is a chronic inflammatory condition of the stomach lining, leading to pain, loss of appetite and other symptoms. Of 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 deviation that does not require treatment. They think that the disease will not cause harm and will gradually go away on its own without treatment. But if the treatment methods and diet are not implemented in time, the pathology can gradually develop into peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum and into a malignant transformation.
Etiological factors
Many studies have been conducted, statistics have been collected, according to which the basis for the development of inflammatory pathologies of the stomach is Helicobacter pylori. This is a bacterium that attacks the walls of the stomach and duodenum. Most people are only carriers of the bacterium, but under the influence of negative factors it begins to multiply actively, causing pathology. It is Helicobacter pylori that over time can lead to the development of atypical mucosal cells, which will cause malignant degeneration.
- Eating poor quality food. It includes fatty, fried, spicy, smoked and excessively salty foods. This type of food aggressively affects the walls of the stomach, causing an inflammatory process. Due to the damage, Helicobacter pylori begins to multiply actively.
- The curee. Nicotine and smog during smoking spread to the respiratory tract and digestive system. It negatively affects the mucosa, causes irritation and increased inflammation.
- Drinking large amounts of alcohol. This has a toxic effect on every tissue of the body, including the gastrointestinal tract. It leads to the appearance or intensification of inflammation.
- Stress. Great physical and psycho-emotional stress. These factors cause the active production of cortisol. It leads to increased release of hydrochloric acid. If it acts on the walls of the stomach in the absence of a bolus of food, damage occurs.
If the patient is simultaneously affected by several factors, the disease develops faster.
Clinical signs
In the early stages, the patient and the doctor may not notice visual signs. The more damage occurs, the more actively the inflammatory process develops.
- pain in the epigastric region, aggravated by stress, food, hunger;
- nausea, vomiting that occurs regardless of food intake;
- constipation, diarrhea.
There are signs that can be used to determine if a patient has gastroenterological pathology.
- frequent occurrence of epigastric pain;
- pain points 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);
- periodic use of a strict diet.
It is impossible to determine the diagnosis independently, since the symptoms may be present in temporary disorders or other acute, chronic diseases. It is important to undergo examination and diagnosis by a doctor who will prescribe conservative or radical treatment, depending on the developing lesion.
diets
- gastroenterologist;
- nutritionist
It is better if these doctors work together to provide quality treatment.
- degree of mucosal damage;
- the degree of spread of the lesion in different parts of the gastrointestinal tract;
- the reasons for the loss.
After collecting complete information, a food regimen is drawn up. This is one of the basic methods of treatment that reduces the load on the gastrointestinal tract.
- with high acidity;
- with low acidity.
Regardless of the type of diet chosen, the gastroenterologist should remind you of the basic principles of proper diet during the disease.
- Breaking up. The total volume of products that the patient must consume in 1 day is identified. It is divided into 6 parts, evenly distributing the meals throughout the day. That is, the patient should eat food every 3 hours. You should not overeat or suffer from hunger, as these factors negatively affect the condition of the stomach. A portion of food is approximately the volume of two palms.
- Chewing. The consumed food begins to be digested in the oral cavity under the influence of saliva, which contains 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 digestion process can start smoothly.
- The temperature. If you suspect an inflammatory process, eat warm food. It should not be too hot or too cold.
- Water mode. Drink at least 2 liters of water a day to maintain a stable water-electrolyte balance and prevent the development of 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.
- Stop eating too harsh food. It should not contain parts that can damage the affected structure of the mucosa.
- Proper cooking. Boiled, steamed, baked. No frying or smoking.
- Prohibition of alcohol consumption, caffeine, energy drinks, soda.
- Maintaining the concentration of vitamins. If they are normal, metabolism and metabolism are improved, the nervous system and the digestive system are strengthened. If there are not enough nutrients, multivitamin preparations are used.
The 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 food. It is necessary to monitor the temperature of the food: it is not recommended to eat food with a temperature above 40-50 ⁰C. Fruits can be consumed pureed, steamed, boiled, baked or stewed, or in purees, mousses, jellies, jellies or compotes. It is not recommended to consume fruits with a high content of organic acids (pomegranates, citrus fruits, fresh apricots), unripe or sour fruits. During an irritation, all fruits should be used only in puree form. The rest of the time it is better to use:
- sweet varieties of apples;
- avocado.
Fruit with low acidity
For the opposite form of gastritis, when acidity decreases, doctors recommend other fruits:
- citrus fruits - prevent the formation of malignant cells, maintain normal acidity;
- pomegranate and its juice help restore the stomach lining;
- peaches - stimulate the production of gastric juice, but they can be eaten only by patients who are not allergic to fruits.
Careful! For 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;
- increasing the acidity of hydrochloric acid.
Normally, hydrochloric acid aims to dissolve the contents of the stomach. But it must be within certain limits so as not to damage the body tissues.
- inflammation;
- erosion;
- ulcers;
- perforation.
Gastritis can develop at different ages. A prolonged exposure to a damaging factor is sufficient for the development of an inflammatory process. If the acidity of the gastric juice increases, you should follow a certain diet that reduces these indicators.
Careful! Many patients know that taking antacids reduces the acidity of gastric juice. However, it is forbidden to take these drugs yourself. They have contraindications and side effects.
When using a diet, it is important to follow certain rules in order to achieve success.
- Avoiding foods that cause or aggravate damage to the stomach walls. This is a food that contains fiber and solid elements. For example, cereals, buns, bran, stringy meat. All food should be as soft and easily digestible as possible.
- Rejection of any food and drink that causes an increase in the acidity of hydrochloric acid. For example, citrus fruits, canned food, coffee, alcohol, soda.
- Eating food at warm temperature. Do not consume boiling water, hot liquids or food. Cold foods are also unacceptable. The optimal limits are 25-35 degrees.
If the patient's gastritis has worsened and causes unbearable pain, it is necessary to immediately start a strict diet. This will help significantly reduce the inflammatory process and allow the tissues to recover. Already on the 3rd day a person will feel relief. But this is possible only with the help of additional 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 new potatoes without cream, salt;
- milk with a reduced fat content, so as not to cause an increased load on the gastrointestinal tract due to the appearance of a high concentration of lactose.
If there is strong deterioration and acute pain, each product is added gradually, in small portions. This will allow the digestive tract to get used to it and will not cause negative reactions. But if the food causes nausea or increased pain, it is better to replace it with other types of food.
As soon as the acute period passes, the diet is continued.
- boiled, baked eggs, they contain a high concentration of protein (yolks can be removed to limit the amount of fat);
- lean meat of chicken, rabbit, beef, which can be baked, 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 tract and nervous system;
- milk that must be boiled first;
- soups with added grains (any grain is allowed except oatmeal);
- vegetables that are sold in the store according to the season;
- fruits, which are recommended to be consumed between main meals, so as not to cause stress on the gastrointestinal tract, but not to leave the stomach empty;
- quality sausages;
- olive oil, sunflower;
- noodles and similar products prepared 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 decoction, dried fruit compote.
- bakery products, muffins, fresh pastries;
- candy, chocolate;
- dairy products.
All these foods increase the acidity of the stomach. Carbohydrates negatively affect every part of the digestive system, causing strong acidity. This is a favorable environment for the spread of Helicobacter pylori. In addition, they refuse to chew gum, as hydrochloric acid is actively produced during its use. If there is too much of it, acid gastritis will intensify. This can lead to the formation of erosions and ulcers.
Diet for gastritis with low acidity
With this type of inflammatory process of the stomach, the concentration and acidity of hydrochloric acid decreases. Therefore, food is poorly digested, large pieces of food enter the intestines, which leads to a heavy load on it. This negatively affects the entire state of the digestive tract. Typically, people aged 40 years and older suffer from such 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 is difficult to treat. Therefore, it is important to start treatment at an early stage, before a precancerous condition develops.
To correct the pathology, you must consume foods that will stimulate the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. You also need to increase its acidity in order for the food bolus to be processed.
Careful! It is necessary to simultaneously increase acidity and not put strain on the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, the use of fatty, spicy, fried, smoked foods, fast foods and alcohol is prohibited, despite the fact that they increase acidity.
- before eating, drink 200 ml of slightly carbonated mineral water;
- chew food thoroughly, gradually consuming each piece; the whole meal lasts at least 30 minutes;
- Between meals it is recommended to eat fruits that increase acidity, you can bake them in advance to avoid stress.
- lean types of meat - chicken, turkey, rabbit, young beef;
- any kind of fruits and vegetables that do not have a thick fiber structure (citrus, white cabbage and cauliflower are recommended);
- vegetable and meat soup;
- a small concentration of carbohydrates in the form of sweets and baked goods;
- any type of fermented milk product;
- canned foods;
- herbal decoction, tea, berries and fruit compote.
Since milk in any form reduces the acidity of gastric juice, it is forbidden to consume it during the preparation of a diet.
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 use prevention rules. But if the pathology has already developed, it is important to undergo a timely diagnosis and start treatment in order to prevent the development of complications. Therapy is based on a correct and high-quality diet, improving lifestyle and avoiding bad habits. The diet is selected individually for each patient, depending on the degree of damage and the acidity of the gastric juice.