Nigerian Food To Avoid As An Ulcer Patient

It is known that stomach ulcers are made worse with some food. These food should be avoided or taken in moderation.

Ulcer

Ulcer is a sore in the lining of the digestive system. It can be either stomach ulcer or duodenal ulcer. It is caused by indiscriminate use of painkillers like ibuprofen or the proliferation of helicobacter pylori (H. Pylori) bacteria in the stomach.

Read Also: Treatment of GERD

Treatment of ulcer is the use of drugs. These drugs will not work without proper lifestyle modifications. One of the most important lifestyle modifications is limiting consumption of certain foods. In this post, we will discuss foods to avoid or reduce.

Foods Ulcer Patient Should Avoid

These foods should be avoided by ulcer patients. They make ulcer symptoms worse or trigger ulcers. When it is not possible to avoid them, reduce their intake.

Sauce (Spice)

Foods containing high amounts of spice (pepper) will instantly make ulcer pain worse. They can even cause bleeding in worse cases. Imagine applying pepper to an open wound. Spicy foods include pepper soup, suya, sauce meat, etc.

Milk

Milk has that calming effect when used by an ulcer patient. This happens because the milk coats the surface of the sore and provides that quick relief. Unfortunately, digested milk has the ability to trigger the body to produce more stomach acid. The increased acid in an empty stomach makes ulcer pain worse.

Alcohol

This one needs no introduction. Alcohol can increase the amount of acid in your stomach. This can irritate the lining of your stomach and make ulcer pain worse.

Beans

Beans are highly proteinous. However, it is contraindicated in ulcers. Cooked beans with oil makes ulcer pain worse. This is because cooked beans with oil are not easy for the body to digest. This prolongs the time it stays in the stomach. The longer it stays, the more acid the stomach produces. This leads to excess stomach acid which makes ulcer pain worse.

Read Also: How to take ulcer drugs for best results

Properly cooked beans do not have this same effect. For example, Moi moi does not make the ulcer worse even though it is made from beans.

Carbonated Drinks

Phosphoric acid is one ingredient in sodas and can erode the enamel on your teeth. Adding a fairly strong acid to a stomach already suffering from any kind of irritation is unwise. Additionally, the CO2 in sodas has an eroding effect on the stomach lining. You know how it feels on your tongue. Carbonated drinks are acidic and will make stomach ulcer pain worse.

Smoking

Smoking is dangerous to health. There is a link between smokers and ulcers. Smoking prevents ulcer healing even with drugs. Different mechanisms have been postulated. It is either they hinder the drugs or hinder some chemical in the body known to increase ulcer healing or increase the production of some chemicals in the body that makes ulcer worse.

Fried Foods

Foods fried in oil at high temperatures can aggravate stomach ulcers and upset the digestive tract’s natural layer of protection. They can also be high in fat and salt and, if cooked away from the home, might be fried in oil that a kitchen has used several times over. Fried foods include potato chips, fries, onion rings, fried chicken, and donuts.

Acidic Food

Foods high in acid content aggravate ulcers. This is because acid corrodes the stomach lining. And the stomach has protection against minor acid. This cannot be said of the ulcer sore. Examples are grape fruit, orange, pineapple, tomatoes, citrus fruit, lemon, lime, grapes, tangerine, etc.

Sugar

Over time, high blood sugar levels can damage your nerves and blood vessels. That lessens blood flow to different parts of the body which makes it harder for sores and cuts to heal. It makes you more likely to get an infection, too. Infection makes the ulcer worse.

Salt

High concentrations of salt in the stomach appear to induce gene activity in the ulcer-causing bacterium Helicobacter pylori, making it more virulent and increasing the likelihood of an infected person developing a severe gastric disease. Scientists have identified yet another risk from a high-salt diet.

Roasted Corn

The corn is difficult to digest. This delay results in prolonged release of stomach acid. The acid coats the ulcer sore and increases ulcer pain. The shape edge of the corn is also believed to injure the sore in the stomach. Cooked corn doesn't have this negative effect.

Read Also: Treatment of peptic ulcer

Caffeine

Both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee can increase acid production and exacerbate symptoms in individuals with ulcer disease. This shows that it is not caffeine that exacerbates symptoms in ulcer patients. Scientists are yet to figure that out. Other components in coffee, including catechols and N-alkanoyl-5-hydroxytryptamide, stimulate gastric acid secretion, which is why coffee is thought to worsen ulcer symptoms. Tea containing low amounts of caffeine is safe.

Red Meat

This meat takes too much time to digest and it makes the acid level in your stomach rise, thereby irritating the area and worsening the symptoms. Red meat also contains a lot of protein and, even if you don't have an ulcer, it takes longer to digest. Red meat can be fatty, which will make your ulcer worse.

Food Eating Guideline

• Do not eat right before bedtime. Stop eating at least 2 hours before bedtime.
• Eat small, frequent meals. Your stomach may tolerate small, frequent meals better than large meals.