PEPTIC ULCER DISEASE: THE ACTUAL CAUSES AND REMEDIES
Sunday, December 22, 2024
I wish people with peptic ulcer would stop accusing pepper and fasting, and focus on the real causes.
This way, we would achieve more successful treatments.
In this article, I will walk you through the specific causes, and how food affects Peptic Ulcer Disease.
MAJOR CAUSES
1• H. Pylori bacteria
2• Pain medications (NSAID class)
If you already have an ulcer, you have a third factor to deal with ;
3• Ulcer-triggering foods.
Let’s start with the influence of food ;
KEY THINGS TO NOTE
1• Ulcer is not caused by hunger
2• Ulcer is not improved by eating plenty of food
3• People who are light eaters are not the ones more likely to have peptic ulcer
4• Drinking milk will not heal your ulcer, it might make it worse.
HOW TO EAT WHEN YOU HAVE PUD
1• Eat small portions at a time instead of large portions at once.
2• Chew your food properly before you swallow; to exert less stress on your digestive tract
3• Don’t rush your meal; you may increase the intensity of acid secretion and make your symptoms worse
4• Don’t eat close to bedtime, unless you will forfeit sleeping at your usual time
5• Don’t heavy meals as a way to relieve ulcers; this will give you the opposite effect.
1• Fiber-rich foods; both soluble and insoluble fibers have been shown to maintain a healthy gut.
Some sources of fiber are; apples, pears, whole grains, and oatmeal.
About 20-30g of dietary fiber is recommended daily and one medium-sized apple can give you about 4.7-5g of fiber.
Combining this with other fiber-rich foods helps you hit your daily target.
2• Use probiotics; probiotics are not curative agents for ulcers, but they help to lower the microbial load of H. pylori, and this reduces the severity of infection.
Apart from that, for people who overuse antacids, especially for a long period due to delayed ulcer healing, probiotics help to maintain the consistency of good bacteria that may have been tampered with due to overuse of Antacids.
They also help to minimize the side effects of some Antibiotics
A good example of such probiotics is Lactobacillus acidophilus.
3• Eat Cayenne pepper; this pepper is also called Capsicum annum, and it contains an important antioxidant called Capsaicin.
Capsaicin helps to facilitate the healing of the ulcers in the stomach or duodenum.
The pepper is popularly known as Shombo in Nigeria.
4• Eat sweet potatoes; these potatoes are rich in vitamin A and this gives them some healing properties.
5• Eat fruits like; Apple, papaya, bananas, and watermelon
6•For vegetables; eat carrots, spinach, dark leafy vegetables, green bean, etc.
7• Consumption of cranberry; just like in the case of UTI, researchers have observed that the proanthocyanidin content of cranberry also helps to prevent attachment of H.pylori to the stomach walls.
Things like oranges, pineapples, onions, cucumber, cabbage, and red pepper can be eaten.
However, caution may need to be applied, and eating them at all depends on the severity of the ulcer.
If the ulcer is severe you can avoid them and make up with other nutrient sources until your ulcer is healed.
FOODS TO AVOID IN PEPTIC ULCER
1• Alcohol; It reduces the consistentency of the stomach protective agent and irritates the stomach lining.
This makes the lining too weak to offer any protection to the stomach walls and eventually, inflammation occurs.
2• Chocolate
3• Coffee
4• Caffeinated and carbonated drinks
5•Fatty meals
6•Highly spiced food
7• Citrus fruits and
8•Minimize tomatoes intake
9•Milk; avoid taking it on an empty stomach and take it with caution
10• Fried foods
11• Beans
OBSERVING YOUR TOLERANCE
The treatment of ulcers has been difficult for many patients.
In practice, we record different experiences from different people when they eat similar foods.
While some patients can take vitamin C, some patients report a negative effect.
It is important to observe what foods or drinks that worsen your symptoms.
Your doctor can only tell you what may put you at risk and what may not. But you still have a role to play.
Take out sometime to diligently modify your lifestyle, while taking your medications and you will surely note the difference.
HOW PAIN MEDICATIONS CAUSE PUD
The stomach is made up of certain substances that line its walls and help to protect it from bacteria and other microbes.
These protective agents also protect the walls from the secreted acids in the stomach.
One of the major protective agents in the stomach is Prostaglandin
It protects the stomach lining and also enhances the secretion of the stomach base to minimize negative acid impact.
Guess what these pain medications do?
On a normal day, these medications work by reducing the production of this protective agent (prostaglandin).
When they do this, they deny your stomach the benefit of being protected by Mr Prosta
When you take pain medications in the right doses, right frequency, and with food in your stomach, your risk of developing ulcers is reduced.
HOW YOU AID THEM TO STRIKE
1• Taking them on an empty stomach increases the risk of peptic ulcer
2•Taking an overdose of these medications also increases your risk
3•Taking them for a long period increases your risk
4•Taking many of them at the same time (mixing drugs) increases your risk. Ladies who experience dysmenorrhea and have resorted to consistent pain medications without consulting a gynecologist may increase their risk of PUD.
Some people start their day with pain medications before even having breakfast. Friends, this is a habit you need to cut. Don’t get this wrong, pain medications are quite beneficial when taken correctly and by the right person. If you have a peptic ulcer, it’s crucial to inform your pharmacist.
The reason is that there are specific pain medications designed not to harm the protective lining of your stomach. Your pharmacist can easily provide these safer options for you.
Not only can your pharmacist provide special pain medications that won’t harm your stomach lining, but they can also add in a few other medications to counteract any damaging effects of the pain medications.
PEPTIC ULCER AND H. PYLORI BACTERIA
H. pylori is a bacteria that can cause peptic ulcer disease in your stomach and the first part of your small intestine called Duodenum.
The bacteria sits pretty in many people’s body without causing symptoms, but when it eventually
Decides to cause symptoms, they are usually severe and may be as complicated as posing a risk of stomach cancer.
This is especially possible when treatment is neglected or not done properly.
For H. pylori to colonize your body, 4 things must happen;
1• It survives the acidic condition of the stomach
The bacteria has Urease activity and grease will break urea into carbon dioxide and ammonium.
When ammonium combines with water in your stomach, it produces a base “Ammonium hydroxide”
Remember what we were taught in primary school, that a base neutralizes an acid.
This produced base helps the bacteria to look stomach acid in the eye and say “You are incapable of touching me “ 😭
If you have ever wondered why the acidic nature of the stomach doesn't hurt the bacteria, you found the answer.
2• Secondly, it moves towards your epithelium cells by using its flagella.
H. Pylori understands that if it remains at the epithelial surface of the stomach, it may need to keep battling with acid neutralization
Guess what it does?
Oga uses some of its flagella to move to the basal layer of the stomach, where the PH level is very close to 7.
Remember PH 7 is the neutral PH, so it stays there to calculate the next move. When we say complete your antibiotics, it's simply because we know what you are wrestling against.
3• Thirdly, with the aid of adhesins, it attaches to your stomach cell receptors.
H. pylori knows that if it just stays there without bonding with the stomach family, it can be kicked out by certain forces
One of those forces is when food is moving down the stomach or during gastric emptying.
Since Oga H.p has gained ground it begins to show its true character in the house 😭
This is where number 4 comes in.
4• It releases toxins to cause tissue damage
The two majorly implicated toxins are;
-Vacuolating cytotoxin A (VacA )
-Cytotoxin-associated gene A (cagA)
Once it reaches this stage, every other damage on the cells follows.
SYMPTOMS OF H.pylori INFECTION
Most times it's asymptomatic, but some common symptoms are ;
-Heartburn
-Abdominal pain
-Morning hunger
-Halitosis (bad breath )
-Diarrhea
-Nausea & vomiting
-Indigestion & bloating
-Loss of appetite
-Weight loss/gain
WHERE CAN IT BE FOUND?
-Saliva
-Teeth plagues
-Faeces
-Food and water
-Contaminated utensils
This is why it is transmitted via kissing and fecal-oral means, for people who don't practice proper hand washing after using the toilet.
WHAT CAN INCREASE RISK OF HAVING H.pylori INFECTION?
1• Children are at higher risk; lost people got infected in childhood, however, were asymptomatic until later in life.
2• living in a crowded environment
3• Poor sewer services and lack of clean portable water
4• Living with an infected person
5• Having a sexual partner who is infected
6• Having multiple sexual partners
7• Poor environmental hygiene and personal care.
TREATMENT
The infection is treated with combination therapy, which will usually include antibiotics and proton pump inhibitors like omeprazole and symptomatic agents like Antacids.
Lifestyle modifications are also recommended, which include the tips on how and what to eat as mentioned above.
PREVENTION OF H.pylori infection
1• Eat well-cooked food
2• practice proper hand washing
3•Avoid unclean water
4• Don't be served by people who don't wash their hands
5• Advice and support your partner to treat the infection if they are infected.
If you have peptic ulcer, kindly seek the help of a healthcare provider for proper diagnosis and treatment.
This will save you stress, costs and the associated pain.
Later in the day, I’ll share with you some practical reasons why ulcer doesn’t seem to heal.