Your stomach plays an essential role in digestion. Specialized cells that make up your stomach lining secrete hydrochloric acid, which helps to chemically digest your food, while layers of muscle surrounding your stomach help to grind your food and perform mechanical digestion. A number of vitamins play a role in the health of your stomach, helping to treat or prevent diseases that affect your stomach and gastrointestinal tract.
Vitamin E
One vitamin that can benefit your stomach is vitamin E. Peptic ulcers represent a common stomach ailment. They develop due to a bacterial infection that alters the protective mucous that coats the stomach lining, causing your stomach acid to damage the tissues that line your stomach. Vitamin E may help to protect against peptic ulcer formation following bacterial infection, according to a study published in "Biofactors" in 2006. While the role of vitamin E in preventing stomach ulcers is not yet fully established, consuming vitamin E might help benefit those at risk for peptic ulcers.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, may also benefit your stomach in some cases. Like vitamin E, vitamin C can prove beneficial for individuals suffering from peptic ulcers. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, vitamin C may interact with and increase the efficacy of ulcer medications, so your doctor can prescribe a lower dose of medication to treat your peptic ulcer.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Consuming omega-3 fatty acids can also benefit the health of your stomach and digestive tract. Omega-3 fatty acids can help control gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, a disorder that occurs when your stomach acid moves up into your esophagus, damaging your esophageal lining. Irritation to the esophagus causes irritation, which in turn causes discomfort in the form of heartburn. Omega-3 fatty acids can help to reduce the symptoms of GERD by controlling inflammation in your esophagus, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.
Vitamin A
Retinol, or vitamin A, is also implicated in helping to maintain your stomach's health. Vitamin A interacts with cells that make up your stomach lining, helping to ensure that those cells function properly. It also controls stomach cell proliferation by regulating how fast your stomach cells divide. As a result, vitamin A may play a role in diseases related to cell proliferation, such as stomach cancer. According to a study published in "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" in February 2007, individuals who consumed high levels of dietary vitamin A had a lower incidence of stomach cancer than those who consumed little vitamin A. As a result, consuming foods rich in vitamin A, such as sweet potatoes and kale, helps maintain a healthy stomach by reducing your risk of stomach cancer.
References
- "Biofactors"; Influence of Vitamin E on Gastric Mucosal Injury Induced by Helicobacter Pylori Infection; N. Sugimoto, et al.; 2006
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Peptic Ulcer
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
- "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Vitamin A, Retinol, and Carotenoids and the Risk of Gastric Cancer: A Prospective Cohort Study; S.C. Larsson, et al.; Febraury 2007
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