Having gastritis that is persistent over a long period of time is classified as having chronic gastritis. Gastritis is described as a digestive disorder or disease that is demonstrated by the inflammation of the stomach lining. When you eat food, it is chewed in the mouth, swallowed at the throat and transferred to the stomach through the esophagus. Once the food passes the lower esophageal sphincter or the gateway to the stomach, it reaches the gastric acid of the stomach. Gastric acid is what is used to break down foods. Food doesn’t just go into the stomach and become useful to your body. To get the nutrients, proteins and minerals from the food, it first needs to be broken down.

This is why the stomach lining is so important. The stomach lining houses the cells that produce the enzymes and gastric acid that is needed to digest food. When you have gastritis, the stomach acid becomes inflamed causing a decrease in the production of the essential acids and enzymes. Because stomach acid is so corrosive, the lining needs to protect itself from the acid. The acid is only meant to access the food you eat. The lining also produces mucus to prevent the acid form damaging the lining and stomach wall layers. When there is inflammation of the lining, mucus production also decreases. This makes the stomach lining more prone to being damaged.

There are a couple types of gastritis. Neither form is really milder than the other.

The first type is acute. Acute gastritis occurs in a sudden and severe fashion. You may not have had any digestive problems in the past for this to take place. Erosive gastritis doesn?t cause as much inflammation of the lining but it causes more destruction to the lining.

Chronic gastritis is very severe. It is not called chronic because of the severity but because of the time frame. Chronic gastritis occurs on a regular basis, over an extended period of time. Chronic gastritis can last for months and even years. Failure to treat gastritis in the beginning stages could lead to chronic gastritis.

The Symptoms

You may have chronic gastritis without experiencing any or all of the symptoms. You may have chronic gastritis for a long time before recognizing any of the symptoms. Chronic gastritis symptoms include:

• Nausea: A sensation that you need to vomit.
• Vomiting: When food leaves the stomach and esophagus and is expelled through the mouth.
• Blood in Vomit: Vomit that is abnormally red may happen because of the presence of blood.
• Abdominal Pain: This normally is felt in the upper abdomen. Pain increases with each meal.
• Dark Stool: If you notice that your stool has gotten increasingly dark, this could be a sign of gastritis.
• Loss of Appetite: You may not feel like eating as much as you used to or you may only desire certain foods.
• Indigestion: You may have an upset stomach or feel gassy.

The Reflux Remedy Report contains more information on the symptoms of chronic gastritis and can assist you in determining your risk level.

Gastritis is a condition that affects the lining of the stomach. The stomach lining has a very important role in digestion. The lining is what houses the cells that produce stomach or gastric acids and enzymes. This is what the body uses to naturally break down foods for the extraction of nutrients. Stomach acid is essential for making foods useful to the body. The lining of the stomach also produces mucus for its own protection. Mucus shields the stomach lining from acid, thus preventing corrosion of the stomach. If the lining of the stomach becomes inflamed, it will produce less mucus, acid and enzymes. This makes the digestion process difficult.

Types

There are three types of gastritis.

Acute gastritis refers to gastritis that happened suddenly. It is usually very severe.

Chronic gastritis describes gastritis that occurs consistently over a long period of time. This can last for several years.

Erosive gastritis doesn’t cause as much inflammation of the lining as acute and chronic gastritis. Erosive gastritis may be acute or chronic and has the tendency of destroying the stomach lining, even without inflaming it.

Causes

The lining becomes inflamed because of many reasons. The main causes of gastritis are:

• alcohol consumption
• infection
• use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
• burns
• surgery
• injuries
• diseases
• disorders
• illegal drug use

Many of the causes are avoidable.

Symptoms

There are many symptoms of gastritis, but you don?t have to have symptoms to have gastritis.? Unfortunately, many people that are experiencing gastritis don?t know it because they may not have any of the symptoms.

Erosive gastritis has several symptoms. It may cause bleeding, ulcers and erosions. Erosive gastritis can also cause you to have dark or bloody stool, and bloody vomit. Overall, all kinds of gastritis tend to cause pain in the stomach. This pain is generally localized in the upper abdominal region.? You may feel cramping in this area, especially after a meal. People with gastritis may vomit periodically. Another common symptom is nausea, which usually accompanies vomiting.

The most harmful symptom of gastritis is the deterioration of the stomach lining. Erosive gastritis is prone to destroying the stomach lining. Without the lining, your stomach is vulnerable to gastric acid. This can damage the stomach severely and intensify the problems in your digestive process. Symptoms of gastritis may not be present in everyone with gastritis so it is important to get regular physical health exams and screening. To prevent yourself from being affected by gastritis you should try to eat a balanced, nutritious diet and avoid alcohol. If you already have gastritis, you should sit down with your doctor to discuss a diet and lifestyle plan.

If you are experiencing any of the symptoms of gastritis you should seek the help of a trained medical profession. These symptoms should not be ignored. Gastritis that is untreated could develop into chronic gastritis, which may end up affecting you for the rest of your life. The symptoms of gastritis are very similar to the symptoms of other diseases and disorders that are related to the digestive system.

Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis (HGE) is a terrible disease that strikes dogs, usually younger and small bred dogs.

Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis can be deadly, but it is not contagious.

Medically speaking they don’t know what causes Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis. It seems to be related to a reaction to toxins produced by bacteria. Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis creates an increase in the permeability of the intestinal lining and a leakage of blood and proteins into the bowel.

The bacteria Clostridium perfringens is normally found in decaying plants, marine wastes and soils. In the United Kingdom and United States, C. perfringens bacteria are the third-most-common cause of food poisoning from processed meats, especially those found in dog food.

Generally Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis can be prevented by heating food at or above 165.2 degrees Fahrenheit. Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis takes hold within 6 to 24 hours of ingesting contaminated food.

The symptoms of HGE and parvovirus (CPV) are similar, except with HE there is no fever or low white blood cell count. It seems chronic dehydration is the most dangerous part of having Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis, that’s why replacing fluids and potassium intravenously and oral hydration is important.

If your dog has bloody vomit or diarrhea, even if it’s a tiny amount, get your pet to the vet ASAP.

It’s interesting to note that if the internal terrain of the dog is balance, recovery from eating fainted food will be fast. Bacteria can’t thrive in an environment or terrain that is well hydrated and maintains an alkaline pH because bacteria need an acid pH to live.

If you get treatment fast mortality rates drop to fewer than 20%, otherwise death is almost certain and about 15% of dogs will experience a relapse.

Whether the cause is bacteria or viral or even parasitic doesn’t change the fact that none of these harmful organisms that may be the cause of Hemorrhagic gastroenteritis can thrive in an alkaline pH environment . . . I use Japanese coral tea bags or Ionyte drops to treat my dog’s water. Alkaline water is higher in oxygen and minerals where as acidic water is the opposite.

You were born to heal,

Todd M. Faass

Health Advocate

It’s not a big mystery what causes gastritis, for one thing, gastritis isn’t a drug deficiency . . . you can rule that out.

Gastritis like any disorder or degenerative health issue, it’s a matter of nurturing proper nutrition and having healthy lifestyle habits.

When you ask what causes gastritis you are really asking what causes the stomachs protective layer of specialized cells to become weakened?

Normally you have a protective mucus lining that shields your naked stomach cells from corrosive stomach acid.

Your digestive system isn’t designed to digest itself.

Once you identify the underlying root cause of your gastritis and remove the cause, your body heals relatively fast.

Here’s a list of gastritis triggers and possible causes:

• Helicobacter pylori is the name of a bacteria found in ulcerations of people with gastritis. The interesting thing is millions of people have these bacteria and they don’t have any gastritis symptoms. The reason is bacteria, like viruses are opportunistic organisms, which means if the conditions are right they will flourish and thrive . . . so the condition is a cause of gastritis, not the bacterium.
• Pain drugs like Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) often irritate the stomach environment, changing the conditions. Taking aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen can upset the delicate digestive system leaving it vulnerable to infection and inflammation causing gastritis.
• Alcohol is literally more addictive than crack cocaine and because of this fact it’s considered a socially acceptable drug because getting everyone to stop taking alcohol is impossible . . . prohibition never works. Alcohol, like NSAIDs changes the conditions of your digestive system’s environment, making it subject to bacterial infection and causing gastritis.
• Stress will also change your internal conditions making your stomach more vulnerable to the cause of gastritis.
• When your cells lose inner-net communication they can end up causing an immune reaction and attacks itself without realizing it. This is called an auto-immune dysfunction, which is rare but it does happens more often in people with other auto-immune disorders like diabetes type 1, Hashimoto’s disease or Addison’s disease. The cause of autoimmune gastritis can be a simple communication breakdown triggered by a nutritional deficiency and lifestyle factors.
• Gastritis can be triggered from eating too much animal proteins and fats in which case bile reflux disease can develop often causing gastritis. Bile helps you digest animal fats. Bile is made in your liver and stored in your gallbladder and prevented from contaminating your small intestine by a valve . . . if bile leaks by it will inflame and turn into acute gastritis.
• Other problems that can cause gastritis or are associated with it are AIDS, Crohn’s disease, parasites, liver failure, kidney dysfunction and some connective tissue disorders.

Bottom line is if you learn to keep your internal conditions properly balanced though right diet and lifestyle you can prevent or even reverse the cause of gastritis.

You were born to heal,

Todd M. Faass

Health Advocate