Food for ulcers

The text is for informational purposes only. We urge you not to use diets, do not resort to any medical menus and fasting without medical supervision. Recommended reading: “Why you can not go on a diet on your own.” Nutrition for gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer – a dietary diet aimed at restoring the damaged mucous membrane. This is a prerequisite for the full treatment and prevention of recurrence of the disease.

A stomach ulcer is dangerous because it can lead to the development of serious complications that threaten the patient’s life. The consequences of the pathological process can be: penetration, perforation of the ulcer and bleeding, malignancy and the development of pyloric stenosis. Remember, peptic ulcer disease is a dangerous diagnosis that requires urgent medical treatment.

To improve the condition, reduce the frequency of relapses, protect the patient from complications and preserve his ability to work, it is customary to combine drug therapy (or preventive measures) with proper nutrition. Strict restriction of the patient’s diet to “allowed” and “forbidden” foods increases the chances of recovery, accelerates the scarring of ulcers.

Therapy will not bring results if you do not adhere to proper dietary nutrition.

Ulcer – what is it?

This is a chronic disease, accompanied by the formation of defects (ulcers and erosions) on the mucous membrane of the stomach and duodenum. In 12% of cases, the pathology develops in men between the ages of 70 and 20 and is accompanied by frequent relapses, especially in spring and autumn.

As a result of exposure to excess hydrochloric acid and enzymes, the stomach lining is damaged, an ulcer occurs.

According to statistics, 14% of the world’s population suffers from the disease.

The main cause of the disease is an imbalance between aggressive factors and protective mechanisms of the stomach.

Factors that increase the risk of developing an ulcer include smoking, poor diet, frequent stressful situations, abuse of alcohol, carbonated and caffeinated drinks, taking anti-inflammatory drugs on an ongoing basis (like ibuprofen), infection with Helicobacter pylori, eating hot or cold foods that damage the gastrointestinal tract .

Overstrain of the nervous system is accompanied by spasms of blood vessels and muscles in the digestive tract, which leads to impaired blood circulation in the gastric mucosa, reducing its resistance to the aggressive effects of gastric juice.

The prognosis of peptic ulcer disease depends on the localization of the process, the age and sex of the patient, the presence of complications, the characteristics of the clinical course of the pathology, household and professional factors. In advanced severe stages, complications may develop that require surgical intervention.

Principles of diet

What postulates should be followed when compiling a diet?

1. Balance. The patient’s daily menu should be varied, and its total energy value should be at least 3000 calories.
2. Minimum serving size. In order to avoid overloading the damaged organ, a single meal should not exceed 150 grams (fit in the palms).
3. Refusal of foods that increase gas formation.
4. Fractionality. Breaks between meals vary in the range of 2 – 3 hours.
5. Minimizing salt intake.
6. The ban on fried, spicy, fatty, smoked products, marinades.
7. Increasing the amount of water you drink up to 2 liters per day, provided there are no diseases of the urinary system, thyroid gland.
8. Ban on cold, hot food. Dishes with temperatures up to or above 30 degrees slow down the recovery of the epithelial tissue of the stomach, inhibit the function of enzyme secretion.
9. The priority is sparing food that does not irritate the already inflamed walls of the stomach. Permissible variations in the heat treatment of dishes: steaming, stewing, boiling, blanching.
10. Refusal of products that stimulate the production of gastric juice.
11. The principle of zigzag nutrition. The essence of the method is to train the gastrointestinal tract. It implies that for a short period of time the patient is allowed to consume foods from the prohibited list (within reason), and then follow the diet menu again. This principle is practiced only at the recovery stage.
12. Calculation of the time of digestion of food. The fluid in the body lingers in the stomach for 0,5 – 1,5 hours. Boiled vegetables, bakery products, cereals are digested up to 3 hours. And legumes, meat and fish load the digestive tract for 5 hours. At the same time, fruits eaten in the main meal, together with other foods, inhibit the absorption of the latter, which leads to rotting of food. In this regard, they are recommended to be used only in between meals.
13. The principle of individuality. When compiling a diet, take into account the characteristics of the course of the disease and the body. In the presence of individual intolerance to a permitted product, it is excluded from the diet.

The main goal of nutrition for an ulcer is to normalize the digestive process and accelerate the regeneration of the mucous membrane that lines the stomach.

To improve the patient’s condition, the diet must be observed for at least 1 year after the exacerbation of the pathology. Only in this case, stable healing of defects in the gastric mucosa and prevention of repeated cases of exacerbation of the disease is possible.

Prohibited products

An ulcer is a dangerous disease that requires long-term treatment. For successful therapy and restoration of the patient’s health, food that irritates the gastric mucosa, which is digested for a long time, increases gas formation, and contains a large amount of salt, is excluded from the patient’s diet.

What can’t be eaten?

1. Soup cabbage soup, okroshka.
2. Smoked products, sausages. An exception is ham in moderation (up to 70 grams per day).
3. Rich meat, fish broths, soups based on them.
4. Dairy products with acid (tan, ayran, kefir).
5. Cucumbers, tomatoes, tomato paste.
6. Mushroom dishes.
7. Fatty meat, fish, lard, caviar.
8. High-fiber vegetables that make it difficult to digest food: peas, beans, rutabaga, white cabbage, turnips, radishes, radishes.
9. Cereal side dishes from corn, wild rice, pearl barley, bran in granules, muesli.
10. Canned foods, including pâtés.
11. Fatty dairy products: cream, cheeses, condensed milk, whole milk, buttermilk.
12. Sour berries and fruits: lemon, orange, lime, gooseberry, fig, grape, pineapple, tangerine, currant.
13. Hard-boiled eggs.
14. Vegetable products that irritate the gastric mucosa: garlic, onion, sorrel, rhubarb.
15. Salty, spicy sauces: ketchup, vinegar, mustard, horseradish.
16. All carbonated drinks.
17. Sweet products, rye bread.
18. Ice cream and chocolate.
19. Alcohol, tea, coffee, cocoa.
20. Dried fruits, nuts, apricots.

When processing meat, veins and cartilage are removed from it, which are difficult to digest and load the digestive tract.

Permitted products

In case of peptic ulcer, in no case should you starve, otherwise the stomach begins to digest its walls, which threatens with complications and worsening of the patient’s condition. The ideal interval between meals is 3 hours. During breaks – drink plenty of clean and alkaline water, anti-inflammatory herbal infusions (chamomile, St. John’s wort, sage, linden).

List of allowed products:

1. Wheat bread (yesterday).
2. Meat soups on a secondary broth.
3. Biscuit.
4. Baking from unleavened (yeast-free) dough stuffed with lean meat, cottage cheese, fish, apples.
5. Dairy and cereal soups.
6. Non-fatty fish (boiled or steamed, in foil).
7. Second courses from dietary meats without veins: turkey, beef, chicken, rabbit. Steaming is best, no frying. The priority is soufflé, meatballs, zrazy, meatballs, meatballs.
8. Scrambled eggs.
9. Dairy products with a low percentage of fat: sour cream, yogurt, fermented baked milk, milk, cottage cheese, unleavened cheeses.
10. Kashi: hercules, semolina, buckwheat, rice. In addition, boiled pasta is useful.
11. Natural honey, marshmallow, marshmallow, marmalade, kissels, mousses.
12. Baked apples and pears, fresh sweet berries and fruits, crushed to a puree.
13. Vegetable oil (unrefined sunflower or olive), in moderation.
14. For dressing dishes, give preference to white milk sauce.
15. Of the drinks, compotes, weakly brewed teas, freshly squeezed sweet juices diluted with water by 50%, decoctions of wheat bran, rose hips are allowed.

According to medical research, in 90% of cases, stomach ulcers develop due to colonization of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. Therefore, for the treatment of acute attacks of the disease, along with antibiotics, products and agents with bactericidal properties (honey, cauliflower, white cabbage, broccoli) are used. With a stomach ulcer, any vegetables in the diet should be subjected to heat treatment so as not to worsen the patient’s condition. It all depends on the individual characteristics of the organism: the aggressiveness of the gastric environment.

Healing products

Despite the wide range of foods and drinks allowed for consumption, with gastric ulcer, among them are those that have a healing effect. They support the body in such a critical period and actively fight the bacterium Helicobacter Pylori, which causes ulcers and erosions on the mucous membrane of the stomach and duodenum.

They include:

1. Milk. Envelops the walls of the stomach, accelerates the healing process. However, you should use the drink carefully, as it can cause heartburn, pain.
2. Honey. Relieves inflammation, irritation of the gastric mucosa, reduces secretion and neutralizes the action of hydrochloric acid, relieves pain. In addition, honey increases the level of hemoglobin, prevents the development of anemia.
3. Freshly squeezed cabbage juice. The medicinal properties of the drink are due to the content of anti-ulcer vitamin U and a stable form of ascorbic acid in the composition. It is juice that fights pathogenic bacteria Helicobacter Pylori, stimulates scarring of wounds.
4. Yogurt. Biologically active bacteria (Bulgarian stick, probiotics, lactic streptococci), which are part of the product, inhibit the activity of harmful microorganisms that provoke stomach ulcers. In addition, yogurt contains a bioavailable protein that has a wound-healing effect on the ulcerated surface of the mucous membrane of the damaged organ.

Interestingly, in the laboratories of the Chinese Guanchzhou, an acidophilic sourdough for yogurt containing the Helicobacter pylori adhesin gene was invented. This component fights pathogenic flora, which causes exacerbation of stomach ulcers. Today, the product is under development with a view to its subsequent introduction into mass production.

Diet for ulcers

For effective treatment of peptic ulcer disease – restoration of a malfunction of the digestive process and regeneration of stomach tissues, patients are prescribed diet No. 1a (during an exacerbation for 10-20 days, depending on the patient’s condition), then they switch to a more advanced version No. 1 or 5 (at the stage of remission ), at the discretion of the attending physician. In any case, to improve the state of health, the prescribed diet must be strictly observed, without making independent adjustments.

Diet number 1

It is prescribed to patients at the stage of subsiding exacerbation, restoration of the mucous membrane.

The duration of diet number 1 varies from 3 to 5 months, and the calorie content of the daily diet reaches 3000 calories. This method of nutrition involves the use of boiled or steamed dishes, ground into a homogeneous mass. In this form, the products do not have a mechanical effect on the walls of the stomach, they are quickly digested without burdening the digestive tract. The ratio of B (proteins): F (fats): U (carbohydrates) of the daily menu should correspond to 5: 1: 1, and the frequency of meals should occur every 2 to 3 hours.

The diet menu consists of the following products: low-fat boiled meat, yesterday’s baking, egg whites, unleavened biscuit, milk soup, mashed cereal porridge, pudding, vegetable puree, small noodles, non-acidic cottage cheese, sour cream, milk. For dessert, it is allowed to eat boiled or baked sweet fruits (strawberries, pears, apples).

Diet number 1

It is prescribed during the period of exacerbation of peptic ulcer, in which a prerequisite is the observance of bed rest.

This is a strict subspecies of diet No. 1. To soothe the irritated gastric mucosa, foods that enhance the production of gastric juice are excluded from the patient’s diet. When using diet No. 1a, food is taken fractionally up to 8 times a day in small portions. The ratio B : W : Y is 0,8 : 0,8 : 2, and the energy value of the diet should not exceed 2000 calories per day.

Under the ban the use of vegetable dishes, bread. The diet is based on slimy soups and cereals (from rice, semolina, oatmeal), milk, butter (in moderation), lean fish and meat, soft-boiled eggs. In the diet, you can use berry jelly, fruit soufflé, honey, jelly.

Before serving, the dishes are rubbed through a sieve to avoid injury to the walls of the stomach.

Diet number 5

Designed for the full nutrition of the patient after the removal of symptoms of exacerbation, at the stage of recovery. Diet number 5 creates favorable conditions for the normalization of the digestive tract, involves the use of balanced food. Exception: fried foods, fats (refractory), foods rich in essential substances (ginger, garlic, onions), cholesterol-forming food components, mushrooms, radishes, sorrel. Still the preferred method of processing: boiling, baking in the oven, steaming.

In the diet, you can enter sweet vegetables and fruits, dried bread, biscuit cookies, curd cheesecakes, cabbage soups, tongue, aspic, not sharp hard cheese.

In case of peptic ulcer, the use of herbal decoctions based on lime blossom, yarrow, St. John’s wort, chamomile, plantain, fennel, marshmallow, licorice is welcome.

To envelop the stomach and reduce the aggressive effect of gastric juice on the inflamed walls, it is recommended to take 30 milliliters of flax seed kissel daily 100 minutes before meals.

Remember, a diet for an ulcer cannot replace the main treatment, but it plays an important role for the human body: it accelerates the healing of erosive areas and prevents complications.

F.A.Q.

Is it possible to use lactic acid drinks (kefir, fermented baked milk, yogurt) with an ulcer?

During the period of exacerbation of the disease, kefir and fermented baked milk are prohibited. In addition, in the next 5 days after stopping the attack, you should also refrain from drinking these drinks so as not to provoke a relapse of the pathology. Subsequently, they can be gradually introduced into the diet, from small doses (from 50 milliliters).

The main condition is that kefir and fermented baked milk should be fresh, moderately sour, with a minimum fat content. Before drinking, drinks are slightly warmed up. To speed up the scarring of the ulcer, a teaspoon of vegetable oil is added to them.

Yogurt is a priority food product for stomach diseases, as it contains bifidobacteria that inhibit the influence of Helicobacter Pylori.

Is it possible to eat cucumbers, tomatoes?

In case of peptic ulcer, it is worth abandoning the use of tomatoes, since they reduce the rate of healing of ulcers and increase the acidity of gastric juice. In extreme cases, the fruits of tomatoes are allowed to be eaten after preliminary heat treatment with boiling water, removing the skin. Cucumbers are contraindicated during an exacerbation of the disease, however, at the stage of remission, it is allowed to include half a vegetable per day in the patient’s diet – without a peel in a crushed form.

Can bananas be eaten?

Judgment about this fruit is controversial. The opinions of nutritionists regarding the inclusion of bananas in the diet of a patient with lesions of the gastric mucosa differ. Some argue that it reduces the acidity of gastric juice, eliminates pain, and heals ulcers. Others are convinced that bananas are “heavy” foods that burden the digestive tract, take a long time to digest, which is unacceptable with an ulcer.

Is it possible to use cottage cheese, cheese?

Yes, these are valuable foods for a person with an ulcer. Cottage cheese is a coagulated milk protein that supplies iron, retinol, niacin, and B vitamins to the body. It does not contain serum. It is worth choosing cottage cheese with a minimum percentage of fat content. The product can be used to make soufflés, mousses, creams, casseroles.

Cheese is a storehouse of amino acids, calcium, easily digestible protein. It is an alternative to meat products. When choosing hard cheeses, give preference to a product with a low salt and fat content.

Can I have eggs?

Yes, provided they are soft-boiled. Hard-boiled or fried eggs should not be consumed by patients with stomach ulcers. It is worth refusing to take the product raw, as it increases the risk of salmonella infection.

Egg white is well absorbed by the human body, and the yolk supplies nutrients: calcium, cobalt, iron, phosphorus, vitamins A, E, D, B2, B6.

Can I have a watermelon?

No, it contains coarse fiber, which stimulates the production of gastric juice, increases its acidity, and exacerbates the course of the disease.

Can seeds?

No, they irritate the gastric mucosa, are able to mechanically injure it, which threatens to aggravate the pathological process. In addition, seeds contain indigestible fats. As a result, after the nuclei enter the stomach, the patient feels discomfort in the epigastric region, flatulence and pain occur, the level of acidity increases, and the ulcerative process worsens.

Can you use garlic?

This product is under the strictest ban, it should not be consumed not in its pure form, not as part of cooked dishes, since it has a sharp taste that irritates the gastric mucosa, increases pain, provokes a relapse of the disease (during remission), a sharp deterioration in the patient’s condition (on exacerbation stage).

Can I have coffee?

No, the drink enhances the production of hydrochloric acid, which spurs the development of the disease. During a stable remission, natural brewed coffee is allowed to be consumed in moderation (up to 50 milliliters at a time), with weak, half-diluted milk.

Can i drink soda?

The most common symptoms of an ulcer are belching and heartburn. To relieve discomfort and relieve the first symptoms, many people use soda. However, not every one of them thinks about whether it is safe and what it can lead to?

The substance of reality neutralizes hydrochloric acid, which is formed in excess in diseases of the stomach. In this case, it is worth considering the fact that the soda solution brings relief for a short period of time.

Already after 0,5 – 1,5 hours, when it leaves the body, the body will throw out a new portion of acid in an increased amount. Which will lead to increased stress on the stomach. In addition, when it reacts with soda, carbon dioxide is released, which puts increased pressure on the walls of the stomach. As a result, there is an increased risk of perforations at the sites of ulcer formation.

With peptic ulcer of the stomach, it is forbidden to drink soda in any quantities.

Why can’t you drink strong alcoholic beverages?

This is justified by the fact that ethyl alcohol causes inflammation of the walls of the stomach, slows down the digestion of food, increases the acidity of gastric juice, which as a result exacerbates the pathological process, increases the risk of gastric bleeding. Alcoholic drinks are allowed to be consumed up to 100 milliliters in 2 to 4 days, when there is no exacerbation of the disease. At the same time, on the eve it is necessary to eat tightly sparing food that envelops the stomach. This is the only way to protect the walls of the organ from the aggressive effects of a strong cocktail.

Can I smoke?

Absolutely forbidden. Tobacco smoke has a stimulating effect on the digestive tract, nicotine inhibits the regeneration process, increases existing inflammation, provokes belching, heartburn, and pain.

According to statistics, smokers die from stomach ulcers 5 times more often than people without a bad habit.

Menu for a week during an exacerbation of a stomach ulcer

To stop an attack, the patient’s diet consists of exclusively pureed boiled dishes without the addition of spices, in a liquid, mushy form. The frequency of meals is 6-7 times a day, the size of one serving is up to 150 grams. Dishes are consumed exclusively in the form of heat, they should not be cold or hot.

Day number 1

• 8.00 – boiled buckwheat;
• 10.30 – mashed boiled vegetables (broccoli and carrots);
• 13.00 – turkey soufflé, slimy soup based on oatmeal;
• 15.30 – soft-boiled egg;
• 18.00 – boiled rice porridge;
• 20.30 – cottage cheese soufflé.

Day number 2

• 8.00 – oatmeal, dried biscuit;
• 10.30 – steamed omelette;
• 13.00 – boiled fish fillet, mashed beets;
• 15.30 – slimy green buckwheat soup;
• 18.00 – strawberry jelly;
• 20.30 – semolina.

Day number 3

• 8.00 – rice porridge;
• 10.30 – boiled veal (puree), boiled beets;
• 13.00 – cottage cheese casserole;
• 15.30 – barley soup (slimy);
• 18.00 – oatmeal cooked in water;
• 20.30 – pureed boiled apples (without seeds, peel).

Day number 4

• 8.00 – boiled rice;
• 10.30 – soft-boiled egg;
• 13.00 – minced chicken meatballs, slimy oatmeal soup;
• 15.30 – buckwheat porridge;
• 18.00 – soup-puree from boiled vegetables (carrots, beets, kohlrabi);
• 20.30 – peach mousse.

Day number 5

• 8.00 – slimy green buckwheat;
• 10.30 – pear jelly, without added sugar;
• 13.00 – oatmeal;
• 15.30 – boiled zucchini, steamed turkey;
• 18.00 – milk jelly;
• 20.30 – sugared rosehip broth.

Day number 6

• 8.00 – rice porridge;
• 10.30 – apple and pear puree from boiled fruits without peel, seeds;
• 13.00 – boiled fish (hake), boiled carrots;
• 15.30 – boiled beets, grated;
• 18.00 – barley groats soup (slimy);
• 20.30 – milk jelly.

Day number 7

• 8.00 – semolina;
• 10.30 – steamed omelette;
• 13.00 – rabbit soufflé, slimy rice soup;
• 15.30 – vegetable puree from boiled pumpkin and zucchini;
• 18.00 – baked cottage cheese with honey;
• 20.30 – milk jelly.

Subsequently, when the attack of the disease passes, you can expand the menu, introduce new products, move from diet menu No. 1a to table No. 1 or No. 5.

Conclusion

A stomach ulcer is a recurrent disease characterized by the formation of erosions in the walls of the organ. Every year more than 2 million people die from complications of pathology in the world. At the same time, the disease responds well to treatment.

The key to successful therapy is to follow the right diet, give up bad habits, lack of stress, eliminate risk factors, and competent medical treatment. Vitamins A, C, B must be present in the patient’s diet, sparing products that do not have a strong juice effect. Reducing salt intake to 5 grams per day. Food should not injure the gastric mucosa; food is consumed in a grated form.

Nutrition for an ulcer involves the use of medicinal products that accelerate the regeneration of the shell of the damaged organ. These include: milk, honey, cabbage juice, yogurt.

Remember, the prognosis of the treatment of the disease depends on the stage of diagnosing the pathology, compliance with the doctor’s instructions. Do not neglect your health, if the first signs occur (heartburn, feeling of fullness in the stomach, increased gas formation, nausea, pain in the epigastric region, increased sweating, loss of appetite, nausea), go for a consultation with a gastroenterologist.

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