Paul Keller
If you have a stomach ulcer, it is important to know what you can eat and what you should avoid having the right diet.
A stomach ulcer can be treated well with medication, but the right diet also supports the healing process. These foods should not be missing from the shopping list.
Stomach ulcers cause pain and nausea
Stomach ulcers, or closely related duodenal ulcers, are sores in the lining of the digestive system. They are caused by stress, high alcohol consumption, taking certain medications, and the germ Helicobacter Pylori. Characteristics are pain in the upper abdomen, nausea, or vomiting. Left untreated, stomach ulcers can bleed, rupture into the abdomen, or develop into stomach cancer.
Stomach ulcer and diet – what should you pay attention to?
There is no special diet for a stomach ulcer. A bland diet is a relic of an earlier time when there was no way to treat stomach ulcers other than surgery. The list shows what you should still pay attention to.
- Doctors today recommend a light full diet. That means a patient with a stomach ulcer can eat what he likes and what he can tolerate.
- High-fiber foods such as whole-grain bread or pasta made from whole-grain flour support digestion.
- Fresh or steamed vegetables and fruit also contain a lot of vegetable fibers, which is good for the intestines.
- Vegetable oils with unsaturated fatty acids (e.g. olive oil) seem to accelerate the healing of gastric ulcers.
Diet for stomach ulcers: what should you avoid better?
If the stomach is irritated, more gastric acid is produced and the ulcer heals more slowly. Even after successful treatment, there can be a recurrence, i.e. the recurrence of gastric ulcers. It is therefore advisable to eliminate some foods and stimulants:
- Alcohol – not only in high-proof form but also as beer or wine, should be avoided completely.
- It is also better to avoid consuming cigarettes, cigars, shisha, or e-cigarettes.
- Coffee is irritating to the stomach due to caffeine and roasted products. Small amounts are fine if tolerated
- Spices, especially garlic, hot mustard, horseradish, or pepper, stimulate digestion, which leads to more stomach acid. Highly salted foods also irritate the gastric mucosa. Better to switch to alternatives and use milder seasoning.
Diet for stomach ulcers: what else can patients do?
Diet isn’t the only thing that can contribute to an improvement in stomach ulcers. The following three tips can also
Chew food slowly and thoroughly, so the stomach has less work to do.
Better five to six small meals a day than two to three large meals. This puts less strain on the gastrointestinal tract.
Drink enough – at least two to 2.5 liters per day. When the body is dehydrated, less digestive gastric juice is produced
