What are the dietary taboos for stomach problems?

In fact, there are no absolute dietary taboos that apply to all patients with stomach problems. Most of the various "don't touch lists" uploaded on the Internet are only half correct. The specific taboos depend on the type and severity of your current stomach problems, as well as your personal tolerance.

I have met many old patients with stomach problems. I once had a young man with erosive gastritis. When he was diagnosed, he would wince in pain even when he drank room-temperature sparkling water. After a year of hard work, after the mucous membranes were repaired, it was no problem to occasionally have a mildly spicy meal with friends. On the contrary, I had heard people say that spicy food should never be used for stomach problems. After enduring it for more than half a year, I almost became depressed, which was not conducive to recovery.

Of course, this does not mean that there are no taboos. When inflammation occurs acutely and the gastric mucosa is obviously damaged, things that are too irritating must be avoided. Just like if you have a cut on your hand and you have to touch pepper water or ice particles, the pain is mild, but it may slow down the healing speed. For example, for patients who have just suffered from gastric ulcer, don't try it with strong liquor, spicy hot pot, smoothies just taken out of the freezer, etc., as the pain will be your own.

The most widely circulated saying in the past two years is "you must drink more porridge for stomach problems". There is a lot of controversy in itself. I used to have a sister with reflux esophagitis. I heard that porridge nourishes the stomach. After drinking it morning and night for three months, the symptoms of acid reflux and heartburn became much worse. When I went to see a doctor, I found out that porridge is too liquid, and it is easy to bring stomach acid up. It is not a good choice for reflux patients. Instead, it is much more comfortable to switch to soft semi-solid foods such as steamed bread, steamed yam, etc.

There are still many people who are confused about whether they can eat sweets, sweet potatoes, and drink milk. In fact, there is no standard answer to these. I have seen people with hyperacidity in the stomach feel aggravated acid reflux after drinking whole milk. I have also seen people with superficial gastritis who can relieve their symptoms for half a day by drinking a cup of warm milk. The criteria for judging stomach pain are actually very simple: if you don’t feel any discomfort in your stomach within an hour or two after eating something, then this food is not considered a taboo for you. If you feel bloated, have acid reflux, or have a dull pain after eating, try to eat less of it next time. There is no need to treat yourself harshly according to other people’s taboo lists.

By the way, there is another pitfall that many people easily fall into, which is that they dare not eat anything to nourish their stomach. I once had an aunt with atrophic gastritis who had to steam apples until they were soft before she dared to eat them. She lost more than ten pounds in half a year, and her immunity weakened and inflammation recurred. In fact, as long as it is not in the acute stage, eating some fresh fruits and vegetables at room temperature and supplementing with vitamins will be more conducive to mucosal repair. Don’t overdo it.