Gastritis Diet
Tips On Designing A Gastritis Diet
A gastritis diet consists of three diet phases. While the choice of foods you eat or drink during the first phase, and to some degree during the second phase, is somewhat restrictive, you can design the final phase around many, if not most, of the foods you enjoy. For many years, a gastritis diet was one made up almost entirely of bland foods, not a very exciting prospect. Times have changed.
During the first phase, the gastritis diet consists of fruit, and fruit juices. This phase is actually a fast, but instead of just water for a day or two, you get to eat fruit and drink fruit juice. A fasting period of five days is usually recommended. Apples, grapes, pears, and cranberries, and their juices, will serve well. Orange juice is OK also, although if you find it irritates you at all, don't drink it. The same goes for grapefruit juice and lemonade. The key in all three phases of this diet is to find out which foods tend to irritate the stomach, and either avoid them altogether, or use them sparingly.
Once you've completed the fasting phase, you're ready for phase 2 of the gastritis diet. This is actually a transition phase. You don't want to start eating a well balanced diet quite yet. You're still recovering, and even if you eat the right foods, eating too much may aggravate your stomach. This transition phase is only for a few days anyway, 3 days might be about right. Eat a breakfast of fruit and milk, and a steamed vegetable, whole wheat bread, and milk or yogurt for lunch. For dinner, make up a tasty salad of fresh vegetables and sprouts, with a side of cottage cheese. If you get hungry between meals, keep an apple handy, and you can drink fruit juice, water or milk.
The final phase of your gastritis diet is really about preventing a repeat episode of gastritis. You'll have a well balanced diet, and have a wide array of choices. The most important part of this phase is avoiding foods that can irritate the stomach lining. This means you'll probably have to go without, or have only on a limited basis, alcohol, chili powder, hot peppers, and drinks with caffeine. As good as tomatoes are for you, you might need to limit their intake, the same for certain seasonings, including garlic and cinnamon. Otherwise healthy vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and dried beans can sometimes cause gas. This in itself is not a problem, but if eating these vegetables start causing actual discomfort, you may have to ease off. Potatoes are fine, but fried potatoes or French fries can possibly cause problems.
Most soups will be fine as a part of your balanced diet, but be careful about tomato soups or tomato-based soups, bean-based soups, and chili. Barbecue sauces, picante and taco sauces, spicy marinades, horseradish, and steak sauce are potential troublemakers. After awhile you should have a good idea of what either to avoid or eat only in small quantities. A bit of horseradish or garlic, or a bowl of minestrone (tomato-based) soup probably isn't going to cause a relapse. But if eating these starts causing irritation, you know that you need to avoid them, at least for awhile. There really isn't a list of forbidden foods you're faced with, but rather a list of foods to be careful with, and if you must have them, don't have them in excess. Your final phase diet isn't so much a gastritis diet, as it is a diet designed to prevent a recurrence of the problem.