Coffee for gastritis: how to use it correctly, spectrum of effects on the stomach

August 24, 2018
Gastroenterology
Pavel Bibik

Atrophic gastritis belongs to the chronic form of gastric disease. It should be considered as an independent disease, although there is another view on this issue: recurrent injuries to the mucous membrane transform the acute form into a chronic one. There are two most unpleasant moments that briefly characterize the seriousness of the situation:

There is a high risk of stomach cancer.
In addition, this disease, according to some experts, is practically incurable.

Does this mean a final verdict? And what should the menu be for atrophic gastritis of the stomach? These and many other questions will be covered in this article.

The main specificity of this disease

In the initial stages, it occurs practically without pronounced symptoms. More precisely, signals come from the body, informing about destructive processes, but most people brush them aside, blithely believing that everything will work itself out. The key to the name of the disease is the word “atrophy”. The cells of the inner layer of the stomach are gradually destroyed, losing the ability to secrete fermentation substances and gastric juice, as well as absorb nutrients. Most often, this results in low stomach acidity. It would seem that there is nothing wrong: acidity can be corrected. The main danger comes from another reason. Let's look at this in more detail. The development of pathology can be divided into two stages:

The Helicobacter pylory bacillus attacks the gland cells of the inner walls of the stomach (this statement is true for many types of gastritis).
Complex autoimmune processes aggravate the pathology. As a result, the stomach dies, unable to cope with its direct functions, becoming the cause of cancer.

The diet for gastritis and atrophic gastritis is designed to provide the body with all nutrients without overloading it.

How does drinking a cup of coffee work?

To figure out whether it is possible to drink coffee with gastritis of the stomach, let’s consider the mechanisms of its effect on the digestive system as a whole:

Like any other hot liquid, a drink made from coffee beans greatly irritates the mucous membranes. This immediately leads to active secretion and the appearance of additional mucus.
Juice production is enhanced by caffeine and catechol. Therefore, we can say with confidence: coffee has physical and chemical effects.
Now let's remember how the stomach works while you sleep. During the night, the organ is completely freed from food. If a person starts the day with a cup of coffee (and often two at once, with a break for a cigarette), double irritation of the mucous membrane occurs. Even more hydrochloric acid is produced, which begins to “eat” the walls of the stomach.

It’s good if, along with a cup of coffee or immediately after it, a person eats a hearty breakfast. Highly acidic gastric juice is used to process food. But many people drink coffee for breakfast and then go to work hungry. Hydrochloric acid has no choice but to digest the walls of the stomach. This is why you should not drink coffee on an empty stomach if you have gastritis.

When acidity is reduced, the harm is not so serious. But many of us drink coffee with gastritis with high acidity! If you do this every morning, it is quite possible to “earn” a chronic disease. There are cases where uncontrolled consumption of the drink led to the appearance of a malignant formation.

Symptoms of atrophic gastritis

There are usually common symptoms common to all types of gastritis. Patients usually complain of heaviness in the solar plexus area after eating, and its volume does not matter. They have bad breath, belching, and nausea. Constipation in combination with diarrhea and flatulence are recorded. There are symptoms that indirectly indicate a gastrointestinal disorder. Here we should mention hypovitaminosis (lack of B12), anemia. This manifests itself in the form of headaches, tingling of the tongue and yellowing of the skin. Violation of hormonal metabolism can be added to secondary symptoms. In some cases, body weight decreases.

Ground or instant coffee?

If you choose between ground and instant coffee, the first option is preferable. The soluble product has a particularly strong effect on chronic processes. This is explained by the increased content of biologically active substances. Patients who drank instant coffee for gastritis often complained of increased pain.

Ground coffee is considered a natural product. Compared to instant coffee, ground coffee beans are less dangerous. Nutritionists focus on certain rules that coffee lovers should follow.

What types of diets are recommended?

Considering the difficulties in nutrition, for atrophic gastritis, 4 types of diet are recommended from the methods of the famous Soviet nutritionist M.E. Pevzner. They are conventionally designated tables 1a, 1, 2 and 4. Each of them solves certain therapeutic problems. Atrophic gastritis, treatment and diet are complex multi-level processes that require constant monitoring and monitoring of the situation. A brief description of each type of recommended table is intended to give only a general picture. Only after preliminary consultations with a specialist can and should you begin a specific diet.

Table 1a is designed to calm down obvious pain. Its components will be discussed in more detail below. When the main peak of the disease has passed, the gastroenterologist, at his discretion, switches to either basic diet 2 or 1. Table 2 implies almost complete nutrition for the patient. Dishes can be lightly fried, stewed, baked. And also use vegetables and fruits, flour products and fermented milk products. Diet 4 is prescribed for enteric syndrome, detection of individual intolerance to certain foods and those that can cause fermentation and putrefactive processes in the intestinal tract. This category includes: cheeses, sour cream, grapes, soda, grilled, smoked meats, canned food, marinade, juices, black and white bread. After the outbreak of inflammation has passed, they return to diet 2.

Contraindications

Nuts have a list of contraindications that are not safe for health if ignored. These include:

Individual intolerance or allergic hypersensitivity to nuts. If a patient has a tendency to Quincke's edema or asthma, then even a small amount of hazelnuts and almonds can serve as a trigger for the development of a dangerous allergic reaction.
Chronic peptic ulcer of the duodenum or stomach also prohibits the use of nuts. Many of them contain acids that provoke exacerbation of such gastrointestinal pathologies.
Diabetes and obesity also force patients to stop eating nuts. They contain a lot of calories and carbohydrate compounds, which is unacceptable for such diseases.
Walnuts are contraindicated for skin pathologies such as eczema, psoriasis or dermatitis.

Walnuts are contraindicated for skin pathologies such as eczema.
Each nut crop has a positive effect on the body. Vegetable oils restore normal hormonal levels, the vitamin composition strengthens the immune defense, and minerals activate the transport of valuable substances through cell membranes.

The main thing is to familiarize yourself with the contraindications and take into account the type of disease in consultation with a gastroenterologist.

Diet: table 1a

Only the treating gastroenterologist or nutritionist can prescribe a diet. In the first two weeks, although the period may be shorter, for focal atrophic gastritis, a diet is prescribed - table 1a. Its goal is to create the most gentle conditions for the gastric mucosa, without loading it unnecessarily. Therefore, foods that can cause various irritations (thermal or mechanical), as well as stimulation of gastric juice, are avoided. The consistency of the served dishes is liquid or puree. They are boiled or steamed. Calorie content should not exceed 2000 kcal. It is best to give up salt for this period, or limit it as much as possible (no more than 10 grams per day). It is also recommended to reduce fluid consumption to a 1.5 liter bottle. Due to the fact that the diet for atrophic gastritis in its focal manifestation does not provide the body with all nutrients, water consumption is limited.

What can replace coffee?

Is it possible to replace the tonic? If desired, each patient will be able to choose the best option depending on their own preferences. To minimize harm and give coffee a boost of energy for erosive gastritis, you can replace cocoa. Many people like to treat themselves to coffee substitutes.

100 years ago, scientists from the USSR conducted a series of experiments with barley grain. They found that barley coffee has a strong strengthening effect. It is recommended for people who are susceptible to stress. The product is introduced into the regular diet to recover from serious illnesses in the postoperative period.

Allowed and prohibited products of table 1a

The diet for gastritis and atrophic gastritis includes the consumption of cereals. Table 1a also does not use them, but recommends adding them to pureed soups. There is also meat on the menu. Only it must be lean and separated from the tendons. If it is chicken, then the skin is not used and the meat is cooked for a very long time. Serve 1 time per day, having previously been scrolled several times in a meat grinder. This also applies to fish. Steam it without the skin, thoroughly chopping it. In a word, everything needs to be crushed and passed through a blender, even cereals for liquid porridges.

Now it is necessary to briefly consider the prohibited foods in this type of diet. Any flour and bakery products are definitely excluded from the diet for this period. You should not consume fermented milk products. Vegetables, coffee, and soda are dangerous in any form. Of course, this list includes herbs and spices. Nutrition for atrophic gastritis of the stomach, its frequency is about 6 times a day and in small portions.

Features of table No. 1

The next type of diet that should be considered is table number 1. Its difference from 1a is that a list of some products is added. But the fundamental principles remain. Before consumption, food (dietary meat, fresh fruits and some root vegetables) is passed through a blender or meat grinder. Food is not served hot or cold. Rather, it is the temperature of the human body. Water consumption is also limited - no more than a 1.5 liter bottle.

First, you need to familiarize yourself with the list of permitted products. The main difficulty of the diet for atrophic gastritis of the stomach is discipline. You can't indulge your habits. Thinking that nothing will happen just once, patients may be extremely surprised. Although there are some concessions: there is no need for strict regulation of food intake according to a schedule, but the break should not be more than 6 hours. The duration of the diet ranges from 6 months to a year.

Negative effect on the stomach

The most dangerous thing for the stomach is the bad habit of drinking coffee on an empty stomach, especially flavored with a cigarette. This fascinating process, which increases the content of hydrochloric acid, is destructive by definition, but there is also scientific evidence for the negative effects that a person suffering from gastritis is exposed to.

You should not drink a hot drink under any circumstances, as this may aggravate the symptoms of gastritis, such as heartburn and chronic gastritis.

During the night, the stomach manages to process all the food and remains empty; at this time of day it is least protected. If you drink coffee, it will provoke acid secretion processes. Let's add to this the lack of food in it, and as a result we get the process of processing our own gastric tissues.

Drinking coffee on an empty stomach is prohibited, especially for people with gastritis with high acidity!

Even a completely healthy person, but susceptible to this addiction, will most likely sooner or later develop a peptic ulcer or at least one form of gastritis.

Approximate diet

What does a diet look like for atrophic gastritis of the stomach? The menu for one day is offered to your attention:

Breakfast. Steamed omelettes are usually recommended, sometimes with the addition of fresh herbs. You can eat baked cheesecakes (the main thing is to cook from low-fat cottage cheese). As an option, you can consider various cereals and tea without sugar.
Lunch. Low-fat sour cream or milk. You can use jelly or mineral water, but without gas.
Dinner. Liquid soup or porridge with a steamed cutlet. Tea (green or black) will not be amiss. The main thing is not strong and without sugar.
Afternoon snack. Compote or jelly.
Dinner. Porridge with stewed vegetables or meat.

What products are on the prohibited list?

Canned food, pickled foods, as well as anything prepared by frying should be excluded from the diet. Fresh bread and baked goods are dangerous. Boiled eggs, fatty foods, alcohol and cigarettes are unacceptable foods for the body. Onions and garlic should also be excluded, but here it is necessary to make a reservation: their use is allowed, but only in baked form. Citrus fruits, grapes and any concentrated juices will not do any good, and can cause colossal harm. The diet for gastritis and atrophic gastritis is aimed, first of all, at increasing the rate of regeneration of the gastric mucosa.

Recipe: table No. 2

For most, a diet for gastritis and atrophic gastritis is a kind of test that must be passed due to circumstances. Below are some simple recipes that are not only very healthy and nutritious, but will also significantly help improve your mood, and good spirits are one of the key points on the path to recovery.

Carrot pudding. You will need a carrot for it, one is enough. The chopped vegetable is boiled in milk until tender. Beat the egg white separately, and the resulting carrot soup must be placed in a blender, after adding 1 or 2 tablespoons of sugar and semolina (but no more). Add beaten egg white and grated apple to this mixture. Grease the baking sheet and preheat the oven to 200 degrees. The dish takes about 10 minutes to prepare.

Other Dietary Recommendations

It is best to abstain from fermented milk products. Prescribed drugs that inhibit the production of enzymes also lead to a refusal of natural fruits and vegetables. Their use is possible only with heat treatment. It is better to replace table salt with sea salt. Mineral water can be consumed, but without gases. After consultation with your doctor, you can include sea buckthorn or St. John's wort oil as an additional remedy that restores the gastric mucosa. Before meals, take 1 teaspoon. When preparing soups, it is better to boil meat and vegetables separately. It’s also better to grind them separately.