Gastritis Support Group
Gastritis is a medical term for inflammation of the lining of the stomach. It means that white blood cells move into the wall of the stomach as a response to some type of injury. Gastritis has many underlying causes, from infection with the bacterium H. pylori, bile reflux, or excessive consumption of alcohol or certain foods or drugs like aspirin.
Will eating the wrong things make our conditions worse or just feel worse? I have gastritis ( mild, chronic ) and so far have not really altered my diet much. But certain foods are starting to bother me within an hour or two of eating them.
I get a lot of burning in my throat and inside my mouth and lips. I have also been tested positive for antibodies for Sjogrens. So I'm not sure what is going on.
Just wondering if something like tomatoes will actually accelerate the disease or just the symptoms. Maybe certain foods will make the acid worse at the time but might not cause disease progression????
I get a lot of burning in my throat and inside my mouth and lips. I have also been tested positive for antibodies for Sjogrens. So I'm not sure what is going on.
Just wondering if something like tomatoes will actually accelerate the disease or just the symptoms. Maybe certain foods will make the acid worse at the time but might not cause disease progression????
I have posted before (& Andy posted recently) about how our stomachs secrete something called pepsinogen which is activated by ACID to form pepsin. Pepsin 'eats' protein... & in the case of stomach linings damaged by gastritis (or throats damaged by GERD)... Pepsin will 'eat away' at your lining & CAUSE MORE DAMAGE.
So avoiding acidic food is absolutely essential. Likewise suppressing stomach acid (or coating the lining) is essential to avoid damage from pepsin. ACID IS BAD FOR GASTRITIS.
That's the science. Acid exacerbates the actual disease AND the symptoms.
On a side note, even if someone suffered from visceral hypersensitivity or functional dyspepsia (rather than gastritis itself) eating acidic foods would still likely cause symptomatic pain. So why would anyone even want that? Even if it wasn't causing physical damage, but was causing pain... why would anyone do that to themselves?
I just can't get my head around it... I mean I'm only human too & crave/eat the wrong stuff occasionally... or get into an awkward social situation where I have to drink a cup of tea... but I'd never do that on a daily basis. It's just not worth it. I value my fragile well-being too highly.
I think it depends on the individual. we all have to determine what hurts us and what doesn't. I usually know right away if something was bad.
Here is a great list that Andy shared recently... https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8lwT7_ft9E4UkZjaFJYOEVqdkE/view?pli=1
There is also lots of info in the book "Dropping Acid" by Jamie Koufman... I really should be on commission the number of times I refer to it!!! There are many other lists online.
Following the "above pH 5" rule is a good starting point... however I still have to avoid certain things because they bother my IBS (eg, bananas). I sort of follow a Low Acid/Low FODMAP combo diet. It's very bland & boring...
I just want to be clear that when I talk about low acid... I'm talking about pH values... not all that pseudoscientific alkalizing dietary nonsense which advises people to drink lemon juice & vinegar.
I think as long as you aren't smoking or drinking acid then the reflux isn't likely doing any damage, just causing you symptoms. The only way to properly stop it and prevent symptoms is to stop the reflux completely. Im not sure it will ever 'heal' and stop causing you symptoms if the reflux continues.
I dont think this will be related to your gastritis, its likely a separate issue, though if you are putting more pressure on your abdomen because of gastritis pain this can push contents out of your stomach and cause reflux.