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Gastric ulcer is a condition in which there is local damage to the mucosa with inflammatory infiltration and necrosis reaching the muscular layer of the stomach or duodenum. The disease is chronic and recurrent.
Its main cause is Helicobacter pylori infection. Other factors contributing to the onset of the disease include the pathogenicity of the H. pylori strain, the body’s response to infection, the genetically determined greater number of parietal cells that produce hydrochloric acid in the stomach, and their increased sensitivity to gastrin. Environmental factors such as smoking, high salt consumption and low consumption of antioxidant-rich foods such as beta-carotene or vitamin A or C also play a role in ulcer formation. Ellison, Crohn’s disease, lymphoma, stomach cancer.
The most common symptoms of peptic ulcer disease are: epigastric pain, which occurs 1-3 hours after a meal and decreases after eating or taking alkalizing drugs, pain on an empty stomach or at night, a feeling of fullness in the upper abdomen after eating a meal, weight loss.
Treatment of gastric and duodenal ulcers consists in eliminating H. pylori infection through the use of antibiotics and anti-ulcer drugs (proton pump inhibitors). Drug treatment lasts 1-2 weeks. In 15-30% of patients it can cause taste disturbances, abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea. The main purpose of diet and lifestyle changes is to alleviate these discomforts while taking medications.
Not all diets are healthy and safe for our body. It is recommended that you consult your doctor before starting any diet, even if you do not have any health concerns.
When choosing a diet, never follow the current fashion. Remember that some diets, incl. low in particular nutrients or strongly limiting calories, and mono-diets can be debilitating for the body, carry a risk of eating disorders, and can also increase appetite, contributing to a quick return to the former weight.
When treating peptic ulcer disease, a diet with limited products and foods that cause excessive gastric acid secretion is recommended. The basic assumptions of such a diet include:
• restriction of consumption or complete abandonment of fatty products and dishes: pork, lamb, fatty, smoked fish, fatty milk and dairy products, yellow, melted and mold cheeses, fried, stewed or baked dishes with the addition of fat, thick sauces, sauces based on mayonnaise, soups seasoned with roux,
• avoiding products rich in insoluble fiber: wholemeal bread, rye bread, thick groats, thick pasta, raw vegetables – especially cruciferous, asparagus, dry legume seeds, wheat bran,
• resignation from products and dishes that have an inflating effect,
• limiting meat stocks, broths and broths,
• avoiding the consumption of table salt and hot spices (pepper, hot pepper, chilli, vinegar, mustard, horseradish),
• resignation from strong tea, coffee and caffeinated beverages, strong cocoa, carbonated drinks, alcohol, in favor of herbal teas. We recommend, for example, For ulcers – herbal tea available on Medonet Market. If you do not like the taste of herbs, try NA WRZODY – a dietary supplement Herbapol in Krakow, available in the form of tablets.
• limiting the consumption of sweets containing fat: cakes and cream cakes, donuts, fillings, chocolate and chocolate products.
However, it is advisable to eat skim milk and dairy products, wheat bread, cooked vegetables, ripe citrus fruits, bananas and apples.
Other recommendations include:
• cooking food in water or steaming, baking in aluminum foil or a special sleeve,
• regular and frequent (about 5 times a day) eating meals in small portions,
• giving up smoking.
Text: mgr inż. Anna Taraszewska – dietician
Food and Nutrition Institute in Warsaw