The modern way of life, the abundance of stress and unhealthy diet lead to the fact that gastritis is increasingly diagnosed in people. This is an inflammatory disease of the gastric mucosa, which is characterized by indigestion and a deterioration in overall well-being. Gastritis is now a fairly common pathology that occurs even in children. This disease has several varieties, therefore, individual treatment prescribed by a doctor is required. In addition to drug therapy, special nutrition for gastritis is always necessary, since it is the wrong food that can provoke an exacerbation.
General characteristics of the disease
All human activities depend on the presence of essential trace elements in the body. And they come from food that breaks down in the stomach. If any pathology of this organ occurs, digestion is disrupted, which affects the general well-being of a person. Most often, the gastric mucosa becomes inflamed. This disease is called gastritis. The main cause of inflammation is the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. But there are also other causes of gastritis. This is an unhealthy diet, stress, bad habits, uncontrolled use of drugs.
There are several varieties of pathology. Most often, gastritis with increased acidity of gastric juice is found. This disease leads to severe pain, heartburn, indigestion. Constant irritation of the gastric mucosa by digestive juice can lead to ulcers or tissue necrosis. Gastritis with reduced acidity of gastric juice is less common. At the same time, nausea, loss of appetite are observed, digestion slows down, which leads to pain, bloating, constipation. If the patient does not adhere to the nutritional rules for gastritis, mucosal atrophy may develop. Atrophic gastritis is dangerous, since cancer can develop against its background.
Each form of the disease requires special treatment. It is prescribed after the examination. But in any case, it is important to adhere to special nutritional rules for gastritis.
Why do I need a special diet
All food that a person consumes is not only exposed to digestive enzymes, but also affects the gastric mucosa. There are products that stimulate the secretion of digestive juice, increase its acidity. This is very harmful when it is already elevated. In this case, abdominal pain occurs after eating, and inflammation intensifies. Other foods, by contrast, reduce the acidity and activity of digestive enzymes. There is food that is easily digested, completely without loading the stomach. The other causes heaviness, bloating and flatulence.
That is why special nutrition for gastritis of the stomach is so necessary. It is best if the features of the diet are determined by the doctor after the examination. Only then can she fulfill her functions:
- reduce the inflammatory process;
- eliminate pain;
- prevent bloating, flatulence, heartburn;
- normalize the intestinal microflora;
- prevent the progression of the disease or the development of complications;
- restore the normal functioning of the stomach.
General principles of nutrition
With any form of gastritis, nutrition should be sparing, which leads to trouble-free operation of the digestive tract. In order for food to be properly absorbed and not cause exacerbation, it must be light, but nutritious. After all, it is very important to provide the body with all the necessary nutrients. Therefore, the diet should be as diverse as possible. Although this is not always possible, since so many foods with gastritis are prohibited.
First of all, it is instant food from cafes, semi-finished products, smoked meats, pickles and canned food. These products contain a large number of chemicals that damage the already inflamed mucosa. In addition, there is often a violation of the rules for storage and preparation of such food. And with gastritis, it is necessary that all food is fresh and subjected to heat treatment. In addition, it is also recommended to thoroughly grind it, but most often this is required only during exacerbation. All food should be warm, it is not recommended to eat too cold or too hot foods.
It is necessary to eat a little so as not to strain the stomach. But at the same time, the interval between meals should be no more than 3 hours. Such fractional nutrition reduces the burden on the digestive tract and prevents the appearance of unpleasant symptoms of gastritis. But the matter is not limited to just proper nutrition. With gastritis, every day you need to drink at least 6 glasses of water.
What you can not eat with gastritis
It is forbidden to eat fatty foods with gastritis, especially meat, which is digested for a very long time, food fried in large quantities of oil. You can’t eat mushrooms, legumes, white cabbage, garlic, radishes, turnips, sorrel, horseradish. Spicy spices, sauces, mayonnaise, ketchup are prohibited. Such food is too irritating to the gastric mucosa, leading to increased production of digestive enzymes, but is digested for a long time. It can cause pain, bloating, or gas.
You can not eat fresh bread, pastries, pastries with gastritis. Ice cream and chocolate are prohibited. It is necessary to reduce the amount of sugar, since it leads to fermentation in the intestines, and salt, which irritates the mucous membrane. It is not recommended to eat sharp cheese, hard-boiled or fried eggs, hard-skinned fruits, grapes. Any alcoholic drinks, coffee, cocoa, strong tea and soda are strictly prohibited.
Diet for acute gastritis
The acute form of the disease occurs with an initial mucosal lesion of poor-quality food or chemicals, infection or severe stress. But most often this condition is an exacerbation of chronic gastritis. In this case, the patient has severe pain and heaviness in the abdomen, nausea, vomiting, flatulence. Special medications are prescribed to relieve these symptoms. But proper nutrition with exacerbation of gastritis is also necessary.
The diet is prescribed individually, most often it consists of several stages.
- On the first day, it is advisable to completely refuse food. This is usually easy to do, as the appetite is reduced due to pain and discomfort. It is allowed to drink water, decoctions of herbs, rose hips, rice broth, weak chicken broth. You must also drink mineral still water.
- The second stage of the diet occurs when the discomfort decreases slightly. The diet is gradually expanding with gastritis of the stomach. The menu is replenished every day with new products. But you need to look at your health and appetite. Within 3-7 days, it is allowed to use such products: rice broth, weak vegetable broth, liquid porridge with diluted milk, steam omelet, dried bread or crackers, weak green tea.
- In the third stage, the diet is further expanded. Usually, after a week, the exacerbation subsides, the pain is gone, but it is recommended for some time to follow a sparing diet. All products must be crushed, boiled. Non-acidic low-fat cottage cheese, diluted milk, dried bread, soft-boiled or scrambled eggs, oatmeal, vegetable soup, steam cutlets, carrot soufflé, kissel or compote, green tea are allowed.
Features of a diet for chronic gastritis
Quite often, the acute form of the disease gradually becomes chronic. The bacterium causing the inflammation may not have been completely destroyed, or other causes of gastritis have not been eliminated. But in any case, after the termination of drug treatment, you should not give up the diet. It is no longer becoming so strict, but there are certain rules.
Nutrition for chronic gastritis helps not only improve digestion, but also prevents the progression of the disease. For this, it is necessary to exclude from the diet all prohibited foods, as they can cause exacerbation. In addition, it is important to adhere to some other rules:
- you need to eat often - 5-6 times a day, but in small portions;
- all food must be chewed or ground thoroughly before use;
- You can’t fry food, you need to cook, stew or bake it, but it’s better to steam it;
- meat and fish should be consumed only in mashed or twisted form;
- Be sure to drink at least 2 liters of clean still water daily.
Nutrition for gastritis with high acidity
This form of the disease occurs most often, since it is the increased acidity that results from infection with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. In addition, this happens with stress, drinking alcohol, a lot of fatty and fried foods, drugs. This type of gastritis is characterized by severe pain during exacerbation, the appearance of heartburn with the use of certain products. Excessive digestive juice activity can lead to ulcers or erosion on the gastric mucosa. Therefore, it is necessary to strictly monitor the diet for gastritis with high acidity.
In addition to the complete exclusion from the diet of foods prohibited for any form of the disease, this diet has some features:
- it is advisable to consume milk daily, as it neutralizes the acidity of the gastric juice;
- you can not eat anything sour, even kefir and cottage cheese are excluded;
- to prevent heartburn and pain after eating, you need to eat mucous soup, rice or oat broth more often;
- soft-boiled eggs, bananas, rosehip decoctions, sweet juices are useful;
- protein food should prevail in the diet, as it helps in the regeneration of mucous cells;
- for the same purpose, you need to use a small amount of butter or olive oil daily.
Diet for gastritis with low acidity
If an insufficient amount of gastric juice is secreted, then digestion will be slowed down. At the same time, the patient feels heaviness in the abdomen, bloating, belching, even a small amount of food can cause discomfort. In addition, the absorption of nutrients is reduced, there is a lack of vitamins and minerals. Therefore, dieting is vital. It should stimulate the secretion of gastric juice, improve digestion, but not irritate the mucous membrane. It is important that healthy, nutritious and easily digestible foods are included in the menu every day. Nutrition for gastritis with low acidity has the following features:
- 3-4 meals are advisable, so as not to overload the digestive tract;
- Do not drink milk, as it reduces acidity;
- there is only yesterday’s or dried bread, undesirable rye or whole grain;
- to stimulate the secretion of gastric juice, you can use lemon juice, low-fat meat broths, red caviar, kvass, cocoa;
- for dinner, you need to eat as little as possible so as not to provoke heaviness in the abdomen at night.
The consequences of a diet violation
Many patients after the exacerbation passes, violate the dietary rules recommended by the doctor. After all, if nothing hurts, then it seems that everything is in order. But any poor-quality, stale or improperly prepared food can cause an exacerbation of the disease. In fact, a strict diet is not needed constantly, it is not even recommended to follow it longer than 2-3 months. But those foods that are prohibited for gastritis should not be consumed.
Frequent exacerbations, irritation of the mucous membrane, a large load on the stomach and other consequences of a dietary disorder can lead to the development of peptic ulcer, atrophic gastritis, or other serious pathologies. Therefore, a person needs to adhere to some nutritional restrictions throughout his life if he has been diagnosed with gastritis.
Food for gastritis: a menu for every day
Usually, for the first time after an exacerbation, the doctor recommends a certain diet to the patient. Most often this is a diet of 1 or 2. But in the future, the patient will need to independently compose a menu. Nutrition for gastritis of the stomach should be special constantly, so as not to provoke an exacerbation. It is important that the daily diet includes nutritious foods that contain all the necessary minerals for health. But food should be gentle, not harmful to the stomach, easily digestible. Many patients prefer to use ready-made recommendations for creating a menu for every day.
- For breakfast, it is recommended to eat porridge, mashed cottage cheese or steam omelet. Of drinks, weak tea or a rosehip decoction are acceptable. You can eat a slice of dried bread, crackers or biscuits.
- The second breakfast, which is often excluded with gastritis with low acidity, may include dishes made from cottage cheese, or fruit desserts. It can be baked apples, berry jelly, jelly.
- For lunch, it is recommended to eat soup on a weak meat or vegetable broth with cereals and vegetables. Steam cutlets or meatballs, stewed vegetables are allowed. For dessert - compote or tea.
- An afternoon snack is also not always included in the menu. At this time, you can eat a dish of cottage cheese or fruit.
- Dinner should be light, it is best to cook stewed vegetables, you can include steam cutlets from lean meat in it.
- Before going to bed, it is recommended to drink kefir, jelly or warm milk, but only with gastritis with high acidity. With low digestive juice activity, the last meal should be no later than 19 hours.
Observing the correct regime and diet for gastritis, you can establish digestion, improve the functioning of the stomach and prevent exacerbations.