Diet taboos for superficial gastritis

There is no one-size-fits-all list of taboos for superficial gastritis. There is only one core principle - as long as you do not suffer from acid reflux, heartburn, bloating, or stomach pain after eating, you can eat all foods. There is really no need to torture yourself with dozens of taboos listed online.

Don’t believe it, last week I picked up a 26-year-old girl who works in operations. She was diagnosed with superficial gastritis three months ago. She gave up all coffee, milk tea, spicy and cold drinks, and ate steamed buns and white porridge every day. However, last week I couldn’t help but drink half a cup of iced American style, but nothing happened. Instead, I ate two large pieces of sweet potatoes steamed by my grandma the night before. She was so bloated that she had to squat on the toilet for half an hour. At two o’clock in the morning, she still sent me a message asking if the gastritis was getting worse.

To be honest, many people have misunderstandings about superficial gastritis. This thing is actually a "frequent" in gastroscopy reports. 9 out of 10 people who have had gastroscopy can detect it. Most of them are mild mucosal edema caused by staying up late at night, being stressed, gorging on meals, or transient stimulation of gastric acid. There is neither erosion nor ulcer. To put it bluntly, the gastric mucosa is a little "red", which is far from the point where you can't eat or touch this.

Interestingly, the medical community has not yet reached a unified conclusion on the types of "taboo foods" that people ask about most:

For example, everyone is most afraid of spicy food. One school of thought believes that capsaicin will irritate the surface of the gastric mucosa and aggravate the inflammatory reaction. It should be avoided during the attack period.； Another group of studies shows that as long as you don't eat spicy food that makes your lips numb, a small amount of capsaicin can actually promote blood circulation in the gastric mucosa and speed up repair. I have an old patient in Chongqing who has suffered from superficial gastritis for three years. He can't live without spicy Jianghu dishes every meal. The mucosa has always been fine during the gastroscopy. However, he was advised to eat a meal with clear soup and water for a week, which made him acidic for three days.

Another example is cold drinks. Many people say that ice drinks will constrict gastric blood vessels and affect digestive function. However, many studies have pointed out that when ice drinks enter the esophagus and enter the stomach, it will be heated to about 37°C in a few seconds. There is no such thing as "freezing the stomach" - provided that you do not feel uncomfortable eating cold drinks. I myself also have superficial gastritis. In the summer, I drank half a can of iced Coke from the refrigerator without any problem. On the contrary, I drank hot porridge above 60℃ several times in order to "nourishe the stomach". After drinking it, my esophagus burned. When I went to check, the mucous membrane was burnt and a little congested.

On the contrary, eating habits that many people ignore are what we really need to pay attention to: for example, don’t overeat, especially if you slump on the sofa after eating too much at a weekend party. Even people who don’t have gastritis will feel uncomfortable with bloating.； Also, don’t drink high-concentration black coffee or spirits on an empty stomach. High-concentration caffeine and alcohol can really irritate mucous membranes, and most people will feel uncomfortable after drinking them. ； In addition, if you are diagnosed with Helicobacter pylori infection, sterilization first will be more effective than any dietary restrictions. Don’t think that you can eliminate the bacteria by eating light food.

There is another pitfall that many people step on: I heard that to nourish the stomach, you need to drink more porridge and eat more soda crackers, but it is really not necessary. During the attack of gastric bloating and acid reflux, it’s okay to drink plain porridge for two days to slow it down. If you drink porridge three times a day, the digestive function of the stomach will be "fished" for a long time and will gradually deteriorate. The sodium content in soda crackers is alarmingly high. Eating too much is not only bad for the stomach, but also easily raises blood pressure.

My own list of taboos is actually two things: I can’t eat passion fruit on an empty stomach, and I’ll get acid reflux in my throat when I eat it.； Eat less of the crispy persimmons sold in supermarkets, as eating just one will make you bloated all afternoon. Other hot pots, iced drinks, and the occasional spicy crayfish meal, as long as the quantity is controlled, there has never been a problem.

To put it bluntly, the stomach is a particularly "personalized" organ. If someone else eats something that is fine, you may feel uncomfortable after eating it, and vice versa. There is really no need to compare one by one with the online lists. Usually, you should pay more attention and write down two items of food that you feel uncomfortable eating, and just block them. The rest should be eaten and drank, and you will stay up late and feel less anxious. This is more effective than any stomach nourishing remedies.