The term "healthy eating" in recent times seems to be worn out to such an extent that it has ceased to be a cause for concern in the general population. I think that part of this is due to the little importance given to food when we are "healthy", therefore it is taken for granted that we are immune to what we eat or how we consume it. Only we get sick, we value some basic recommendations for "healthy eating".
Despite this kind of rebelliousness to the "healthy" movement, there are diseases that can regress or at least not progress to serious stages if some eating habits are modified. This is the case of Acute Gastritis.
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Gastritis is the inflammation of the stomach mucosa. It is a thin layer very similar to the one that lines our mouth. Therefore it is very delicate.
Inflammation of the stomach mucosa can have multifactorial triggers from the sustained consumption of drugs such as antibiotics and NSAIDs, to being a consequence of infection by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. Another triggering factor is stress, as well as disordered meal times and the quality of meals (fried foods, fast foods, carbonated beverages).
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When the inflammation of the gastric mucosa resolves in a few days, we can say that it is acute gastritis, i.e. something caused the inflation (from simple indigestion) and when the triggering factor is corrected, the mucosa returns to its full state of integrity and does not cause symptoms. But when the symptoms of gastritis become established over time, we are in the presence of chronic gastritis with serious consequences for our health.
Gastritis usually causes various symptoms such as flatulence, meteorism, abdominal distension, nausea, and diarrhea. However, the main cause of consultation is pain and burning at the epigastric level, therefore the nutritional guidelines are more focused on alleviating these symptoms and even avoiding triggering them.
Before going into dietary guidelines, it is important to highlight some curious data collected from several studies. Several population-based epidemiological studies indicate that the onset of gastritis may begin in adolescence, a key stage where inflammation of the gastric mucosa begins due to hormonal changes that may influence the secretion of hydrochloric acid as well as the selection of the quality of food eaten and meals without an orderly schedule were skipping breakfast is a factor that influences the early onset of gastritis.
Adolescence is the stage of life when many young people start consuming substances that irritate the gastric mucosa, such as alcohol, caffeine, illegal drugs, and smoking.
Other studies also indicate that gastritis is more frequent in women, however, this inference is because they are more sensitive to burning and pain than men. Women are the ones who go to a doctor's office more often than men. Likewise, do not be fooled because men are prone to develop gastritis even in a higher percentage due to the emotional management of stress, but I will talk about this in another publication.
Nutritional recommendations for Acute Gastritis
Beyond establishing that the main nutritional measure is to have fixed schedules for eating and not to skip any of the main meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), I will focus, in this first installment, on the nutritional recommendations in terms of alleviating or avoiding the main symptoms such as pain and burning.
When an episode of gastritis manifests itself, in addition to the pharmacological treatment, those foods that cause pain and burning should be suspended. Then, little by little, tolerance is tested to broaden the food options that can be consumed in the daily diet. Below are two diagrams with the foods that are not recommended:
At first, it seems that it is a long list of foods that are not recommended. However, after a few days of suspending these foods, the improvement is quite noticeable.
If you have found this topic interesting, leave me your comments and concerns, since in a second post, I will write about the foods recommended to consume during an episode of gastritis.
Remember that each case is personalized, that is why it is important to consult a specialist in the digestive system. These are general recommendations subject to individualization according to symptoms and laboratory and exploratory tests.
Reference:
The Correlation of Dietary Habit with Incidence of Gastritis
Thanks for reading. See you in next post!
