Month: October 2017

Gastritis Post 8: Main Message

On By MarishaIn Health, My Gastritis Story14 Comments

So, what should you do if you have gastritis? Here is what worked for me:

  • Eat foods that do not cause a sugar peak and dip.

I’ve found that the insulin response is critical in the amount of pain I experience with gastritis: if I’m having a sugar dip, then I also get a lot of pain in my stomach and my gastritis gets irritated. For this reason, I make sure I eat plenty of protein, enough fat, lots of vegetables, and not many carbohydrates. I only have sweet stuff as a treat once in a while because that helps my blood sugar levels stay stable. For more details about what foods to eat, read this blog post.

  • Avoid foods that irritate the stomach.

This plays a big part in letting the stomach heal. Each person will experience different foods as irritating, but for me some of the big ones are: alcohol, coffee, spicy foods, fried foods, and some raw vegetables such as lettuce. For a full list of foods to avoid, read this blog post.

  • Avoid taking acid-suppressing medications in the long term.

While medications that suppress stomach acid production can help someone with acute gastritis, they are not a solution if the condition is chronic because a) they don’t treat the condition and help the stomach heal and b) they have side effects that can be dangerous in the long term. To read about my experience with acid-suppressing medications, read this blog post.

  • Help the stomach lining heal by taking some supplements

Turmeric has fantastic anti-inflammatory properties and it really helps reduce the inflammation of the gut lining in the case of gastritis. Also, L-glutamine helps tissues rebuild themselves, so it helps the stomach lining heal. For more specific tips about how to take these supplements, read this blog post.

  • Try to reduce and manage stress

Stress contributes in major ways to numerous digestive problems including gastritis. Therefore, as difficult as it might be, it is worth it to try to reduce and manage stress in your life. For more ideas about how to do this, read this blog post.

And that’s it! Good luck and let me know how these tips work for you… I’d be curious to hear! Are there any other approaches that have worked for you?

Here are links to some of the main resources that have informed my search for answers throughout my journey with gastritis:

Robb Wolf: Lots of information about the way of eating I describe (a paleo-inspired diet) and about lifestyle in general.

Dr Brooke Kalanick: Building on that, lots of information about our hormonal system and the important role hormones play in our health.

Girls Gone Strong: Lots of information about healthy movement, our relationship to food, and self-confidence and appreciation.

Source of featured image: Real Estate Dynamics

Gastritis Post 7: The unique influence of stress

On By MarishaIn Health, My Gastritis Story1 Comment

Stress is a major contributor to many health issues, and, unsurprisingly, it also plays a big role in causing gastritis. I have noticed many, many times that my stomach gets irritated when I’m stressed. Once I started paying attention to this, I could notice it very clearly: about an hour after a stressful situation occurred, my gastritis symptoms had already gotten worse. Talk about a mind-body connection! Also, when I’m tired and sleep-deprived my stomach hurts more. Alternatively, when I’m on vacation and I’m relaxed and rested, I don’t feel my gastritis much. If only I could live my life on vacation…

It’s easy to say that generally we should try not to be too stressed. This is more easily said than done, however. What this translates into practically is that we can try to minimize stressful influences on our lives. For instance, we can make sure to get enough sleep rather than live our lives in a state of sleep deprivation which acts as a huge stressor on the body. We can also choose a work environment which allows us to pick our goals ourselves, so we reduce the pressure of external expectations, or we pick a job which allows us to pick our own schedule, so we can create a daily rhythm that works for us.

Also, it’s helpful to learn to “manage” our stress, whatever that means. For some people that means exercising, going out for walks, reading on the couch, meditating, or socializing. In general, anything that makes us feel like we’ve taken time for ourselves and have taken care of ourselves is a good idea. According to research, physical activity, time for introspection, and activities that deepen our relationships with others are the most helpful ways to reduce stress. I have found meditation to be particularly helpful because it allows me to see things in perspective and thus not worry unnecessarily.

This is so good! 😀 Enough said.

Image source: QuickMeme

When a stressful situation happens, a stress response ensues in our body immediately, and it’s good to have a way to diminish that. One simple but effective technique is to breathe in for 4 counts and breathe out for 6-8 counts. Taking several breaths like this ensures that we activate the parasympathetic system (which is engaged during rest) instead of the sympathetic system (which is engaged when we are stressed). Give it a try! It’s surprising that something so simple really works.

Finally, I’ve found it really helpful to take magnesium in the evening because it allows me to sleep very well. I take it after dinner, or about 2 hours before going to bed. Some people like drinking soothing herbal infusions such as ones containing valerian or other soothing herbs. While I like this idea in principle, I try to avoid drinking tea before bed because if I do, I have to get up to pee all night 🙂

To sum up, stress contributes to gastritis a great deal. It’s much easier to heal your gastritis if you don’t have much stress, so I’d recommend you try to minimize stress as much as possible. And if you can’t minimize it much, then try one or more of the many techniques to “manage” stress.

Source of featured image: Hello Giggles

Gastritis Post 6: What didn’t work for me but might work for you

On By MarishaIn Health, My Gastritis Story2 Comments

There were plenty of things I tried that seemed like a good idea but didn’t work for me. I heard lots of honest reports from people for whom these things were very helpful. I will list these options here because, since they worked for other people, they might work for you.

One of the common causes of gastritis appears to be an infection with H. pylori, a bacterium. There are plenty of substances that have antibacterial properties and could help you get rid of this little guy. Antibiotics work as well, of course, but some people prefer other approaches.

Manuka honey is known for its powerful antibacterial properties, so I tried taking that on an empty stomach several times a day. I also tried taking beeswax every morning on an empty stomach. In fact, I’ve tried many different types of honey and bees products. Since I don’t have an infection with H. pylori, however, that didn’t help my gastritis. It’s never a bad idea to take some high-quality honey, though, so you can certainly try it and see if it helps your gastritis.

Cayenne pepper is also known to help with gastritis sometimes, and I tried it, even though I was very reluctant. Anything spicy leads to lots of pain for me, and in this case I had to drink a glass of water with a teaspoon of cayenne pepper in it on an empty stomach three times a day. I was in so much pain that it wasn’t even funny. Still, I kept it up for 5 days because people had sworn to me that this had treated their gastritis. In the end, it didn’t treat mine, and it took me about a week to get back to “normal” pain levels after trying this. Since cayenne pepper has powerful antibacterial properties, I believe it can be very helpful to someone with a bacterial infection, but for me it didn’t help. Feel free to try it, at your own risk… 😉

red_cayenne_peppers

Some people swear that cayenne pepper healed their gastritis or even ulcers,

but it was not a good idea for me.

Image Source: My Pull Zone

I also received the advice to take a gut cleansing powder. This means to drink a glass of water with this cleansing powder every morning on an empty stomach, and this powder goes into the bowels and cleanses whatever might be left in there that is not so good and could be upsetting the digestive tract. This treatment goes on for 8 weeks usually, and people say it’s good to do it once a year. It’s probably a good thing to do, but it didn’t help my gastritis. I’ve heard people say it helped them heal theirs, so perhaps you could try it and see what it does for you.

Naturally, I tried various herbal infusions to soothe the stomach. There are so many of these that I’m not even going to attempt to list them. I’ve found that they mostly have a short-term effect, so if my gastritis is particularly irritated on a given day, I could use them. For long-term healing, however, I haven’t found them to be effective. Still, if you want a tasty herbal infusion to soothe your stomach, I’d suggest something with ginger or licorice since these are my favorites. If your taste preferences are different, there are plenty of other herbs that could do the job.

I also took prebiotics and probiotics to help with my overall gut health. While I can’t say these specifically healed my gastritis, they definitely improved my digestion. I certainly recommend that you augment your digestion by taking a prebiotic and/or a probiotic depending on what’s right for you. If you don’t want to take these, you could also include fermented foods into your diet such as sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, etc. which naturally improve your gut flora.

I have also taken digestive enzymes and, similarly to what I said in the previous paragraph, these didn’t heal my gastritis, but they did improve my digestion. Often people with digestive tract problems are deficient in digestive enzymes, so it’s a good idea to boost one’s digestion with digestive enzymes. Perhaps you can try and see if this is a good idea for you.

While all of these products sounded like a good idea for something to treat gastritis, they didn’t specifically do that for me. I do recommend taking a good probiotic and perhaps a prebiotic if your gut flora is damaged. Digestive enzymes can also really help boost your digestion. These products may not heal your gastritis, but they will improve your digestion which is usually suboptimal in someone with gastritis, especially if you’ve been taking acid-suppressing medications like I had. Manuka honey and beeswax have helped other people and they have powerful antibacterial properties, so they may be worth a try, particularly if you suspect you have a bacterial infection. Cayenne pepper may also rid you of an infection, but it may also terribly irritate your stomach in the process. Gut cleansing powders and soothing herbal infusions may also contribute to overall gut health, but based on my experience, I wouldn’t say they’d heal your gastritis.

Feel free to give these a try! Let me know if they do or do not work for you. Are there any remedies you’ve tried that did or did not work for you?

Gastritis Post 5: What worked for me Part 2

On By MarishaIn Health, My Gastritis Story10 Comments

As discussed in the previous blog post, the thing that helped me the most with my gastritis was:

  1. Keep blood sugar levels stable: eat enough protein and healthy fats and not too many carbohydrates.

Besides that, there are several gastritis-specific things I’ve discovered that work for me.

2. Eat vegetables that don’t irritate your stomach

There are plenty of vegetables that I don’t eat in large amounts because they irritate my stomach. For instance, lettuce, raw spinach, raw kale, raw tomatoes, and raw peppers. Instead, I eat vegetables that I can handle well, such as cucumbers, zucchini, mushrooms, bok choy, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.

3. Eat cooked vegetables instead of raw

Raw food is more difficult for the stomach to process, and for someone with gastritis raw food can be problematic. For this reason, unfortunately, salads usually aren’t a good idea unless they contain lots of protein and lots of cooked veggies in addition to some raw greens. I mostly steam my vegetables, which means that they are cooked and my stomach can process them without getting irritated, but because the vegetables weren’t boiled in water, they still retain the majority of their vitamins and minerals.

Steamed vegetables have become my (almost) best friend!

Image Source: Betty Crocker

 

4. Avoid eating too much fruit

Ah, I love fruit and I wish I could eat more of it, but I just don’t do well with it. There are two main issues with fruit: either they spike my blood sugar and give me a sugar dip or they irritate my stomach. On the one hand, if a fruit is nice and starchy such as a banana or a mango, my stomach can handle it well, but then I get a sugar dip, intense hunger, and strong gastritis pain again. On the other hand, if a fruit is more fibrous such as an apple or a pear, it irritates my stomach and it gives me pain. Citrous fruits such as oranges or grapefruit are an absolute no-no because they irritate my stomach a lot and immediately give me pain. So it may not come as a surprise that I don’t eat many fruits. From time to time I have peaches, apricots, cherries, or mango since those are my favorites, but I eat them rarely. If I do eat them, I treat that as a dessert or I try to have some source of protein with them, so they don’t spike my blood sugar too much. But I consider them more of an indulgence than a staple food in my diet. In case you’re concerned that I am not getting enough nutrients by avoiding fruits, don’t worry: I eat plenty of vegetables with every meal, and those are very high in nutrients.

5. Avoid eating too many nuts and seeds

Nuts and seeds are a versatile snack, and I used to eat them in between meals, but they irritate my stomach. In fact, I used to eat almonds with an apple, but my stomach really didn’t like that. Nuts and seeds are difficult for the stomach to process, and they easily irritate one’s gastritis. For that reason, I’ve brought them to a minimum for now. Sometimes I have brazil nuts or almonds with an avocado or cucumber, but it’s not a staple snack.

6. Avoid eating grain

Grains are a topic of huge discussion now, and I am not claiming that gluten is everyone’s enemy, but I have noticed that I do better without grains. White bread and pasta are low in nutrients but relatively high in calories, so I don’t see why I should eat them. Whole grains and whole-grain pasta are richer in nutrients, but because of their “whole-graininess” they are more difficult to process for the stomach and they give me pain. Also, fresh vegetables still have way more nutrients than whole grains, so I am not worried that I am missing out on anything by avoiding grains. I feel a lot better having excluded them from my diet.

7. Avoid eating junk food

Duh. This should be an obvious one. There are so many things in junk food that irritate even a healthy person’s stomach that for someone with gastritis it should be a clear choice to avoid that. Enough said.

8. Avoid spicy food

Spicy (as in “hot”) foods really irritate the stomach, and they make my gastritis hurt so bad it’s difficult to explain… It’s a pretty clear choice to avoid those.

Spicy food is a definite no-no.

Image source: Healthy Eating – SFGate

9. Avoid fried food

Fried food also irritates the stomach, so anyone with gastritis should avoid it. Especially deep fried food is really irritating in this case, which is unfortunate because it is so delicious. For me, it doesn’t cause as much pain as spicy food, but it’s still pretty unpleasant.

10. Avoid highly acidic food

This refers to mainly salads with lots of vinegar or lemon juice. As tasty as those may be (to some people; luckily for me, I never liked vinegar very much), they make my stomach hurt very much. I can tolerate a liiiiiitle bit of lemon juice but not more.

11. Avoid drinking alcohol

Ah, yes… This is a tough one. In the past, I could feel my gastritis hurt after even a single glass of wine. Still, I couldn’t imagine not drinking in certain social situations, so I kept on doing it. A little over a year ago, I stopped drinking altogether. I feel so much better and my stomach is doing so well, it’s actually uncomparable. I know it may be a difficult change to make, but it’s worth it. Even if you don’t quit alcohol altogether, it is a good idea to reduce the amount of alcohol you consume if you’re trying to heal your gastritis.

12. Avoid drinking coffee or very strong teas

Coffee also irritates the stomach, so it may be tough on someone with gastritis. Strong teas such as black teas can also be irritating. I don’t drink coffee, so that wasn’t a particular problem for me, but I have a little bit of an issue with strong black teas. For that reason, I drink mostly green tea and usually after a meal.

13. Drink soothing teas (herbal infusions)

Some specific herbal infusions can be really soothing to the stomach. My personal favorites are herbal infusions with licorice or ginger. They taste amazing and they soothe my gastritis if it was irritated. I really enjoy those types of drinks.

14. Take turmeric (curcuma) as a supplement

Turmeric (a.k.a. curcuma) is highly anti-inflammatory and is helpful in many respects, but I’ve found it to be particularly helpful with gastritis. It really has done wonders for me! I used to take 3 tablets a day when I started the treatment, and now I take 1 tablet a day mostly for good measure because of its amazing healing and anti-inflammatory properties. Turmeric is available as a spice in any supermarket, but I recommend getting it as a high-quality supplement because then it’s much more potent as an anti-inflammatory aid.

I highly recommend turmeric as an anti-inflammatory aid to heal gastritis.

Image source: Organic Facts

15. Take L-glutamine as a supplement

L-glutamine is an amino acid that helps in the repair of tissues. Bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts take it to aid the recovery of their muscles after training, but for someone with gastritis it’s useful regardless of whether they train or not. The best way I’ve found so far to take L-glutamine is to put it in my water bottle and sip it throughout the day. I put one heaped teaspoon of L-glutamine in 500 – 750 ml of water and shake the water bottle well. When I started the treatment, I was having about 5 teaspoons of L-glutamine per day, while now I have about 2, mostly for maintenance (and because I like the taste 🙂 ). It is very helpful for healing gastritis, and as an added bonus it makes water taste great!

There you have it! All of my suggestions about what worked for me in healing my gastritis. I hope you try some of them! In the next blog post I will cover other things I’ve tried for gastritis that didn’t work for me but might work for you.

Source of featured image: Dr. Weil

Gastritis Post 4: What worked for me Part 1

On By MarishaIn Health, My Gastritis Story3 Comments

Finally, I’ve gotten to the most intriguing part: What worked for me in treating my gastritis? I will dive right in.

The main thing is actually quite simple and it blew my mind that it had such an influence:

  1. Keep blood sugar levels stable: eat enough protein and healthy fats and not too many carbohydrates.

Since with gastritis my stomach hurts when I’m hungry, it really helps to keep my hunger signals under control. For that, it is helpful not to spike my blood sugar. I was extremely surprised to discover how big of a deal this was, but it makes a huge difference!

I used to eat oats with yoghurt and fruit for breakfast, and I’d be in pain 2 hours later. Then I’d have a muesli bar and my stomach would be hurting again 2 hours later. For lunch I’d have a sandwich and a salad, and 3 hours later I’d be in pain again, so I eat some fruit for a snack until I can barely wait for dinner because of the pain. And this happened every day…

Now I eat scrambled eggs with vegetables (usually zucchini, leeks, and portobello mushroom) and a little butter for breakfast and I’m only hungry 4 hours later. The important thing is that I am actually hungry then and not simply in pain. Then I eat lunch which is, again, protein with vegetables and some healthy fats. For instance, chicken with cauliflower and carrots or meatballs with broccoli and usually some olive oil. This keeps me feeling good for another 4-5 hours. I usually have a small snack at that point such as a small avocado with almonds or brazil nuts or canned sardines with a cucumber. Then, for dinner I also have a mixture of protein (chicken, beef, salmon, or catfish), vegetables (e.g., cabbage, pakchoi, spinach, kale, broccoli, cauliflower), healthful fats (e.g., ghee or coconut oil), and if I’ve had a training session I also include starchy vegetables (e.g., sweet potato, pumpkin, beets, carrots, parsnip). With all of these foods I include a variety of spices and herbs.

Basically, my breakfast every day. And I don’t get tired of it.

Image source: I Health U

This eating style keeps my blood sugar levels stable, so I don’t get any peaks and dips. This means that I don’t have fits of stomach pain between meals and I can go for normal periods of time without eating instead of having to eat every 2-3 hours. I still don’t eat huge meals because I don’t feel comfortable when I’m bloated from too much food. I also find that eating until I’m 80% full helps me keep my weight at a level I like. In fact, I’m quite lean now without starving myself, and I get to enjoy my food very much.

The reason this works so well for me (and for many other people) in keeping my blood sugar levels stable is that the macronutrient content is balanced. Protein is very satiating (makes you feel full for a long period of time), so it’s good to include it at every meal in order to avoid sugar dips. Fat is also very satiating, but it’s also high in caloric value, so it’s good not to overdo it. Healthy fats are essential for our health though, so don’t avoid them.

Carbohydrates are a little more questionable. Different types of carbohydrates work differently for different people, so it’s important to figure out what each type of food does for you. But generally simple sugars (sweets, sodas, etc.) spike our blood glucose levels and thus lead to a sugar dip afterwards. This is also true of many fruits (e.g., banana, mango, raisins, any fruit juice). Bread and pasta can also have that effect, although there’s more individual variation there. It’s also important to get good nutritional value out of the carbohydrates we eat, and the best way to do that is to eat starchy vegetables (e.g., sweet potato, pumpkin, parsnip). They contain the carbohydrate that is good for the body especially after intensive physical activity, and they also deliver lots of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Moreover, when combined with protein and healthy fats, starchy vegetables don’t spike our blood sugar so much, so we can enjoy a meal containing some carbohydrates without having to suffer a sugar dip.

The main point here is that when I keep my blood sugar levels stable, I don’t get sugar dips, and I don’t experience the intense hunger which triggers my gastritis. In this way, my stomach doesn’t get irritated, so I’m not in pain.

This doesn’t mean that I never eat sugar. For instance, I eat dessert twice a week, and that works great for me: I don’t suffer from sugar dips and intense, painful hunger often, but I still get to enjoy sweet stuff once in a while. The key is that I usually have it after a main meal, so then it doesn’t trigger a blood sugar spike and a consequent dip, so I’m not in pain. Some people do well having sweets once in a while, but for some people it might be easier to give them up altogether. (See Gretchen Rubin’s distinction between abstainers and moderators.) You can try it and figure out what works best for you.

The kind of food I’ve described here is the first and most important thing that helped me heal my gastritis. In the next blog post, I will describe the other 14 things I discovered!

Source of featured image: Eat Drink Paleo

Gastritis Post 3: What didn’t work for me

On By MarishaIn Health, My Gastritis Story2 Comments

Since I developed gastritis, I went to several doctors to ask for advice and medications. I went to my GP, to a gastroenterologist, to an expensive private practice which ran fancy tests, and to a homeopath. They all reached the same conclusion: you have gastritis.

I was told to eat every 3 hours, mostly rice and potatoes. I did that for a couple of weeks, but it only made me hungry the whole time and didn’t particularly help my gastritis.

I was given medications that suppress the production of stomach acid, specifically Nexium (esomeprazole). They made the pain less intense, but if I skipped a dose, I noticed how bad my gastritis actually was. I took Nexium for 2 years, but my symptoms didn’t disappear. At that point, I got worried because there was mounting evidence that acid-suppressing medications decrease bone density and contribute to hip fractures once people get older. This has only been shown for long-term users of such medications, but 2 years seemed close to long-term to me. I gradually weaned myself off of Nexium and stopped taking it altogether.

Afterwards I found out that an important consequence of taking Nexium for a long time is that minerals and vitamins are not absorbed well by the digestive system (apparently, stomach acid is necessary for that). The most common issues are low levels of magnesium, calcium, and vitamin D, which lead to decreased bone density and more fractures in the hip, spine, and wrist. B12 deficiency is also common. Honestly, I’m glad I’m not taking Nexium anymore.

Many of the doctors who saw me were convinced I had an H. pylori infection, so I got tested several times over the years. I kind of wished I had the infection because then I could have just taken an antibiotic and been done with it. First, my GP ordered a blood test, which was negative for H. pylori. A few years later, since I was still struggling with gastritis, he ordered a fecal test because that was more accurate than a blood test. Unfortunately, that was negative too. A few years later still, the gastroenterologist said that the most accurate test for H. pylori was a gastroscopy, so I had that done as well. Very unfortunately, since a gastroscopy is quite unpleasant, I had no H. pylori. The doctor confirmed that I had gastritis though, to which I said, “Well, thanks very much for the news.”

I almost wish I had an H. pylori infection because then the course of treatment would have been clear. But I didn’t have it.

Image source: El Ombligo del Ocio

The homeopath I visited was very pleasant and reassuring and actually told me that the traditional methods I was trying (such as the anti-acid medications) would not heal my gastritis. In the end, he was right, but unfortunately the treatments he gave me didn’t get me better either. So traditional medicine didn’t help me heal, but homeopathy didn’t either.

To sum up, the typical approaches to treating gastritis didn’t help me heal. I ate every 3 hours, mostly rice and potatoes, I took acid-suppressing medications, and I got tested for H. pylori, but those things didn’t help. In the next blog post, I will cover what actually helped me to get better.

Source of featured image: Static Flickr