Next, you’ll want to follow The Acid Watchers Diet Principle #1:
ELIMINATE ACID TRIGGERS
1. Eliminate all sodas - these include acidic sugar. Carbonation is also bad for
Gastritis.
2. Coffee - coffee is acidic and the caffeine relaxes the LES (Lower Esophageal
Sphincter) and irritates the stomach.
3. Most teas - most teas either have caffeine or are full of additives and chemicals
that are not good for an already inflammed stomach lining.
Najbolje je da pijete ORGANSKI čaj od kamilice, lavande, komorača, anisa, đumbira,
korijena bijelog sljeza ili sladića.
4. Citrus fruits - lemon, limes, oranges, grapefruit, and pineapple are too acidic to
eat or drink during the 90 day healing phase.
5. Tomatoes - too acidic and the lectins bother a lot of people.
6.. Vinegar - it is extremely acidic and will activate Pepsin. Do not take ANY vinegar
in ANY amounts during the healing phase. It’s so acidic that one slip up can you set
you back months.
6. Wine / Alcohol - all varieties of alcohol are carminatives, meaning that they
loosen the LES. And wine, in particular, is very acidic.
7. Caffeine - coffee, energy drinks, workout powders with caffeine, most teas have
caffeine and should be avoided. A good coffee substitute is Teccino.
8. Chocolate - chocolate contains methylxanthime, which loosens the LES and
increases stomach acid production.
Something else to think about: according to Dr. Daniel Twogood, in his 30 plus years
of clinical experience, that chocolate was the number one cause of chronic pain in
his patients. In about 40% of his patients who came to him with chronic pain, they
got better simply by giving up chocolate.
9. Mint - it’s a powerful carminative so stay away.
10. Raw onion and raw garlic - both are carminatives. They are also fructans which
means they cause the Intestines to absorb water.
Stay away from both, even if cooked, during the 90 day healing phase. You can
gradually add them cooked later.
ACID WATCHERS DIET PRINCIPLE NO. 2:
Rein In Reflux-Generating Habits
This just means to eliminate things that will cause relux and/or make your gastritis
worse.
Eliminate all smoking
2. Drop processed foods - the majority of processed foods have chemicals which
are acidic or loosen the LES. Dr. Aviv has 3 exceptions to this rule:
a. Canned tuna (in water only). b. Canned chickpeas (organic only) c. Canned
beans (organic only)
3. Say goodbye to fried foods - fried foods not only CAUSE rampant bodywide
inflammation, but they loosen the LES.
4. Eat on time - Dr Aviv advises to eat 3 meals per day and two mini meals per day.
My Naturopathic doctor has me eating 6 to 8 mini meals per day.
Whatever you decide to follow it is important to eat smaller meals throughout the day
as it is much easier on your stomach.
It also helps regulate blood sugar levels (so does intermittent fasting by the way).
If you have SIBO or IBS these smaller meals help your food digest faster and gives
the bad bacteria less time to spend on stealing nutrients that your body needs.
By eating smaller meals throughout the day this will keep your blood sugar levels
more even and will make you less susceptible to strong food or sugar cravings. I
personally always keep carrot and celery sticks, avocado slices, and small salads
handy for whenever I get a food craving.
Dr. Aviv recommends the following food schedule, of course adjust the times that
work best with your schedule:
Breakfast 7AM Mid morning mini meal 10AM Lunch 12:30pm Mid afternoon mini
meal 3PM Dinner 6-7:30pm (no lying down for at least 3 hours).
ACID WATCHERS DIET PRINCIPLE NO. 3:
Practice the rule of 5
The rule of five means that during the 90 day healing phase for Gastritis you will eat
foods with a ph of 5 or higher. This will help suppress Pepsin activity which is
necessary to help your Gastritis heal.
This is not a complete list but here are some foods that have a ph of 5 or higher:
Fish: salmon, halibut, trout, sole Poultry: chicken, turkey, eggs Vegetables and
herbs: spinach, lettuce, arugula, kale, bok choy, broccoli, asparagus, celery,
cucumber, yams, sweet potatoes, carrots (not baby carrots), beets, mushrooms,
basil, cilantro, parsley, rosemary, thyme, sage
Raw fruit: banana, Bose pears, papaya, cantaloupe, honeydew, avocados,
watermelon, lychee
Dried fruit: dates, raisins, shredded coconut
Condiments: Celtic salt or pink Himalayan salt, coconut oil, hemp oil, olive oil, Bragg
Liquid Aminos, Organic coconut aminos, hemp protein, vanilla extract, white miso
paste
============================
Paul’s Thoughts On The Acid Watchers Diet
The Acid Watchers Diet (hereafter AWD) is a good starting off point as far as figuring
out what to eat. I highly recommend it.
As great as the book is there are some limitations to it and the most obvious is that
the book is focused on reflux and silent reflux (aka as LPR), not Gastritis.
Since the book is NOT focused on Gastritis it is important to note that because
Gastritis is an inflammation problem, that going on an anti-inflammation diet is very
important.
Also the 28 day healing period is not long enough for some forms of Gastritis. I
recommend staying on the Healing Phase of the AWD for at least 90 days and then
adding one new food every 3 to 5 days.
For the first 90 days you should stay away from:
All gluten All dairy All soy products All nuts
And then introduce one new food item once per week after the 90 day healing
phase.
During the 90 day healing phase you should only drink:
Alkaline water Natural spring water (usually normally alkaline also) Structured water
Coconut water (no added sugar) Unsweetened almond milk Homemade water kefir
Chamomile tea Lavender tea Anise tea Fennel tea Licorice tea Marshmallow root tea
Ginger root tea
One of the most effective ways to figuring out what to eat is start an elimination diet.
Start with 1-3 safe foods, eat them for a few days, then add one new food every 3-5
days.
It is absolutely essential to keep a food journal and to write down when and how
much you ate and then write down how well you tolerated that food.
A number scale works wonders. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would write down a 0 if the
food was soothing and a 10 if the food caused me complete agony. This is how I
was able to figure out which foods to eat.
It’s a lot of work and can be frustrating at times, but it was worth it in the long run.
THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT?
Having gone through hell and back with severe chronic gastritis with erosions,
complicated with grade 3 esophagitis, hiatal hernia and Barrett’s Esophagus, I
learned a lot by reading a lot and lots of trial and error.
There will be days, weeks, maybe even months where you feel you’re not making
progress. You will wonder if you will ever feel better again.
I cannot begin to emphasize how destructive these thoughts are and what impact
they have on healing. I know it’s tough. In fact, it’s very hard. And some days you’ll
feel so awful that nothing you do will change your mood.
The first thing you should understand is that the human body was designed to heal.
So Gastritis can be healed. Unfortunately, sometimes it may take checking your liver,
pancreas, gallbladder, thyroid, Small Intestine, vitamin d levels, a stool test, a breath
test, or an endoscopy to find out what may be causing your symptoms (to name a
few).
It is important to keep on digging and finding a doctor or doctors who are willing to
dig deeper with you to help you not only get the proper diagnosis but to also find the
ROOT cause behind your Gastritis (or any health issue).
Your mindset is your most powerful ally because it goes beyond just having a
positive attitude. It means being proactive, not being afraid to question your doctors
and to demand (politely but assertively) tests that you need to find out what is
causing the inflammation in your stomach.
During painful flare ups, stress and anxiety can be at an all time high. It is essential
to manage these as well as possible. I discovered that walking, even if it was just in
circles in my room, helped alleviate my symptoms. On really bad days I would walk
in my room, standing as upright as possible, sometimes for hours.
Yes, I would take 5-10 minute breaks if I got tired but noticed that MOVEMENT and
standing upright, helped keep my stomach and my stomach acid down. This is even
more important if you have been diagnosed with a hiatal hernia.
I also took sips of alkaline water every 10-15 minutes.
A heating pad was a life saver too.
During my worst flare ups when I was doubled over in pain, I would place a heating
pad on my stomach for 20 minutes on and then 10-20 minutes off. It helped with the
pain and the inflammation.
Bear in mind that unless your family, friends or peers have gone through horrible
digestive pain, they won’t understand what you are going through. So be patient
with them.They mean well most of the time and may even say some things that
sound insensitive. Just realize that they don’t understand.With this group here you
have hundreds of people from around the globe who understand you.
So you are not alone and you will get through this. Please learn from our mistakes
and make the necessary life style and diet changes so that your body can start
healing.