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Beets for gastritis

, medical expert
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
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It is paradoxical, but the same product can be both useful and harmful to health depending on the diagnosis, method of its preparation and method of consumption. A clear example of this statement is beetroot for gastritis. In one case, it promotes the healing of inflammation, erosions inside the organ, in another it can harm and worsen the condition. So when can you eat beetroot for gastritis and in what form?

Indications

Beets are baked, boiled, eaten raw, and juiced. They can be a separate dish or included as an ingredient in others (hot red borscht and cold beetroot soup, salad). The term "gastritis" implies various conditions of the mucous membrane and different production of digestive juice. For what specific diagnosis is the vegetable indicated?

Beetroot for chronic gastritis

Chronic gastritis manifests itself in periodic outbreaks of symptoms such as heaviness and pain in the stomach after eating or on an empty stomach, bloating, belching, and sometimes nausea. Such reactions most often occur after alcohol, stress, and inappropriate food. Can beets cause such an exacerbation?

In case of gastritis with high acidity, raw vegetables or their juice are quite capable of causing harm, since their dietary fiber is very coarse, it contains caustic volatile substances, and when beets are broken down, they release hydrochloric acid, which is already in excess.

Baked or boiled beets will have the opposite effect. After heat treatment, beets retain their beneficial substances, favorably affecting the walls of the organ: inflammation is relieved, damage is healed, pathogenic microflora is destroyed. A reasonable single dose is 100 g, repeated several times a week.

The same rules apply to its use in the erosive form of the disease. Raw beets irritate the mucous membrane, it is too aggressive an environment for superficial erosions. But baking it in the oven, grating it and seasoning it with olive oil is not only tasty, but also healthy.

Beetroot for atrophic gastritis

Atrophic gastritis is characterized by thinning of the mucous membrane, insufficient secretion of gastric juice, gradual atrophy of the excretory glands. The process of digestion is sluggish, the motility of the organ is weakened. In this case, products that stimulate the production of hydrochloric acid are just right. At the same time, food should be chopped, delicate in relation to the mucous membrane.

The best thing that can be offered from the beet menu in the absence of exacerbation is juice, half with cabbage. Drinking in the morning 30-40 minutes before meals and adhering to a special diet, you can restore the functions of the stomach, restore the microflora, get rid of dysbacteriosis.

Beetroot for exacerbation of gastritis

Acute manifestation of gastritis symptoms forces a very responsible approach to nutrition and adherence to all recommendations of doctors. Is there a place for beets in them? The first day of the acute period is generally hungry, followed by a diet of pureed soups, viscous porridges with the gradual inclusion of boiled vegetables in the diet, including beets (therapeutic diet table No. 2).

Frequent inclusion of it in the menu can cause loose stools, so from time to time you can eat a small portion of the vegetable grated and sprinkled with vegetable oil.

Benefits

Beetroot is not only a tasty vegetable, but also healthy. Its main value is its low calorie content and high content of nutrients that are not lost during cooking. These are vitamins C, group B; minerals: silicon, zinc, manganese, iron, copper, molybdenum, potassium, calcium, magnesium; amino acids: betaine, arginine, histidine.

Beetroot is a rich source of phytochemical compounds, which includes ascorbic acid, carotenoids, phenolic acids and flavonoids. [ 1 ] Beetroot is also one of the few vegetables that contains a group of bioactive pigments known as betalains. [ 2 ] A number of studies have shown that betalains have high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties in vitro and in various animal models in vivo. [ 3 ], [ 4 ] This has sparked interest in the possible role of beetroot in clinical pathologies characterized by oxidative stress and chronic inflammation, such as liver disease, [ 5 ] arthritis and even cancer [ 6 ], [ 7 ]

The antioxidants in it prevent cell aging, iron prevents the development of anemia, and the large amount of fiber removes toxins and waste from the intestines, fights constipation, and promotes digestion.

Contraindications

Beetroot reduces the ability to absorb calcium, so if there is a deficiency, the root vegetable is contraindicated. Due to the high sugar content, it should be consumed with caution by diabetics, monitoring the glycemic index. It is not advisable for urolithiasis, as well as loose stools.

Complications

Complications are possible from the organs, in case of illness of which beets in one form or another are not recommended. The stomach can also react negatively to the product, which is a reason to exclude it from the diet.

Recipes

Many recipes call for boiled or baked beets, so you need to know how to cook them. First, wash the fruit well, but do not peel it, put it in a saucepan, fill it with water and let it cook. Depending on its size, it will take 40-60 minutes to be fully cooked. You can remove it from the heat earlier, drain the liquid, fill it with cold water, cover it with a lid and leave it for a while until it is ready.

For baking, beets are peeled, large ones are cut in half, wrapped in foil and placed in the oven. Dishes made from it are the most delicious, and you can use it in the following recipes:

  • grate on a beetroot grater, season with vegetable oil (can be used as a side dish for meat or salad);
  • cut beets and soft cheese (such as mozzarella) into small cubes, sprinkle with pine nuts, season with oil;
  • boil the peeled beets, remove from the water, grate on a coarse grater and return back, adding lemon juice. Each person collects the composition in portions in a deep plate: cucumber cubes, boiled egg, boiled meat, chopped greens and pour in beet broth, put sour cream. This okroshka is great in the summer heat.

Patients with low acidity can drink beet juice: grate the raw vegetable on a fine grater, squeeze the juice through cheesecloth, put in the refrigerator for an hour. Raw beet is also used for salads, it stimulates the secretion of gastric juice, digestive enzymes. Here is one of them - vitamin: cut white cabbage, salt and squeeze lightly, grate the beet, apple and carrot (raw) there, season with oil.

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