Our stomachs are actually quite fragile. Even minor dietary indiscretions or irregular meals can trigger gastric disorders, with gastritis being one such condition. How can gastritis be treated? Traditional Chinese dietary therapy offers a solution. Common causes of gastritis: (1) Residual effects of acute gastritis: Persistent or recurrent lesions of the gastric mucosa following acute gastritis can lead to chronic gastritis.
(2) Irritating foods and medications: Long-term consumption of strongly irritating foods or drugs—such as strong tea, hard liquor, spicy foods, or salicylate medications—can damage the gastric mucosa. Similarly, inadequate chewing, repeated exposure to coarse foods, or excessive smoking (where nicotine directly affects the mucosa) may cause injury.
(3) Duodenal reflux: Studies indicate that chronic gastritis patients often experience bile reflux due to pyloric sphincter dysfunction, which may be a significant pathogenic factor. Phospholipids in pancreatic juice, combined with bile and pancreatic digestive enzymes, can dissolve mucus and disrupt the gastric mucosal barrier. This facilitates the back diffusion of H+ and pepsin into the mucosa, causing further damage.Chronic gastritis resulting from this mechanism primarily affects the gastric antrum.
(4) Immunological Factors: Changes in immune function have gained widespread recognition in the pathogenesis of chronic gastritis. Anticorps against parietal cells can be detected in the blood, gastric juice, or atrophic mucosa of patients with atrophic gastritis, particularly those with corpus gastritis. The presence of intrinsic factor antibodies in the blood of patients with gastric atrophy accompanied by pernicious anemia suggests that autoimmune reactions may be involved in certain forms of chronic gastritis.
Traditional Chinese Medicine Dietary Therapy for Gastritis
1. Ophiopogon Porridge
Ingredients: 30g Ophiopogon japonicus, 100g japonica rice.
Preparation: First decoct Ophiopogon to extract liquid, strain and reserve.Rinse the japonica rice thoroughly, add an appropriate amount of water, and cook into porridge. When the porridge is nearly done, add the Ophiopogon juice and an appropriate amount of rock sugar. Stir well and simmer briefly.
Efficacy: Tonifies the middle burner, harmonizes the stomach, nourishes yin, and relieves restlessness.
Usage: Consume as breakfast or dinner, or as a snack.
2. Codonopsis and Chicken Stew
Ingredients: 90g chicken meat,30g Codonopsis pilosula, 15g Chinese yam, 3 slices ginger.
Preparation: Trim fat from chicken, wash and cut into chunks. Wash Codonopsis, Chinese yam, and ginger. Place all ingredients in a double boiler, add sufficient water, and simmer over low heat for 1–2 hours. Season to taste.
Benefits: Boosts qi, strengthens spleen, and nourishes yin.
Usage: Drink the broth and consume the meat.
3. Stir-Fried Wood Ear Mushrooms with Pork Slices
Ingredients: 20g dried daylily buds, 10g dried black fungus, 60g lean pork.
Preparation: Soak daylily buds and black fungus overnight. Drain and slice pork. Cut daylily buds and black fungus into bite-sized pieces. Stir-fry pork slices with black fungus until tender. Add daylily buds and black fungus, stir-fry briefly, then season to taste.
Benefits: Clears heat, clears fire, and clears heat-toxin.
Usage: Consume as a side dish.
4. Codon
Usage: Consume the soup and meat.
3. Stir-fried Wood Ear Mushrooms with Pork Slices
Recipe: 20g dried daylily buds, 10g dried black fungus, 60g lean pork.
Preparation: Soak black fungus in water, rinse clean. Briefly soak daylily buds, drain. Slice lean pork thinly, pound lightly to tenderize. Mix with salt and Shaoxing wine.Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium heat. Add pork slices and stir-fry until slightly cooked. Add wood ear mushrooms and daylily buds, stir-fry together. Season with salt and Shaoxing wine to taste. Once fragrant, add half a small bowl of light meat broth or clear soup. Simmer for 8 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped scallions and toss briefly.
Benefits: Nourishes the liver, regulates the middle burner, and fortifies the spleen and stomach.
Usage: Serve as a side dish.
Preparation: Peel and wash the Chinese yam, dice it, and simmer over low heat with sufficient water until the broth thickens. Add milk, stir in the flour paste, bring to a boil, and serve.
Benefits: Strengthens the spleen and stomach.
Usage: Consume once daily, preferably on an empty stomach, in one serving.