Diet in atrophic gastritis

First, let's figure out whether a diet is really necessary for atrophic gastritis?

A disease such as atrophic gastritis is a rather complex pathology, since along with the inflammatory process there is atrophy of the mucous membrane and glandular tissues. The cells and tissues of the stomach gradually change their structure, up to complete or partial death, which directly affects the digestive function: mucous secretion, enzyme production, breakdown and absorption of substances necessary for the body are disrupted. Over time, the stomach stops "accepting" any food, and the percentage of nutrients that enter the body becomes unacceptably small. As a result, not only the digestive system suffers, but also all organs and systems of the body without exception.

What can a diet do in this situation? Thanks to changes in nutrition, it is possible to ease the work of the damaged stomach, which allows food to be absorbed and supply the body with useful elements and vitamins. Moreover, it becomes easier for the stomach to work, which reduces pain and promotes faster passage of food masses through the gastrointestinal tract.

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Types of diets for different types of diseases

In this article, we will talk about which diet for atrophic gastritis is most effective, and in what situations it can be prescribed, and we will also analyze possible menu options and daily diet during the treatment of the disease.

Diet 2 for atrophic gastritis

Diet No. 2 (or therapeutic table No. 2) is a rational principle of nutrition, the purpose of which is to provide the body with all the necessary complex of microelements, vitamins, proteins, fats and carbohydrates, without burdening, but normalizing the activity of the entire digestive system.

For cooking, they mainly use a steamer, boiling in water and (less often) baking. Food should be as finely ground as possible so that the digestive system does not experience additional mechanical stress. In addition, finely ground food stimulates the enzymatic activity of the stomach. All products used for cooking are subjected to grinding. Food that can cause difficulties with digestion is excluded - this is everything fried, smoked, fatty, spicy, excessively salty or sour, cold or hot. This list should also include unnatural products, that is, those that contain artificial colors, preservatives, sweeteners, flavor enhancers, stabilizers and emulsifiers.

Nutritionists advise eating very small portions, but often enough, approximately every 2-3 hours.

Next, we will consider the main emphasis of dietary nutrition for various types of diseases.

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Diet for chronic atrophic gastritis

The chronic form of the disease is a long-term illness that requires long-term and patient treatment. The provoking factor for the development of the disease is an improper diet, alcohol consumption, frequent and illiterate intake of medications. The role of proper nutrition in the chronic course of the disease is undeniable: atrophic changes in the walls of the stomach, the growth of connective tissue elements where the glands should be located - all this disrupts the natural production of hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes. The peristalsis of the digestive organs is also upset.

In case of mucosal atrophy, any gastroenterologist will insist on following a diet. As a rule, a strict and gentle diet is prescribed. Degenerative changes in the walls of the stomach most often reduce the production of hydrochloric acid, so the food consumed should promote its production, enhance the enzymatic function of the digestive system. The intake of all necessary vitamins and other nutrients with food is necessarily monitored.

Diet for focal atrophic gastritis

Focal gastritis is characterized by the formation of zones of atrophy of the stomach walls. In other words, zones appear in the stomach that cease to perform their secretory function, since the glandular tissue is partially replaced by epithelium.

More often, with the focal form of the disease, diet No. 1a is prescribed, after some time the patient is transferred to diet No. 2. In addition, it is recommended to drink medicinal mineral water, such as "Narzan", "Essentuki-4" or "Essentuki-17", 15-20 minutes before meals. This technique helps to stimulate the work of intact glands.

It is recommended to drink herbal teas based on rose hips, plantain leaves, St. John's wort, wormwood, etc., half an hour before meals.

It is forbidden to drink alcoholic beverages, as well as food products and dishes that can damage the already suffering gastric mucosa. If such measures are not taken, the treatment may drag on for a very long period, or not bring any effect at all.

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Diet for diffuse atrophic gastritis

The diagnosis of the diffuse form of the disease in most cases means that there are no serious dystrophic problems in the stomach yet. This is a kind of transitional form, when the damage to the mucous membrane is still superficial, but local areas of degeneration of glandular tissues are already observed. Symptoms of disorder of the secretory function of glandular cells at this stage are already evident.

Dietary nutrition for diffuse lesions can be more effective than ever, however, if this condition is neglected, negative consequences are inevitable.

The recommended diet is considered to be the therapeutic table No. 2. It provides a complete diet of the patient, activating the function of the glands. Dishes are necessarily cooked in boiled form, or stewed or baked, but should not be fried. It is forbidden to eat too cold products, as well as food with a rough texture (coarse fiber).

The diet No. 2 can be quite varied, using meat and fish products. Dairy products and flour products are allowed. Eggs are prepared as steam omelettes or hard-boiled.

It is essential to include sufficient amounts of vegetables and fruits in the diet.

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Diet for atrophic gastritis with low acidity

Reduced acidity occurs as a result of atrophic processes in the mucous tissues of the stomach. The degree of damage may depend on how large the damaged area is. Dead glandular cells lose the ability to produce acid, which helps food to be processed and digested. In addition, there is a shortage of mucus, as well as enzymes, due to which the process of assimilation of nutrients occurs.

Changing your diet is probably the most important stage of treating gastritis with low acidity. The diet should include foods that stimulate the production of gastric juice components. Such foods include lean meat, fish, acidified freshly squeezed juices, fruit and vegetable dishes. Dishes that can provoke fermentation processes in the digestive tract are prohibited: fresh baked goods, whole milk, etc. Food should be varied and filling. However, overeating should be strictly avoided: patients with hypoacid atrophic gastritis eat fractionally, that is, often and in small portions. This allows food to be completely digested without weighing down the stomach.

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Diet for atrophic gastritis with high acidity

The development of atrophic gastritis with increased acidity is directly related to nutrition, that is, this pathology appears against the background of improper nutrition. This means that the first thing the patient should do is make adjustments to his menu.

Actually, any gastritis requires excluding spicy, fried and fatty foods from consumption. One should not forget about bad habits, which also need to be excluded - this is smoking and drinking alcohol.

Increased acidity of gastric juice needs to be reduced, and in the presence of inflammation with atrophy, as well as with periodic attacks of vomiting, it is important to stimulate the work of the remaining functioning glands.

Eat at least five times a day. If the process worsens, stick to the diet for at least 3 months.

Various damaging and acid-forming foods are excluded from the diet: mushrooms, radishes, fatty meats, fried foods, citrus fruits, grapes, soda, coffee, dark bread, hot spices, onions and garlic, mustard. Food should not be allowed to linger in the stomach cavity for a long time: for this reason, hot and cold food, as well as heavy and abundant food, are excluded.

It is recommended to drink skim fresh milk. It is better to replace raw fruits with boiled or steamed ones, as well as purees or compotes. It is recommended to eat porridges made from rice, semolina, and oatmeal. It is preferable to grind all products, for example, in a blender.

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Diet for atrophic gastritis with normal acidity

Patients with normal gastric acidity eat according to the principle of the course of the disease: during exacerbations, the diet is tightened, and during periods of remission, it is relaxed.

During an exacerbation of the disease, it is recommended to eat mainly the so-called "mucous" first courses, prepared with the addition of rice, barley groats. You can eat oatmeal with milk or water. You should eat small doses, but often enough, chewing the pieces of food well - this promotes the normal function of the digestive organs.

An important point is the normalization of defecation. If loose stools prevail, it is recommended to drink freshly squeezed juices from pomegranate, dogwood, blueberries, black currants, pears. In case of persistent constipation, emphasis is placed on the use of juices from carrots, apricots, beets with the addition of mashed vegetables. Fermented milk products (fresh) are also recommended.

You should not eat sweets or baked goods. It is recommended to drink green tea between meals (but not during meals).

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Diet for antral atrophic gastritis

Antral atrophic gastritis is accompanied by damage to the lower parts of the stomach, located almost at the exit from the organ, on the border with the duodenum. Antral gastritis often causes morning sickness, rapid satiety with heaviness in the stomach and unpleasant belching.

Most often in such cases, dietary table No. 1a is prescribed, especially with severe pain syndrome. This diet should be followed for the first few days of the disease. The goal is to reduce irritation and reflex excitability of the mucous tissues of the stomach. Products that stimulate secretion are excluded from the diet. Food crushed to a puree state or liquid is allowed. As a rule, most of the diet consists of mashed cereals, cream soups, as well as dishes based on dairy products - cottage cheese pancakes, yoghurts, puddings.

After diet No. 1a, the patient switches to diet No. 1, which helps restore damaged mucous membranes. This is a relatively extended diet, the purpose of which is to normalize the secretion and motility of the digestive system. Dishes with a high fiber content are not recommended, so all vegetables and fruits are served only in processed form (boiled, baked, jellied, etc., but not raw).

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Diet for atrophic hyperplastic gastritis

Atrophic hypertrophic gastritis is accompanied by the appearance of formations on the surface of the gastric mucosa - these can be cystic or polypous formations. The cause of the disease is considered to be such factors as alcohol consumption, unnatural synthetic products, vitamin deficiency, allergic reactions to products.

At the very beginning of the hyperplastic process, nutritionists prescribe a dietary diet with the exclusion from the diet of all products that irritate the internal walls of the stomach. These are all fatty dishes, pickles, baked goods and flour products, sour and spicy foods, raw fruits and vegetables. It is also necessary to give up cigarettes and alcoholic beverages.

Goals of dietary changes:

• stopping hyperplasia of the gastric mucosa;
• restoration of gastric motility and secretion;
• normalization of bowel function;
• stabilization of hemoglobin levels in the blood.

If gastritis is chronic, then you will most likely have to adhere to a dietary diet for life.

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Diet menu for atrophic gastritis

First day (Monday):

• 1st breakfast – semolina porridge, boiled egg, rosehip tea;
• II breakfast – apple soufflé;
• lunch – noodle soup, boiled brisket with sour cream, apricot jelly;
• afternoon snack – cookies, tea;
• dinner – cottage cheese with yogurt;
• Before bed – a cup of kefir.

Second day (Tuesday):

• I breakfast – oatmeal with apple and cinnamon, tea;
• II breakfast – a piece of homemade cheese;
• lunch – soup with meatballs, mashed potatoes and meat, carrot juice;
• afternoon snack – half an apple baked with cottage cheese;
• dinner – cottage cheese pancakes with sour cream, tea with honey;
• Before bed - a cup of yogurt.

Third day (Wednesday):

• I breakfast – rice casserole, green tea;
• II breakfast – blueberries with honey;
• lunch – chicken soup, noodles with meat, berry compote;
• afternoon snack – pureed pear;
• dinner – a piece of boiled fish, jelly;
• Before bed – yogurt.

Fourth day (Thursday):

• 1st breakfast – noodles with cheese, cocoa;
• II breakfast – apple pudding;
• lunch – rice soup, buckwheat cutlets with potatoes, compote;
• afternoon snack – marmalade, green tea;
• dinner – potato and fish casserole, tea;
• Before bed – a cup of kefir.

Fifth day (Friday):

• 1st breakfast – a portion of lazy vareniki with sour cream, tea;
• II breakfast – berry mousse;
• lunch – fresh cabbage soup, steamed chicken cutlet, tea with currants;
• afternoon snack – carrot and apple salad with sour cream;
• dinner – milk sausage with rice, tea;
• Before bed – tea with honey.

Sixth day (Saturday):

• I breakfast – omelette, tea with cookies;
• II breakfast – peach puree;
• lunch – cabbage and carrot soup, potato cutlets with meat gravy, compote;
• afternoon snack – marshmallows, cocoa;
• dinner – a piece of boiled tongue with potatoes, compote;
• Before going to bed - a cup of fresh yogurt.

Seventh day (Sunday):

• I breakfast – cheese casserole, tea;
• II breakfast – banana mousse;
• lunch – fish broth, baked chicken breast with cauliflower puree, tea;
• afternoon snack – jelly with a rusk;
• dinner – meatballs with rice, strawberry tea;
• Before bed – a glass of yogurt.

Diet recipes for atrophic gastritis

What interesting and tasty things can be prepared for a patient to diversify a boring and monotonous menu? There are many options: the main thing is to turn on your imagination and try to think outside the box. We present to your attention a small selection of tasty and healthy dishes.

• Airy steamed cutlets. Ingredients: 1 kg potatoes, ½ kg boiled cauliflower, one carrot, one onion, one egg, breadcrumbs, salt.

Cut the boiled cabbage into cubes, sauté in sunflower oil with chopped onion and carrot. Mash the potatoes, mix it with the cabbage, add the egg and breadcrumbs. Form cutlets from the resulting "mincemeat", sprinkle with breadcrumbs and cook in a steamer. Enjoy your meal.

• Delicate jelly. Ingredients: a little vanilla sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa, sugar, two egg yolks, a glass of jam, 600 ml sour cream, 3 tablespoons gelatin, 3 glasses of water, a little lemon juice. Pour cool water over the gelatin, leave until it swells, then heat it up a little. Beat the yolks with ½ glass of sugar until fluffy, add a little lemon juice, vanillin or vanilla sugar, mix. Add 200 ml of sour cream and a glass of gelatin, knead. Pour the mixture into a prepared container and put it in the refrigerator. Leave until it hardens.

Prepare the next layer: mix 200 ml of sour cream with sugar (1-2 tablespoons), add a glass of crushed jam, a glass of gelatin, stir. Pour the mixture onto the jelly that has already hardened in the refrigerator, and put it back in the refrigerator.

Last layer: mix 200 ml sour cream, ½ cup sugar and cocoa, add the remaining gelatin. Add the mixture to our jelly as a third layer and place in the refrigerator until completely solidified. Before serving, cut into portions and serve.

• Eggplant pate. Ingredients: eggplant, 2 onions, 2 eggs (boiled), salt and pepper, vegetable oil (about 40 g).

Bake the eggplant whole. After the eggplant is cooked, scrape out the pulp with a spoon; we won’t need the peel. Sauté the onion in a frying pan. Mix the eggplant pulp, boiled eggs, and onion in a blender and chop. Salt and pepper to taste. The pate is ready – you can spread it on croutons or toast.

• Monastery porridge. Ingredients: buckwheat 100 g, pearl barley 100 g, rice 100 g, couscous 100 g, three onions, 2-3 small carrots, eggplant, water, vegetable oil (about 60 g), herbs, salt.

Slice the onion, eggplant and carrot and sauté in a frying pan with vegetable oil. Place the washed buckwheat in a saucepan and a third of the sautéed vegetables on top. The next layer is washed pearl barley and again a third of the vegetables. Next is couscous and the remaining vegetables. The last layer is washed rice. Carefully pour one liter of warm salted water into the container, trying not to damage the layers. Sprinkle with herbs on top and cover with a lid. Put on low heat or in the oven until the liquid is completely absorbed. Enjoy your meal.

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What can you eat with atrophic gastritis?

• Bread and flour products: wheat bread (grades I or II), in the form of crackers or dried pieces, dry biscuit cakes, dry cookies. No more than 2 times a week - pies with rice, apple, cottage cheese or meat filling, cooled.
• First courses on water, on a weak broth of fish products, vegetables or lean meat, with the addition of cereals, meatballs, potatoes. Vegetable soups without the addition of pickles and marinated products, cream soup, cream soup.
• Meat products: diet sausages, white meat without skin and fat, tongue, minced meat, pates.
• Sea fish with a minimum amount of fat.
• Dairy products – fresh kefir, cottage cheese, homemade cheese, small amounts of sour cream, cream and fresh skim milk.
• Vegetable oils.
• Eggs in the form of steamed omelettes or boiled.
• Vegetable dishes from pumpkin, potatoes, cabbage, zucchini, tomatoes, beets, carrots. Vegetable casseroles, stews, mashed potatoes, steamed or baked vegetable cutlets.
• Cereal dishes based on broth, water, milk (diluted with water). Porridges, puddings, pancakes and cutlets, casseroles, pilaf.
• Low-fat jellied meat, sturgeon caviar.
• Fruit and berry dishes: pureed or baked, as well as jelly, smoothies, mousses, jelly, compote, jams, marmalade, honey.
• Rosehip tea, freshly squeezed juices (must be diluted with water), tea with milk, cocoa.
• Greens (dill, cilantro, parsley, etc.).

What should you not eat if you have atrophic gastritis?

• Freshly baked bread, fresh pastries, sweet buns, cakes, cream cake.
• The first course is made from peas and beans. Okroshka, rassolnik, rich, rich borscht.
• Meat products: smoked meats, canned products (stewed meat, preserves), lard, fatty meats.
• Fatty fish, fish with bones, canned fish, salted and smoked fish.
• Dairy products: high-fat products, undiluted milk.
• Margarine, vegetable-animal mixtures (spreads), animal fat.
• Raw vegetables, radishes, garlic and onions, mushrooms, pickles and marinades, fermented vegetables.
• Legumes.
• Ketchup, mayonnaise, sauces and dressings, vinegar.
• Ice cream, chocolate, cream products, nuts.
• Carbonated drinks, kvass, grape juice, alcohol.

Reviews of diet for atrophic gastritis

Most of the reviews left by patients with atrophic gastritis come down to one thing: nutritional principles should be developed by a specialist, either a nutritionist or your attending gastroenterologist.

The main recommendations for the diet can be the following points:

• food should be taken in moderation, in small doses, at least 5-6 times a day, approximately every 2-3 hours;
• the diet should be based on easily cooked “soft” cereal products – oatmeal, buckwheat, rice;
• the presence of coarse fiber in foods and atrophic gastritis are incompatible concepts;
• It is optimal to consume approximately 2800-3000 kilocalories per day;
• fasting, as well as overeating, are unacceptable;
• Food should be served, on average, at a temperature of about +50°C.

Nutrition should be balanced:

• daily protein intake – 100 g (of which 60 g of animal origin and 40 g of plant origin);
• daily fat intake – 100 g (mainly of plant origin);
• Daily carbohydrate intake – 400 g (mainly complex carbohydrates).

The proposed dietary nutrition may seem quite strict at first glance, however, this is not entirely true. Many patients eventually get so used to the new principles of eating that they no longer want to go back to eating fatty and smoked foods. Indeed, many of the subtleties of this diet are based on the principles of normal healthy eating - eliminating harmful foods, maximum healthy and easily digestible products. That is why the diet for atrophic gastritis helps not only to restore the mucous membrane of the digestive system, but also has a beneficial effect on the entire body as a whole.