Ulcers are a highly painful condition. They can cause eating to become a chore as foods you previously enjoyed suddenly seem to have turned on you, creating misery and discomfort. You don’t have to live with the pain and discomfort of ulcers. Simple nutrition principles can help remove the burning pain of ulcers and leave you free to enjoy your life.

Tips for Eating

Some important steps to take to calm ulcers begin before you even pick up a fork. Before you begin eating it is important to try to relax. Meals that are eaten slowly and calmly will help. Rushing through a meal will increase ulcer pain. Take care to chew your food thoroughly and enjoy it.

Eat small and frequent meals evenly spaced throughout the day. Avoid overloading your stomach with a large meal; a smaller meal is more easily digested. Aim for about three small meals and three snacks. Try to avoid eating in the three-hour period before you go to bed as going to bed with a full stomach will increase acid secretions overnight, which will result in ulcer pain that can wake you up in the night.

Eat at the table and sit up straight. Do not lie down immediately following a meal as this can cause stomach acid to leak into your esophagus, creating the painful, burning sensation commonly called “heartburn.”

Foods to Avoid

Some foods should be avoided, as they are more likely to irritate an ulcer. This doesn’t mean that they should never be consumed, but consuming them infrequently will increase your comfort and help heal the ulcer. This list includes:

• foods and beverages that contain caffeine, like coffee and chocolate
• tomato products, including spaghetti sauces
• citrus foods like oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit
• high-fat foods, especially those that have been fried
• spicy foods

Foods to Include

Certain foods are very helpful for a person who is suffering from ulcers and should be included frequently.

• Foods that are high in protein should be included in every meal and snack. This includes lean meats, low-fat dairy and eggs. Other great protein options are nut butters and tofu.
• Fiber is also very beneficial, as it keeps the digestive system working efficiently. Foods that are high in fiber such as fruits, vegetables and whole grain breads and pastas should be on your plate regularly.
• Fresh, frozen or canned fruit is good, as are fresh, frozen or canned vegetables.
• Fish is a good choice if you have an ulcer, regardless of whether it is fresh, frozen or packed like tuna or salmon.
• Soups, whether broth based or cream based are excellent, as long as they are mildly spiced.
• Good snacks to eat while on an ulcer diet include sherbet, frozen juice bars, flavored gelatin, graham crackers, angel food cake, pretzels and hard candies.
• Seasonings and flavorings are fine also, such as salt and pepper, most herbs, ketchup and mustard as tolerated.

For more information on the ulcer diet, feel free to download the Reflux Remedy Report at refluxremedy.com today!

If you have an ulcer, eating can often be a bit of a challenge. Ulcers can cause meal time to be painful if it’s a gastric ulcer, or can result in pain hours after eating if it’s an ulcer located in the duodenum. If you have one, you may be wondering what to eat when you have an ulcer. Here are a few tips and tricks that may make meal time a little less painful while your ulcer heals.

1. No matter what you eat, make sure you do so in small portions. Large meals will overwhelm your already sensitive stomach, and can even result in an overproduction of acid, which will exacerbate an existing ulcer. So, rather than eating a few large meals every day go for smaller more frequent ones. That helps your body’s digestive system and makes the healing process go more smoothly.

2. Focus on easily digestible foods, like whole grain seedless breads, certain low acid fruits and vegetables, low fat dairy products (the fats found in milk and cheese can be hard to digest, causing excess acid in your stomach, so aim for low fat products), lean meats, fish and creamed nuts (like low fat peanut or almond butter).

3. Above all, focus on maintaining a balanced diet. Providing your body with the proper nutrition will help it heal much faster.

4. Avoid the following foods if you have an ulcer: Vegetables like onions and tomatoes, anything high in acid; breads that are high in fat like croissants; high acid fruits, like grapefruit, oranges, lemons, and citrus juices; whole milk products and creams; highly seasoned meats, poultry and fish; deli meats; sardines; fried foods; nuts; gravy; and high fat desserts, like cakes, cookies, pastries and donuts.

5. The important thing to remember when you’re trying to let your ulcer heal is to avoid foods that upset your stomach regularly, or can cause heartburn. Things like spicy foods, alcohol, caffeine and garlic can all irritate the stomach and result in additional stomach acid your ulcer doesn?t need.

Here are a few things to add to your new dietary habits that may help your ulcer improve:

1. Reduce your stress level. If you know a meal is going to be painful, try to relax about it. Stressing over it will only make the pain worse. Stress signals your body to produce more stomach acid, which will irritate your ulcer. So, if you feel stress coming on in any situation whether it’s the morning commute, something at work, or your kids at home stop and take a deep breath. Avoiding stress now can have a pretty major impact on pain later.

2. Stop smoking and focus on a healthy lifestyle. Smoking is known to increase stomach acid production. Smoking also slows the body’s ability to heal. Eating healthy and exercising regularly will help your body heal faster.

Practicing all these techniques should help your ulcer heal normally so you can move on with your life.

Still want to know more? Well, stop wondering what to eat when you have an ulcer and head over to refluxremedy.com for more tips and tricks.

A stomach ulcer happens when a hole occurs in the stomach’s lining due to an excess of acid. Stomach acid is meant to break down and digest foods, and when there’s too much, it can be harmful to the delicate lining of the stomach. Stomach ulcers can be very painful, and severe ulcers can result in vomiting, blood in the stool, and sometimes death.

If you have one, you may be wondering how to treat a stomach ulcer. There are a number of effective methods that can help relieve your pain.

Some doctors might recommend prescription drugs and surgery if the ulcer is severe. However, this isn’t always necessary. Prescription drugs can be expensive, and may only treat the symptoms of the ulcer, without curing the problem. Surgery is extremely invasive and costly, and while in an emergency situation when a bleeding ulcer is involved can save lives, oftentimes it can be avoided.

Many people are reaching for a more natural and minimally invasive solution when it comes to treating a stomach ulcer. Here are a few options you can try to relieve your stomach ulcer.

– Your first step if you have an ulcer should be to stop smoking! In addition to the other detrimental effects of smoking, it has been shown to cause and worsen ulcers, including increasing the fatality rate from ulcers.

– Lower your stress levels. Stress induced ulcers can’t heal if you’re still stressed out! Reducing your stress level is also an excellent way to prevent ulcers in the future. Maintain a calm attitude, take deep breaths, count to 10, try a course on meditation, practice regular light exercise, whatever it takes. Everyone is different and responds to stress in various ways, so find the way that works best for you to keep your stress at a bare minimum.

– Avoid foods that cause heartburn. Everyone has their own food triggers, but some common ones are spicy foods, citrus fruits, alcohol, garlic, and onions are just a few. Heartburn can easily cause and exacerbate stomach ulcers, so it should be avoided at all costs.

– Eat healthy. Providing your body with the proper nutrition can help it to heal faster. Make sure you have a balanced diet rich in vitamins and nutrients, and focus on easily digestible foods, so as to avoid irritating the ulcer.

– Avoid pain killers. Various pain killers like Asprin, Ibuprofen, Aleve, Midol, Excedrin and others have been known to cause and worsen ulcers. Often, they will not help with pain from an ulcer and may even worsen it, so don’t take them if you suspect or have been diagnosed with an ulcer.

– Along those same lines, avoid vitamins that can be hard for your body to digest. Iron and calcium are known to cause heartburn, so stay away from them in their pure forms. Get those nutrients from your foods instead. Milk, and lean red meats (like beef, pork and lamb) are good sources of calcium and iron.

Stomach ulcers are not something to be messed around with, so always consult your physician if you suspect you may have one. For more natural remedies, and information on how to treat stomach ulcers, visit refluxremedy.com today!

Ulcers can happen throughout the entire digestive tract, but when they happen in the stomach specifically, they’re referred to as gastric ulcers. Gastric ulcer causes are numerous, but one cause is the most common.

H. Pylori

Helicobacter pylori is a corkscrew shaped bacteria that lives in the digestive tract. The bacteria is fairly common, and in most cases isn’t harmful. However, occasionally it can inflame the lining of your stomach, and disrupt the mucus layer which causes an ulcer.

H. Pylori can be transmitted from close contact, like kissing. It can also enter the digestive tract through contaminated water or food. It’s a fairly common infection, with half of the people who are over 60 contracting it, and one in five people under 30 getting it.

Other Causes

While H.Pylori is an extremely common cause of ulcers, it’s not the only cause. NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are a big cause of gastric ulcers. Medications like Motrin, Ibuprofen, Asprin, Aleve and others can damage the stomach’s delicate lining, resulting in an ulcer. NSAIDs block the production of an enzyme that protects the stomach’s lining against damage and injury. Without this protection, the stomach is vulnerable to acids. If you have an ulcer, make sure your doctor is aware of that fact before he or she prescribes any kind of pain reliever, including prescription pain medications or over the counter NSAIDs.

Smoking is also pointed to as another main cause of ulcers. The nicotine found in tobacco is thought to increase the production of stomach acids, which eat away at the lining, resulting in a painful ulcer. Smoking also slows the healing process, which can be detrimental when trying to get over a gastric ulcer. If you are diagnosed with an ulcer, it is best to stop smoking so that your body can heal, and keep ulcers from recurring in the future.

Although it’s unclear whether excessive alcohol consumption can cause an ulcer, or merely exacerbate an existing ulcer, it should be avoided if you suspect that you have an ulcer or have a family history of ulcers. Alcohol eats away at the mucus lining of the stomach, making it vulnerable to damage and stomach acids. Monitor your alcohol consumption to ensure a healthy digestive tract.

Although stress can’t be pointed to as a sure fire cause of gastric ulcers, it can certainly worsen them. Stress causes the body to overproduce stomach acids which eat away at the body’s stomach lining. If you have an ulcer, or are susceptible to ulcers, take steps to dramatically reduce your stress levels. You can try taking a course on meditation, or practicing regular exercise to reduce your stress. Additionally, something as simple as taking a deep breath, listening to soothing instrumental music, or counting to 10 can often help you maintain a calmer attitude. Stress is thought to exacerbate a number of health problems, so reducing your stress level can do nothing but good for your body.

For more information on gastric ulcer causes, visit www.refluxremedy.com today!