Gastritis refers to the condition wherein the stomach’s lining becomes inflamed. This can be painful and distressing.
Gastritis can be triggered by many things: certain drugs, stress, infection, or a problem in autoimmunity.
Treatments for this condition target the root cause and aims to completely eradicate it. Diet does not necessarily play a major role in the management or prevention of gastritis.
However, eating the ‘right’ foods can somewhat ease and help reduce your discomfort caused by the condition
Symptom management
Gastritis can result in pain in the upper part of the abdomen. It can also cause stomach bleeding and nausea. However, there are lucky people who have gastritis but don’t experience any uncomfortable symptoms.
While gastritis does not necessarily require you to cut back on certain foods, you most definitely need to avoid some foods so as to avoid further discomfort.
There are foods that can cause additional stomach irritation, heartburn, and encourage bloating. The difficult part is identifying which, if there are any, foods are making your gastritis worse.
This is why we suggest you keep a journal of all the foods that you eat and jot down whenever you observe your symptoms getting worse.
Don’t let this make you paranoid, if you eat a certain and you don’t feel your symptoms getting worse, then that food is not to be avoided.
Generally, it is best to eat whole foods and avoid processed foods. Nevertheless, the following are the foods that you can surely eat if you have gastritis:
Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are naturally nutrient-rich. They contain various nutrients and are typically low in terms of calories.
For people who suffer gastritis, fruits and vegetables are well-tolerated by the stomach.
However, if you find a certain type of fruit or vegetable spicy, it’s best to avoid it.
We also encourage that you avoid fruits and veggies that are acidic in nature.
For example, if you observe a little bit of discomfort in your stomach after eating a bell pepper, beans, or anything that is citrusy, cut it from your diet.
Grains
Foods that are rich in grains like bread and cereals are normally well-taken and known not to aggravate the stomach lining.
Fiber-rich foods, especially grains that are unprocessed like brown rice, quinoa, oatmeal, and barley, are highly recommended. It can also help regulate bowel movement and prevent digestion problems.
Apart from the aforementioned foods, you can also go for fiber-rich, ready-to-eat foods like crackers, whole wheat bread, pasta, tortillas, and unsweetened cereals.
High protein foods
There are plenty of protein foods that are well-tolerated by the stomach. Some of them may be high in fat so we suggest you go for low-fat options like lean meat, eggs, and skinless poultry and fish.
You may also choose plant-based protein. Beans, nuts, pumpkin seeds, tofu, lentils, and even peanut butter are great examples of such foods.
Dairy foods
Dairy foods like milk, cheese, and yogurt do not aggravate the stomach lining and worsen gastritis.
It is always best to go for low-fat options as much as possible. For people who are lactose intolerant, you may choose to go for plant-based milk, soy or almond milk.
Beverages
Everybody knows how important water is. It is one of the most important nutrients that the body needs.
Water is responsible for keeping us hydrated; it replenishes and hydrates.
It is especially important for people who have gastrointestinal issues as it promotes normal digestive movement and replaces fluid loss.
As always, water is the best beverage there is. It does not contain added sugar and does not irritate the stomach.
If you get sick of water and feel the need to drink something else, herbal teas and organic fruit or green juices are also great options.
Avoid alcohol at all costs. Alcoholic beverages are known to aggravate the stomach lining and may worsen your gastritis.
You can still consume caffeinated drinks like coffee but only for a limited amount. We still suggest that you avoid coffee as much as you can while your gastritis is present.
The best options in order to reduce or completely avoid the discomfort of gastritis are to follow a very healthy and balanced diet. The diet will, of course, be adapted through time according to what your body can or cannot tolerate.
Warnings
It is important to keep in mind that gastritis can lead to a more serious condition like internal bleeding or ulcer.
So if you observe the following symptoms, immediately visit your doctor and seek diagnosis:
- Shortness of breath
- Nausea
- Migraine
- Cold sweats
- Paleness
- Fatigue; and
- Blood in feces
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