Natural Remedies for Curing Gastritis

Gastritis refers to the inflammation of the stomach lining and if not treated within proper time can lead to many complications including ulcers in the stomach. This disorder is aggravated more by constipation. A majority of patients suffering from severe iron deficiency anemia also get affected by gastritis.

The most common symptoms of gastritis are headache, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite and dizziness. There is also a feeling of discomfort and pain in the stomach region. When the disease is much chronic there is a feeling of fullness in the abdomen, especially after meals. The patient also complains of heartburn.

Long standing illnesses often result in anemia, loss of weight and occasional bleeding from the stomach. The secretion of hydrochloric acid may get reduced and there may be an outpouring of mucus during acute attacks and chronic cases of gastritis.

The main causes of gastritis are eating of improperly cooked foods, habitual overeating, use of large quantities of condiments and sauces and excessive intake of strong tea, coffee or alcoholic beverages. Sometimes it may also be a result of diseases such as diphtheria, measles, influenza and pneumonia. Several emotional factors such as stress, anxiety, worry and tension may also be responsible for creating this condition. Use of caustic substances, certain medicines and strong acids may also lead to gastritis.

Nature Cure for Gastritis: The treatment should first commence by putting the patient on a fast in both acute and chronic cases of gastritis. The patient will usually recover after a short fast of three days if the disease is of acute nature. The fast may have to be continued for a longer duration of about a week or so in case of chronic condition. Depending upon the overall progress being made, these short fasts can be repeated at an interval of about forty days. During these fasts fresh juices of fruits may be given. Due to this the toxic condition causing the inflammation is allowed to subside and the stomach is given a rest. A warm water enema should be used daily during this period for cleansing the bowels.

The patient may thereafter switch to an all fruit diet for further four days. In this regimen juicy fruits such as grapes, apple, pineapple, oranges, peach, pear and lemon may be taken at an interval of five hours during the day.

The patient can gradually embark upon a well balanced diet consisting of vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts and seeds.

Foods such as tea, coffee, alcohol, nicotine, spices, chilies, meat, fleshy foods, sweets, pastries, cakes, colas, condiments and pickles should be avoided by the patient suffering from gastritis. However curd and home made cottage cheese may be used freely.

One of the natural remedies considered effective in the treatment of gastritis is to drink a mixture of carrot juice and spinach juice. The formula proportions to be used are 300ml carrot juice and 200ml of spinach juice.

The patient should drink at least 10 to 12 glasses of water a day. It is better to avoid mixing too many different foods at the same time. However water should not be taken along with meals as it dissolves the digestive juices necessary for digestion. It is also necessary to chew each morsel of food properly and avoid eating in a hurry.

An excellent home remedy for gastritis is the use of coconut water. It provides the essential vitamins and proteins and gives the stomach a proper amount of rest.

Another remedy which is useful in acute cases of gastritis is rice gruel. Where the flow of gastric juices is deficient in chronic cases prolonged vigorous chewing of foods will be beneficial as this induces greater flow of gastric juices.

Heavy physical and mental work should be avoided by the patient as far as possible. Breathing and other light exercises such as walking, swimming and golf can be undertaken by the patient and he should also try to avoid stress and mental worries.

Thus we can say that natural remedies have been found to be helpful in the treatment and cure of gastritis.