For too long now doctors have been recommending a bland diet to help prevent or cure gastritis.

In fact a bland diet, more often than not, isn’t good for gastritis or acid reflux.

Gastritis comes mainly from inflammation in the cells found in your stomach lining. Many things can trigger the kind of inflammation that leads to gastritis, even a bland diet.

One of the most common triggers of gastritis symptoms is from bacteria called Helicobacter pylori, the same bacteria involved in the formation of stomach ulcers.

Anything that causes an acidic environment inside your body’s tissues can trigger the inflammation of the stomach lining (gastritis).

Some known causes of an acidic environment which the gastritis-type bacteria thrive in are:

• Digestive bile back-up
• Immune imbalance
• Ibuprophen and other Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs).

A diet that produces an alkaline environment in your body tissues will prevent, reverse and cure gastritis, but there is no need to limit your diet to the bland side of life.

You see it is a scientific certainty that gastritis bacteria cannot live inside you when you have an alkaline pH. All that really means is your has a healthy balance of ionic minerals, nutrients and cofactors that help maintain healthy oxygen levels in your tissues.

If you suffer from indigestion, heartburn, stomach aches, hiccups, nausea, vomiting or dark stools you most likely are suffering from an acid pH that can lead to gastritis symptoms. All that means is your body tissues are lacking ionic minerals, nutrients and oxygen.

Bacteria that cause gastritis thrive in a low oxygen acidic environment. The ONLY place you should have acid is within the stomach area and in your body waste. All your cells, including the cells in your stomach lining need an alkaline environment to survive.

That’s why gastritis and the damage it causes to your tissue can be reversed and healed. As soon as normal oxygen and mineral levels are restored the healing process begins to win over the gastritis.

Your diet should be made of a variety of delicious vegetables and fruits. Simply eliminate the gastritis triggering, acid forming diet foods and products. Diet foods that are over cooked, diet foods high in refined sugar, diet foods containing vegetable oils, canola oils or hydrogenated trans-fatty oils will add to acid waste build-up.

Your gastritis diet depends on you eating small portions throughout the day. It is better to have 5 meals that are small than one or two large meals.

A gastritis diet rich with steamed or raw vegetables of a variety of colors will help provide enzymes, minerals and nutrients your body needs to maintain an alkaline environment.

Keep in mind bacteria, virus, fungus, yeast and even cancer cells can NOT live in a balanced alkaline tissue. Your gastritis diet should be anything but bland . . . just know to avoid some spicy or fatty foods, especially while your gut is healing from the gastritis damage and ulcerations.

You were born to heal,

Todd M. Faass

Health Advocate