A peptic ulcer is an open sore in the inner lining of the stomach or the section of the small intestines closest to it, called the duodenum. It occurs when the protective coating over this inner lining is compromised and the digestive acids pepsin and hydrochloric acid start eating away at it. If the peptic ulcer is in the stomach, it's called a gastric ulcer; if in the duodenum, it's called a duodenal ulcer.
The Facts
For nearly a century, doctors and scientists believed that diet, and particularly a diet of spicy or acidic foods, was a causative factor of ulcers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Research, however, has not borne that out, determining diet to be insignificant in whether or not you get an ulcer. However, if acidic foods tend to cause you an upset stomach, then they could aggravate the symptoms of an ulcer. By the same token, avoiding foods that tend to upset your stomach, such as acidic food, perhaps could lessen ulcer symptoms.
Antacids
Antacids can be beneficial in easing ulcer symptoms, however, they will not treat the ulcer and therefore cannot be used to replace traditional medical treatment. If using antacids while undergoing medical treatment for ulcers, don't take the antacids within an hour prior to taking your ulcer medication or within two hours after, as doing either can interfere with your body's proper absorption of the medication. Discuss your intentions of taking antacids with your doctor to ensure that there are no contraindications.
Actual Causes and Contributing Factors
Actual causes of peptic ulcers are bacterial or viral infection, most prominently Helicobacter pylori, as well as aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and particular kinds of rare tumors. Factors that may contribute to an ulcer or exacerbate ulcer symptoms include alcohol, smoking and certain genetic factors. Caffeine stimulates acidic secretions in the stomach that can also aggravate ulcer symptoms. In addition to acidic foods, psychological stress at one time was thought to contribute to ulcers, but that is no longer the case.
Diet and Ulcers
It is a myth that a bland diet void of spicy or acidic foods helps treat an ulcer. In fact, no known dietary treatment for ulcers exists. If, however, an ulcer leads to a perforation, or hole, in the stomach or duodenal lining, incompletely digested food can leak through into the abdominal cavity, or peritoneum, and cause inflammation of that cavity and surrounding walls, a condition known as peritonitis. If swelling or scarring occurs from a peptic ulcer located where the stomach and duodenum attach, it could narrow or even completely obstruct this opening, preventing food from passing through and leading to vomiting of the stomach's contents.
References
- University of Illinois, McKinley Health Center; Patient Information: Peptic Ulcer Disease; D.A. Peura; 2007
- The Ohio State University Medical Center: Peptic Ulcers
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Peptic Ulcer; Steven D. Ehrlich; September 2009
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Good News: A Cure For Ulcers; September 2006
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