How to Prevent Ulcer
6 Care Tactics
Everyone has a favorite image of a person who has ulcers: He’s middle-aged, compulsive, anxious, angry, and hostile, and he seems resigned (even proud) that condition is a price he’s paying for his position in life.
Well here’s a surprise:”He” is very likely to be a “she”these days. Thirty years ago, the ratio of male-to-female ulcer sufferers was twenty to one; today it’s probably one to one. What’s more, while certain personality characteristics and life stresses may hasten the development of an ulcer, they are not the sole cause. And nobody, given a choice, would opt for the kind of success that means having a hole in the gastrointestinal tract.
Actually, the erosion can appear in the stomach or in the duodenum (the first part of the small intestine). In the course of a day, as food travels through the digestive system, two substances-pepsin and hydrochloric acid-go into action to break down the food. Once the food is broken down, the digestive fluid rests in wait for the next meal. Sometimes however, the system works too well, activating digestive juices even when there is no food to work on, which meals that the juices have no recourse but to try to consume the digestive tract itself.
Why do some people develop ulcers while their neighbors don’t? Various theories have come and either gone or stayed around, including the assumption that ulcer sufferers generate an excess of hydrochloric acid (in fact, some individuals with ulcers generate less acid) and that ulcer are an aftermath of a bacterial infection of the stomach (not everyone is convinced that it is so simple.
Treatment is not so simple, either. Many of the methods that have been used in the past have been found to be less than satisfactory. Unfortunately, some ulcer sufferers may be following regiment that are, at best, ineffective and, at worst harmful. If you have -or suspect you may have-an ulcer, you should be under the care of a doctor. However, there are also some steps you should be taking at home to care for your digestive tract. Here are the most recent recommendation for those who have been diagnosed with a peptic ulcer:
Go by gut reactions.
Highly spiced and fried foods, long thought to be prime culprits in instigating ulcers, are now considered to have little bearing on either the development or course of an ulcer. “You don’t have to relegate yourself to a bland and boring diet of soft, unseasoned foods,” says Norton Rosensweig, M.D., associate clinical professor of medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeon in New York. Nevertheless, individual tolerances vary. If you find that spicy meals, for example, are always followed by a severe gnawing pain assume that there may be a cause and effect. The same goes for any other food that seems to cause you discomfort.
Eat wisely.
The real key to keeping gastric juices from attacking the lining of the digestive tract is to keep some food present as much of the times as possible . Try eating smaller meals more frequently. “That doesn’t mean overeating,” says Lawrence S. Friedman, M.D., associate professor of medicine at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Too much food Causes Formation of more gastric juices-as well as weight gain.
Skip the milk solution.
One of the earliest treatment for ulcer flare-ups was milk, which was believed to neutralize stomach acid,” says Friedman. So while the protein part of the milk may soothe, the calcium may make matters worse.
Rechannel Stress.
The idea that one has to eliminate stress is unrealistic, since stress is very much a party of everyday life . “Trying to avoid stress may be a futile endeavor,” says Gayle Randall, M.D., assistant professor of medicine in the Department of Medicine at the University of California at Los Angeles School Of Medicine. It’s not stress but the inability to cope with it satisfactory that can be harmful to an ulcer-prone individual,” The same faulty coping process can aggravate heart disease in one person and migraine headaches heart disease in one person and migraine headaches in another. work on ways to help cope with stress more effectively. take a stress management class, take up a hobby, learn to meditate, start an aerobic exercise program, or do whatever helps you to blow off some steam and manage stress more effectively.
Avoid the smoke screen.
One point that hasn’t changed over the years: Smoking cigarettes is courting trouble, Smoking inhibits the secretion of natural body substances called prostaglandins, which might normally act in defense of an attack by hydrochloric acid and pepsin. “The gut is left Vulnerable, ” says Rosensweig. Aspirin and other drugs in the family of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs also inhibit prostaglandins and, thereby, reduce the digestive system’s defenses.
Self medicate with care.
Ulcer sufferers are never far away from their antacids. But if you use these medications, do so with care, “People may take more and more of the drugs,” says Friedman. “They may end up overmedicating. ” Not to mention overspending-you may end up paying as much as you would for prescription drugs(see “How to Reach for Relief”).
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