Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsFoods to AvoidFoods to EatDrinks to AvoidDrinks to ConsumeHow to Eat SafelyWhen to See a Provider
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Foods to Avoid
Foods to Eat
Drinks to Avoid
Drinks to Consume
How to Eat Safely
When to See a Provider
Whole grains and fresh, fiber-rich fruits are just a few of the foods to eat if you have a peptic ulcer. One of the first things you will want to do is adjust your diet, opting for these and other healthy foods that are gentle on the stomach, such as yogurt and otherprobioticfood sources.
Experts at the National Institutes of Health note that diet and nutrition may not play an important role in either causing or preventing peptic ulcers.However, many people find it helpful to avoid spicy or acidic foods. Others may need to avoid dairy products or coffee.
Fatty foods may be a problem for people diagnosed with ulcers. They are harder to digest and require larger amounts of digestive acids to break them down.Saturated fatsalso provideH. pylorian ideal environment to thrive (unlike polyunsaturated or monosaturated fats that inhibit the growth ofH. pylori).
Your healthcare provider can help you to identify foods that may cause problems with your specific diagnosis. The foods to avoid if you have a peptic ulcer may include:
Foods that are low in acidity, saturated fats, and spicy ingredients may help to reduce symptoms in people diagnosed with an ulcer. Keep in mind that spicy foods don’t cause ulcers but they can make them worse.For other foods:
Foods you can eat if you have a peptic ulcer include:
There are certain beverages you should avoid if you have a peptic ulcer, including:
Limiting the acid found in citrus drinks, for example, may limit symptoms and promote healing of an ulcer.
Plain water is ultimately the best thing you can drink if you have a peptic ulcer. Other “safe” options include:
How to Eat With a Peptic Ulcer
How you eat when you have a peptic ulcer is as important as what you eat.
The first instinct you may have when you get a peptic ulcer is to stop eating and let the stomach rest. Not only would this deprive you of much-needed nutrition, but it can also make matters worse.
Eating the right food buffers the ulcer from stomach acids. By contrast, having an empty stomach can worsen symptoms because the stomach will keep churning out acids even if there is no food in it.
Additional tips to reduce peptic ulcer symptoms include the following:
Choose foods wisely rather than cutting back on nutrition. Keep in mind that other contributing factors may be at work, too.Peptic ulcer treatmentshould also involve smoking cessation. Smoking aggravates ulcers and is a contributing risk factor for peptic ulcers.
When to Talk With a Healthcare Provider
It is important to maintain optimal nutrition to promote the healing of a peptic ulcer. If you have trouble building a balanced diet from the foods you can tolerate, speak with a nutritionist who can help.
If you’re still having problems eating, speak with agastroenterologistwho can prescribe medications to ease your discomfort. H2-blockers and proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are the fastest way to heal a stomach ulcer. Both reduce stomach acid production so the ulcer can heal. Antibiotics are also prescribed to kill the bacteria that cause most ulcers.
You should also contact a digestive specialist if you have additional or changing symptoms, such as bloody stools or increasing pain.
Summary
There are foods you may need to avoid if you have a peptic ulcer. They include many fried, greasy, acidic, or spicy foods. Dairy, caffeine, fast foods, processed food, and alcohol also can make your symptoms worse and slow the healing of a peptic ulcer.
Foods to eat include those that are high in fiber and low in saturated fats. Foods that are rich in flavonoids, vitamin A, and probiotics are also good as they can inhibitH. pylori,the bacteria that accounts for many peptic ulcers.
9 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Mal S, Das TK, Pradhan S, Ghosh K.Probiotics as a Therapeutic Approach for Non-infectious Gastric Ulcer Management: a Comprehensive Review.Probiotics Antimicrob Proteins. 2024 Aug 27. doi:10.1007/s12602-024-10348-7Narayanan M.Peptic ulcer disease andHelicobacter pyloriinfection.Mo Med.2018 May-Jun;115(3):219–24.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).Eating, Diet, & Nutrition for Peptic Ulcers (Stomach or Duodenal Ulcers).Canadian Society of Intestinal Research.Stomach ulcer diet.Jung SW, Lee SW.The antibacterial effect of fatty acids on Helicobacter pylori infection.Korean J Intern Med.2016 Jan;31(1):30–5. doi:10.3904/kjim.2016.31.1.30American Academy of Family Physicians.Peptic ulcer disease.Ji J, Yang H.Using probiotics as supplementation for Helicobacter pylori antibiotic therapy.Int J Mol Sci.2020 Feb;21(3):1136. doi:10.3390/ijms21031136Gonzalez A, Casado J, Lanas A.Fighting the antibiotic crisis: flavonoids as promising antibacterial drugs against Helicobacter pylori Infection.Front Cell Infect Microbiol.2021;11:709749. doi:10.3389/fcimb.2021.709749Beasley DE, Koltz AM, Lambert JE, Fierer N, Dunn RR.The evolution of stomach acidity and its relevance to the human microbiome.PLoS One.2015;10(7):e0134116. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0134116
9 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Mal S, Das TK, Pradhan S, Ghosh K.Probiotics as a Therapeutic Approach for Non-infectious Gastric Ulcer Management: a Comprehensive Review.Probiotics Antimicrob Proteins. 2024 Aug 27. doi:10.1007/s12602-024-10348-7Narayanan M.Peptic ulcer disease andHelicobacter pyloriinfection.Mo Med.2018 May-Jun;115(3):219–24.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).Eating, Diet, & Nutrition for Peptic Ulcers (Stomach or Duodenal Ulcers).Canadian Society of Intestinal Research.Stomach ulcer diet.Jung SW, Lee SW.The antibacterial effect of fatty acids on Helicobacter pylori infection.Korean J Intern Med.2016 Jan;31(1):30–5. doi:10.3904/kjim.2016.31.1.30American Academy of Family Physicians.Peptic ulcer disease.Ji J, Yang H.Using probiotics as supplementation for Helicobacter pylori antibiotic therapy.Int J Mol Sci.2020 Feb;21(3):1136. doi:10.3390/ijms21031136Gonzalez A, Casado J, Lanas A.Fighting the antibiotic crisis: flavonoids as promising antibacterial drugs against Helicobacter pylori Infection.Front Cell Infect Microbiol.2021;11:709749. doi:10.3389/fcimb.2021.709749Beasley DE, Koltz AM, Lambert JE, Fierer N, Dunn RR.The evolution of stomach acidity and its relevance to the human microbiome.PLoS One.2015;10(7):e0134116. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0134116
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Mal S, Das TK, Pradhan S, Ghosh K.Probiotics as a Therapeutic Approach for Non-infectious Gastric Ulcer Management: a Comprehensive Review.Probiotics Antimicrob Proteins. 2024 Aug 27. doi:10.1007/s12602-024-10348-7Narayanan M.Peptic ulcer disease andHelicobacter pyloriinfection.Mo Med.2018 May-Jun;115(3):219–24.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).Eating, Diet, & Nutrition for Peptic Ulcers (Stomach or Duodenal Ulcers).Canadian Society of Intestinal Research.Stomach ulcer diet.Jung SW, Lee SW.The antibacterial effect of fatty acids on Helicobacter pylori infection.Korean J Intern Med.2016 Jan;31(1):30–5. doi:10.3904/kjim.2016.31.1.30American Academy of Family Physicians.Peptic ulcer disease.Ji J, Yang H.Using probiotics as supplementation for Helicobacter pylori antibiotic therapy.Int J Mol Sci.2020 Feb;21(3):1136. doi:10.3390/ijms21031136Gonzalez A, Casado J, Lanas A.Fighting the antibiotic crisis: flavonoids as promising antibacterial drugs against Helicobacter pylori Infection.Front Cell Infect Microbiol.2021;11:709749. doi:10.3389/fcimb.2021.709749Beasley DE, Koltz AM, Lambert JE, Fierer N, Dunn RR.The evolution of stomach acidity and its relevance to the human microbiome.PLoS One.2015;10(7):e0134116. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0134116
Mal S, Das TK, Pradhan S, Ghosh K.Probiotics as a Therapeutic Approach for Non-infectious Gastric Ulcer Management: a Comprehensive Review.Probiotics Antimicrob Proteins. 2024 Aug 27. doi:10.1007/s12602-024-10348-7
Narayanan M.Peptic ulcer disease andHelicobacter pyloriinfection.Mo Med.2018 May-Jun;115(3):219–24.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).Eating, Diet, & Nutrition for Peptic Ulcers (Stomach or Duodenal Ulcers).
Canadian Society of Intestinal Research.Stomach ulcer diet.
Jung SW, Lee SW.The antibacterial effect of fatty acids on Helicobacter pylori infection.Korean J Intern Med.2016 Jan;31(1):30–5. doi:10.3904/kjim.2016.31.1.30
American Academy of Family Physicians.Peptic ulcer disease.
Ji J, Yang H.Using probiotics as supplementation for Helicobacter pylori antibiotic therapy.Int J Mol Sci.2020 Feb;21(3):1136. doi:10.3390/ijms21031136
Gonzalez A, Casado J, Lanas A.Fighting the antibiotic crisis: flavonoids as promising antibacterial drugs against Helicobacter pylori Infection.Front Cell Infect Microbiol.2021;11:709749. doi:10.3389/fcimb.2021.709749
Beasley DE, Koltz AM, Lambert JE, Fierer N, Dunn RR.The evolution of stomach acidity and its relevance to the human microbiome.PLoS One.2015;10(7):e0134116. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0134116
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