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!

Gastric ulcers can be painful, and sometimes fatal if the symptoms are ignored. An ulcer occurs when the lining of the digestive tract becomes damaged, and a hole or tear occurs due to injury or trauma. An ulcer can happen anywhere in the body’s digestive system, but when it happens in the stomach, it’s labeled as a gastric ulcer.

Gastric ulcer symptoms are slightly different than ulcer symptoms located in other portions of the body. For example, eating doesn’t generally relieve pain as it might with other ulcers. In fact, eating may cause pain. The pain can be a dull ache located in the upper chest area, possibly below the breastbone.

Other symptoms of a gastric ulcer include:

• Heartburn or acid reflux
• Nausea
• Loss of appetite
• Weight loss that wasn’t part of a planned diet program
• Waking up in the night with pain. Only about 3 out of every 10 people with a gastric ulcer will experience this symptom, and it generally occurs 3 or 4 hours after dinner. Eating late meals will exacerbate it.
• Vomiting, and vomiting blood, which may look like coffee grounds
• Blood in the stool, which would look like a black or tarry substance
• Some people may not have any symptoms at all

Causes

Gastric ulcers have a few causes, but one thing in particular is pointed to as the main cause, Helicobacter pylori. H. pylori is a corkscrew shaped bacteria found in most everyone. It’s unknown why it causes problems in some people and not others. An H. pylori infection occurs when the bacteria grows in the lining of the stomach, causing it to be easily damaged by stomach acids and other digestive enzymes. An H. pylori infection is generally cleared by a course of antibiotics, followed by additional testing to make sure the infection has been eradicated.

Pain killers are another main cause of gastric ulcers. Pain killers stop the body’s production of an enzyme that protects the stomach lining, making it more susceptible to damage. NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like Aleve and Ibuprofen as well as Aspirin and prescription pain killers can all be pointed to as causes of gastric ulcers.

Another thing thought to cause gastric ulcers is smoking. The nicotine found in cigarettes is thought to increase the presence of acids in the stomach, making the lining more susceptible to damages. Smoking also slows the body’s natural healing process, making it difficult to recover from an existing ulcer.

Alcohol can also erode the stomach lining. Although, it’s unclear if alcohol will actually go so far as to cause an ulcer, or just worsen an existing ulcer, it should generally be used in moderation.

Stress is another thing that can’t be pointed directly to as a certain cause for ulcers, but it will definitely worsen an existing ulcer. Stress is thought to be the cause of a wide range of health problems, so whether it caused your ulcer or not, it’s beneficial to try and get your stress levels under control. Reduce your stress by putting some instrumental or calming music on in the background at work, or enrolling in a meditation class. These techniques will help you relax and allow your body to heal much faster.

For more information on gastric ulcer symptoms, check out The Reflux Remedy Report at www.refluxremedy.com.

If you have a gastric ulcer, you might be wondering, what can I eat with a stomach ulcer?

A stomach ulcer happens when the lining of the stomach becomes traumatized or injured in some way. This can be a result of a bacterial infection called H. pylori, stress, smoking, pain killers, or alcohol.

Eating and certain types of food can exacerbate a stomach ulcer and cause additional pain. Some people may find it helpful to watch what they eat if they have an ulcer.

Foods to eat

Certain foods are easier for your stomach to digest and may help make the eating process slightly less painful where an ulcer is involved. Focus on:

• Whole grain, seedless breads
• Low acid fruits and vegetables
• Lean, unseasoned meats like pork, beef and poultry
• Fish
• Low fat dairy products in moderation

Foods to avoid

Other foods won’t necessarily cause a stomach ulcer, but they can certainly worsen it, or delay the healing process. Stay away from these types of foods:

• Fatty breads like croissants
• Fruits and vegetables that are high in acids, like tomatoes and all types of citrus including grapefruit, oranges and lemons
• Heavily seasoned foods like beef, pork, poultry and fish
• Whole milk and dairy products high in fat content

These are difficult to digest and cause the body to produce additional stomach acids to accommodate the digestion process, which can irritate an ulcer

• Fried foods, like fast food
• Fatty desserts like cake and ice cream

Things that might help

In addition to what to eat, there are methods you might practice to keep pain at bay when trying to let a stomach ulcer heal.

For example, eat smaller portions more frequently. This keeps your stomach from being bombarded by a huge amount of food, which creates pressure in the stomach and can result in a buildup of acid. This will aggravate your ulcer and cause more pain. Smaller amounts of food helps the stomach?s digestion processes go more smoothly, and can keep pain at bay.

Additionally, try to avoid pain killers. A stomach ulcer can be pretty painful, but taking a pain killer can majorly worsen the condition. Whether it’s an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) like Ibuprofen or Aleve, Aspirin, or a prescription pain medication, these drugs can inhibit the body’s production of protective enzymes in the stomach, making the lining terribly vulnerable to harmful acids. If you have an ulcer, seriously restrict your intake of pain killers in order to allow your body to heal.

Another way to help an ulcer heal is to reduce your stress levels. While stress hasn’t been proven to cause an ulcer, it is thought to worsen one, by subjecting the already irritated stomach lining to additional acids. If you feel like you’re getting too stressed out, take a walk, add regular exercise to your routine, take a few deep breaths, or enroll in a course on meditation. Practicing a few simple strategies now can help you have a healthier mind and body in the future.

Hopefully by now you understand better what you can eat with a stomach ulcer. If you’d like more information, head over to refluxremedy.com to find out what can cause a stomach ulcer and additional treatment options.

If you have recently been diagnosed with an ulcer, you may be searching for home remedies to help heal it. While there isn?t a sure fire way to cure it, home remedies for a stomach ulcer are often simple to execute and can help your body heal itself, which is often the best way to treat an ulcer.

The only case where home remedies for a stomach ulcer wouldn?t be appropriate as a first course of action is if the ulcer is caused by a bacterium called H. pylori. H. pylori is a fairly common corkscrew shaped bacteria, and is actually the number one cause of ulcers, not stress or fatty diets as was once commonly thought. So, if H. pylori is blamed for your ulcer your doctor will most likely prescribe a course of antibiotics to help kill the bacteria. However, these home remedies can be practiced in conjunction with antibiotics, to help the ulcer heal once the bacteria are gone.

First of all, monitor how much food you take in. Overwhelming your stomach with large meals can often aggravate an ulcer as the stomach tries desperately to break down such a huge quantity of food. Smaller, more frequent meals are the solution to this. It promotes healthy digestion, helps prevent heartburn and will help give your ulcer the space it needs to heal.

Second, watch what you eat. Fatty foods, extremely spicy foods, and foods that are known to cause heartburn or indigestion for you should all be avoided. Things like fast food, whole milk and creams, onions, garlic, caffeine and acidic fruits like citrus should be used in moderation when you?re trying to heal from an ulcer. Foods that should be targeted are whole grain breads, lean meats, fish, and foods that are high in antioxidants that will help the healing process ? like blueberries.

It?s important to focus on a healthy diet and outlook when your body has experienced a trauma, like an ulcer. Providing your body with proper nutrition will help it naturally heal. This means a balanced diet and maybe even regular, light exercise to get your blood pumping. Providing the area with a supply of oxygen rich blood will help speed the healing process.

Third, avoid pain killers like the plague. Over the counter and prescription pain killers are known to cause ulcers, so when you?re trying to heal from one, they can be counterproductive. If you experience joint pain, a headache, or back pain when you have an ulcer, reach for something other than pain killers to help get rid of it. Try a hot or cold compress, relax with a warm bath, get a massage, lie down in the dark, anything but putting a pain killer in your already sensitive stomach.

Fourth, stop smoking. Smoking is extremely detrimental to your health, and ulcers are quite frankly one of the minor side effects of the habit. Smoking also slows the healing process dramatically. Quitting will help your body heal the way it should, and prevent ulcers from recurring in the future.

Clearly simple lifestyle changes are some of the best home remedies for a stomach ulcer. For more tips and tricks to help deal with an ulcer, visit www.refluxremedy.com today!