Gastritis Weight Loss
At least 8 out of 10,000 people suffer from Gastritis every year. When the mucosal lining of the stomach is inflamed, the condition is called Gastritis. Since gastritis affects the stomach lining and the stomach wall, it affects the entire process of digestion.
Gastritis affects the body in many ways. It affects the process of digestion and makes it more painful. Apart from that, it affects nutrition and other processes in the body. Due to these changes, a person suffering from gastritis loses weight.
What is Gastritis?
Gastritis is a gastrointestinal condition which affects mucosal lining and the stomach wall. The stomach contains a strong acid which helps break down food. To protect the organ from damage caused by this acid, the stomach wall is coated with a mucosal lining. When this lining is damaged or weakened, the stomach wall undergoes inflammation. This resulting inflammation is called gastritis.
Symptoms of Gastritis
Since gastritis affects the stomach lining, it affects the digestive process and gastrointestinal tract. Apart from gastritis weight loss, a patient may experience different symptoms of varying intensity, depending on how much the condition has progressed-
- Upper abdominal pain
Due to the inflammation of the inner stomach lining, patients of gastritis suffer from upper abdominal pain.
- Frequent indigestion
It is difficult for gastritis patients to digest food with an inflamed or infected stomach lining. This causes frequent indigestion.
- Nausea or vomiting
Improper absorption of nutrients through the inflamed stomach lining causes nausea or even vomiting for gastritis patients.
- Feeling full even after small meals
Due to the inflamed stomach lining and indigestion, gastritis patients often experience a feeling of “fullness” even after small meals.
- Bloating
The swelling of the stomach lining resulting from gastritis often causes bloating.
- Constipation
Improper digestion causes constipation in many gastritis patients.
- Black Stool
Digestive issues of gastritis patients often lead to black tarry stool.
- Bloody Vomits
Chronic indigestion and the imbalance in the digestive tract often results in bloody vomits.
These symptoms are warning signs for gastritis and if you are experiencing these symptoms, you may be suffering from gastritis. Gastritis symptoms when left untreated, will result in more serious issues such as peptic ulcers, gall bladder stones etc.
Gastritis Causes
Gastritis is caused by several different reasons. The most commonly known causes of gastritis are-
- H. Pylori Bacteria
Reportedly, over 90% of the infections are caused by H. Pylori bacteria. The infection causes the immune system to react to the bacteria, causing inflammation. This infection causes chronic gastritis and can lead to other severe health issues when it is not addressed. Gastritis weight loss, indigestion and abdominal pain are the most common symptoms of this infection.
- Excessive Use of Drugs, Alcohol or Smoking
On frequent use, NSAIDs or over-the-counter painkillers tend to cause gastritis. They disrupt the natural balance in your stomach and irritate the natural lining of the stomach. This causes inflammation which results in gastritis.
- Autoimmune Disease
When the body’s immune system confuses between healthy cells in the body and harmful bacteria or viruses, it attacks the cells of the body. This is an autoimmune disease. Autoimmune diseases can cause inflammation of the stomach lining leading to gastritis.
- Bile Reflux
Bile fluid is responsible for breaking down fatty foods. It is produced in the liver. When bile starts travelling upward towards the stomach, it results in inflammation and hence causes gastritis.
Gastritis Diet
Gastritis causes inflammation of the stomach wall, it certainly affects the digestive system as well as food and nutrition.
What foods are bad for Gastritis?
Every disease is caused when the natural bodily balance is disturbed. Gastritis can be healed if the natural bodily balance is restored. A healthy lifestyle and a good diet can help you accomplish this.
Some foods are extremely difficult to digest. Meats and animal products tend to add bad cholesterol, fats etc without providing sufficient nutritional value in return. Most of these foods tend to undergo decomposition in the body before they are completely digested. This is known as putrefaction. This process only increases toxicity in the body, and hence worsens the inflammation.
Not only this, processed foods, fast food, fried food etc are equally difficult to digest. They take longer to break down and tend to overwork the gut. They do not provide any nutritional value and cause a host of other diseases as well. These foods worsen the inflammation and symptoms like gastritis weight loss.
So How Can You Avoid Gastritis Weight Loss?
You can easily fight gastritis weight loss. In fact, it is possible to heal the body from gastritis naturally! Whole food plant based diet is the best way to treat gastritis naturally.
Here are some ways that people suffering from gastritis weight loss can heal their bodies naturally :
- Small but Regular Meals
Due to the symptoms of gastritis, you may feel full or experience indigestion. This makes it difficult to have 3 large meals. It is important to nourish your body and get sufficient nutrients to fight gastritis weight loss. Hence, you can start by having smaller portions of a whole-food plant based diet, more frequently.
Make sure your daily diet contains enough soft, easy to digest foods, such as: bananas, papaya , potatoes, sweet potatoes, cooked leafy greens, carrots, to name a few. These are healthy whole foods that give you sufficient nutrition and do not disturb the gut’s natural balance.
- Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
Fresh fruits and vegetables are the best source of nutrients and they are the easiest foods to digest. These foods are rich in essential vitamins and minerals. They are natural foods and contain fiber and friendly bacteria that helps restore the natural gut balance. This helps gain weight after gastritis weight loss.
Don’t be afraid to go raw! Uncooked meals are beneficial for the body and can help anyone suffering from gastritis.
Here are some foods that will provide necessary nutrients for gastritis patients. Some foods that will help with gastritis are-
Fruits like apples, melons, and bananas
Vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, spinach, and zucchini
- Sleep and Stress
There are holistic factors that affect your physical health and tend to worsen symptoms like gastritis weight loss. The right diet is essential to recovery and gaining weight. But sufficient rest and sleep are equally important.
The body needs time to recharge and rejuvenate. Without proper sleep it is impossible to fight gastritis weight loss.
Stress is also a major factor in gastritis. Stress has a bad effect on your body and causes physical symptoms. Feelings like fear, anger or sadness tend to disrupt the nerve energy that passes from the mind to the bowel. When this happens, it takes longer to heal and release toxins.
Not only this, continued stress contracts the colon. It also makes the colon’s pH highly acidic and in turn disrupts the balance of the gastrointestinal tract.
This is why it is important for every individual to deal with their emotions. Make sure you aren’t too stressed about work and practice ways to manage it. This includes meditation, music, exercise and surrounding yourself with supportive and understanding individuals. This will greatly improve your gut balance and help you deal with gastritis weight loss eventually.
Conclusion
These are a few steps you can take to fight gastritis weight loss. Gastritis is a common yet challenging disease to deal with. With the right diet and lifestyle, you can not only eliminate gastritis symptoms, you can also heal the body naturally. If you want to know more about how you can heal your symptoms such as gastritis weight loss, fill out our health survey by high carb health.