5 foods to avoid if you have stomach ulcer

Stomach ulcers occur when the thick layer of mucus that protects your stomach from digestive juices is reduced. This allows the digestive acids to eat away at the tissues that line the stomach, causing an ulcer.

If prompt attention is paid to it in form of drugs, lifestyle management amongst other things, another thing that helps to keep ulcer in check is the type of food one eats.

Trying to manage or heal stomach ulcers? See foods to stay away from as an ulcer patient…

1. Spicy Seasonings/Foods

Spicy foods irritate the lining of the stomach and by extension the sore area. Spicy foods are also known to make ulcer symptoms worse in some cases.

2. Alcohol

An ulcer patient should avoid alcohol/alcohol beverages as a whole. Alcohol intake increases the stomach’s acid level making the ulcer worse and healing almost impossible.

3. Red Meat

Ulcer patients (especially peptic) should stay away from red meat! Red meat take longer to digest making acid level in the stomach to rise which irritates the area and worsens the symptoms. This can be replaced with chicken, turkey and other lean proteins.

4. Refined Foods

Pasta, white bread sugar and more processed foods should be replaced with leafy greens and vegetables, antioxidants loaded fruits with lots of water.

5. Coffee

Coffee actually doesn’t cause ulcer but irritates it. The caffeine present in coffee erodes the already sore area (ulcer) making it worse and if the goal is to heal the ulcer, it is best to stay away from coffee or reduce taking it to the barest minimum.