Atrophic gastritis dietary taboos

First, it is clear that foods can directly irritate the damaged gastric mucosa and induce discomfort.； Second, long-term consumption of clear carcinogens that can increase the risk of gastric cancer ； The third is food that exceeds the digestion capacity of one's own stomach and increases the burden. In addition, there is no need to overly restrict food, and there is no need to eat porridge and noodles. On the contrary, malnutrition can easily delay mucosal repair.

When many people get the examination report of atrophic gastritis, their first reaction is to "eat soft food to nourish the stomach." Then they change their three meals to white porridge and clear soup noodles, and even the vegetables must be boiled until they are mushy before they dare to eat them. I met a 52-year-old aunt a while ago who suffered from mild atrophy and intestinal metaplasia. She drank porridge for four months and lost 11 pounds. During the reexamination, not only did the mucous membranes not improve, but because of low albumin, the repair ability was much worse. In fact, there has been a lot of controversy about "soft food nourishing the stomach" in the past few years. The old school of gastroenterologists will recommend eating soft food for a few days in the acute phase to reduce irritation. However, the latest clinical consensus also points out that long-term eating of too fine and soft food will make the "grinding function" of the stomach go to waste, which is not conducive to maintaining normal digestion. Patients with mild atrophy can eat some blanched green leafy vegetables and thoroughly steamed lean meat. Ensuring nutrition is the basis for repair.

There are actually not that many minefields that must be avoided 100%. The first thing to bear the brunt is eating a large amount of pickled high-salt foods for a long time, such as kimchi pickled for less than 20 days, cured fish and bacon that have been sun-dried for several months, and salted eggs soaked in salt water all year round. The nitrite content in these foods clearly exceeds the standard. Atrophic gastritis itself is a gastrointestinal disease. The precancerous state of cancer (an important point: the precancerous state does not mean that it will become cancerous, but the risk of gastric cancer is slightly higher than that of healthy people. Regular gastroscopy follow-up every year can completely control the progress). Long-term high salt + nitrite stimulation will indeed increase the risk of disease progression. This is the consensus of global gastroenterology, and there is no controversy. Of course, that doesn’t mean that eating a bite of pickled vegetables will cause trouble. It’s perfectly fine to eat a piece of pickled vegetables once in a while to satisfy your cravings, but don’t just eat them as the main dish every day. In addition, there are foods with extreme temperatures, such as freshly boiled soups and cold beer smoothies just taken out of the freezer. One bite will either cause the mucous membranes to become congested or the cold to constrict the blood vessels. The blood supply of the atrophic mucous membranes is inherently worse than that of healthy people. If you do this a few times, the problem of stomach bloating and stomach pain will definitely not be cured.

Speaking of this, someone must ask, can you touch the spicy one? There really is no unified answer to this. There was a patient from Hunan who had been eating spicy food for more than 40 years. After he was diagnosed with atrophy, he stopped for three months. He could not eat, and his mood was so bad that his stomach bloating and belching became more serious than before. Later, during the review, the doctor allowed him to add a small spoonful of home-made chopped chili to each meal. As long as he did not feel stomach pain and acid reflux after eating, he would be fine. He went back and tried for half a month, but his food tasted better and most of his symptoms disappeared. Many studies have now confirmed that as long as it is not so spicy that you will feel stomachache immediately after eating it, a small amount of capsaicin can promote blood circulation in the gastric mucosa, which is good for repair. On the contrary, if you cut off your favorite food because of taboos, the negative impact of emotional anxiety may be much greater than that of chili pepper.

Also controversial are so-called "irritating foods" such as coffee and garlic. If someone gets acid reflux and heartburn after drinking coffee, they must stop.； But if you don’t have acid reflux and drink black coffee without sugar and non-dairy cream, 1-2 cups a day is absolutely fine. Caffeine can also promote gastrointestinal motility and relieve the stomach bloating problem that many patients with atrophic gastritis often suffer from. The same goes for garlic. If you feel uncomfortable in your stomach after eating it, don't touch it. If you don't feel uncomfortable, eating a small amount can also inhibit bacteria. There is no need to cut it all.

In addition to the properties of the food itself, what many people overlook is the eating habit. I have seen many people compare the taboo lists one by one. As a result, they finished the meal in ten minutes while watching short videos while eating. Large pieces of rice and vegetables entered the stomach without even chewing them. The digestion capacity of the shrinking stomach is weak. Doesn't this mean that it is forced to double the workload? There are also people who overeat at all times, and don’t stop eating until they can’t stand up during dinner parties. Even if they eat all the food that is “stomach-nourishing”, it won’t heal their stomach like this.

Another common misunderstanding is that many people think that atrophic gastritis means low stomach acid, and they need to eat more acidic foods to replenish it. In fact, this is also a condition. If it is just partial gastric antral atrophy, gastric acid secretion may be the same or even more than that of normal people. At this time, if you drink vinegar or eat hawthorn, it will stimulate acid reflux and heartburn. ； Only patients with total stomach atrophy and indeed insufficient gastric acid secretion need to eat some acidic food to help digestion, and don't make up for it on your own.

After all, the stomach is a very "human" organ. If you are nervous every day and don't dare to eat or touch that, even if you have to steam an apple for half an hour, it will easily follow your anxiety and tantrums. As long as you avoid the clear minefields of high-salt pickling, over-cooking and over-icing, and you don’t feel uncomfortable after eating something, then you can eat it with confidence. Meat, eggs, milk, fruits and vegetables will keep up with you. If you have enough nutrition, you will be in a good mood, and your mucous membranes will repair faster. If you are really unsure, talk to your attending doctor. Everyone’s degree and location of atrophy are different. How can there be a list of taboos that is suitable for everyone?