Over the last couple of months, many people who have read my book, The Gastritis Healing Book, have contacted me asking me to tell them a little more about my gastritis healing journey.
But before I talk about how I managed to cure myself from gastritis after 5 years of suffering, let me tell you how it all started...
I was diagnosed with chronic gastritis in 2013, but before that I spent several months suffering without knowing what was really happening to me. And it was really difficult to know because I had many symptoms that not only came from my stomach.
The first gastroenterologist I visited refused to do the endoscopic test because he thought I didn't really need it and he just prescribed the typical antacids and PPIs such as omeprazole and sent me home. I was really very angry because I felt so sick to my stomach and I couldn't get a diagnosis from the doctor.
Several months passed after that, until I found a gastroenterologist who decided to perform the endoscopic test and diagnosed me with severe chronic erosive gastritis and abundant bile reflux.
At that moment my journey and battle against gastritis and bile reflux began...
I visited many gastroenterologists and spent thousands of dollars on medical tests, procedures, blood tests, and therapies that were useless. Not to mention all the medications that were prescribed to me and all the type of diets, supplements, and remedies I tried, which also didn't help me at all.
It was really frustrating every time I went to a doctor and he performed an expensive test or procedure on me and I heard him say that everything was fine and that nothing wrong was found in that test or procedure. I was really tired of all that and of having to restrain myself from doing certain things like eating or drinking what I wanted and going out with friends or family for fear of having a gastritis attack.
And it was exactly all that which made me, one day, decide to take my health in my hands and do things on my own. So, I stopped hoping to find someone who would help me regain my health and I stopped looking for that miraculous pill or supplement that would cure all my stomach problems. Instead, I began to research gastritis day and night—what causes it, why it is difficult to cure it, and what I had to do (including how and in what order) to end this nightmare.
The first thing I focused on was curing my bile reflux and then my chronic gastritis. Many doctors told me that bile reflux had no cure and that it could only be controlled by diet, but I proved them wrong.
Apparently, my bile reflux was caused by low stomach acid production which was confirmed by the Heidelberg pH test. Once I knew that was the cause, I started treating it by carefully increasing stomach acid production (I'll talk more about this in another post). However, I do not recommend anyone to do this, as stimulating stomach acid production can irritate an already inflamed and irritated stomach.
How I Cured My Chronic Gastritis
After I cured my bile reflux I focused more on my chronic gastritis. The first thing I did was eliminate irritating foods from my diet (sodas, coffee, black and green tea, acidic fruits, vinegar, alcohol, chocolate, onion, garlic, etc.) and decrease my consumption of foods that stimulate the gastric acid secretion, mainly animal proteins (including milk and eggs).
The reason why I decided to only decrease my consumption of animal protein is because protein plays an important role in the repair and regeneration of damaged tissue, so instead I included a plant-based protein powder supplement made from hemp and peas.
Apart from this, I eliminated many bad eating habits, such as skipping meals or eating out of hours, overeating, consuming a lot of salt, eating foods that are difficult to digest or hard to chew, eating very hot or cold foods, among others.
The second thing I did was eating only foods with a pH above 5, such as white fish, skinless chicken breast, spinach, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, potatoes, yams, carrots, beets, mushrooms, papaya, melon, watermelon, banana, dragon fruit, lychee, Bosc pear, black olives, avocado, plant-based milk such as almond milk and oat milk, pure maple syrup, almond butter, among others.
This is a long list so in my book, The Gastritis Healing Book, you will find a detailed list of all the irritating foods that you should eliminate and those with a pH greater than 5 that you should include in your diet.
The third thing I did was lower my stress and anxiety levels. This really was key as I was suffering from a lot of anxiety, which was apparently preventing my stomach from being able to recover. What I did was identify those things that caused me stress and find the cause of my anxiety. Identifying what was stressing me out was easy, but not so easy to find the cause of my anxiety. But after doing a lot of research I realized that my anxiety was caused by the inflammation/pain in my stomach and nutritional deficiencies.
Something that also helped me a lot with stress and anxiety was some supplements like Rhodiola rosea, L-theanine, and relaxing herbs such as valerian, passiflora, chamomile, and lavender. Relaxation techinques such as diaphragmatic breathing and meditation helped me a lot too.
In my routine I also included supplements for gastritis such as Zinc-carnosine, DGL, glutamine, slippery elm, and aloe vera powder (inner gel). I tried all of these supplements separately, but in the end what I did was create my own powdered healing blend of Glutamine, DGL, and aloe vera powder. Apart from this, I took zinc carnosine 2 capsules 1 to 2 times a day.
Other supplements that also included in my routine were a low-acid multivitamin (to cover deficiencies from the strict diet) and a digestive enzyme supplement without irritating ingredients such as protease, pepsin, and bromelain (to help me digest food better).
What My Daily Routine Looked Like
My daily routine was simple and I had a lot of free time to focus on my healing, because at that time I was studying and working from home. Most of what I ate daily came from the recipes you can find in my gastritis book, so I won't talk much about what exactly I ate. My routine looked like this:
Morning - The first thing I used to do when I woke up was to drink my healing blend of glutamine, DGL, and aloe vera powder. I waited 30 minutes and had breakfast. Then I took my low-acid multivitamin supplement and go for a 20-30 minute walk.
Mid-morning - Around 10:30 a.m. I used to eat something light like a toast or rice cake spread with almond butter or avocado on top. I also used to alternate this with chopped fresh fruit or an anti-inflammatory smoothie.
Lunch - About 30 minutes before lunch I used to take my healing blend again and after lunch 2 capsules of zinc carnosine. Sometimes I would go for a short walk or do deep breathing exercises or meditate after lunch.
Snack - I used to snack on the same things I ate mid-morning, such as toast or rice cakes spread with almond butter or avocado, chopped fresh fruit, or an anti-inflammatory smoothie to which I added my pea or hemp protein powder supplement. Sometimes I made some sweet or salty recipes suitable for gastritis.
Dinner - Before dinner I used to take my healing mix again, but I was not very consistent with this. My dinner used to be something light, like pumpkin or broccoli soup, chicken breast or white fish with a side dish of rice, sweet potatoes or potatoes and steamed vegetables.
Before bed - Around 10 p.m. I used to take famotidine to protect my stomach from nocturnal acid secretion and sucralfate to create a protective layer on my stomach lining.
And that's it, this was my routine for about 3 months, which I continued for another 2-3 months to make sure my stomach was fully recovered. In this way I was able to get rid of my chronic gastritis after 5 years of suffering.
It took me five years of trial and error and thousands of hours spent reading medical and scientific research and dozens of gastritis success stories on online health forums to understand every aspect of this disease and to find a treatment that not only worked for me, but that could also work for anyone who suffers from this nightmare.
My gastritis success story and the thousands of people that are suffering from gastritis daily, motivated me to create my book, The Gastritis Healing Book, which is more than just a book about gastritis. It is a complete step-by-step guide that offers a completely new treatment approach, incorporating precise advice and recommendations about the changes you must make in your diet, habits and lifestyle, in order to heal your stomach.
If you haven't read the book yet, you can get a FREE copy here: www.lgcapellan.com/freecopy
With that being said, it's been over 3 years now since I healed my gastritis and can now eat and drink whatever I want. Saying this I will always be cautious with certain foods and drinks, such as processed foods and alcoholic drinks. I do drink alcohol now but always in moderation.
I hope my story has inspired you to start healing. This was my experience and what worked for me. I hope you find what works for you too. Good luck in your healing journey.