A stomach ulcer can be a huge problem for many and antacids might not be the best route. As a woman who prefers natural healing over pharmaceutical, I thought I’d delve into the issue a bit more and search for a food remedy to heal an ulcer. If you’re a follower of my blog, you know there are ties between what we eat and health issues we encounter so for me it’s a no-brainer do the research. I discovered some startling facts. While it’s easy to understand the effects of fast food on a body, how about tomatoes?
They look good, taste delicious, but did you know they can aggravate the condition commonly referred to as of GERD? Onions, too. Who knew? Not me. Chocolate isn’t recommended for those suffering from the condition either. Not good. Alcohol exacerbates the condition, too.
And did you know that a perfectly healthy individual can suffer from stomach problems while taking NSAIDs for a totally unrelated issue? Many doctors will advise patients to take antacids with their NSAIDs, due to the effects of the pain reliever on the stomach lining. Now that seems counterintuitive to me. I need one medicine for one problem, and another for a new problem I’m going to have?
Natural healing for stomach ulcers
As a gardener, I’d rather head to my plants for a cure. So with a little research, I discovered the power of cabbage. Sounds better than a six-week regimen of daily antacids like refluxgate for acid-reflux. Not appealing to me. Besides, there’s information out there to suggest that lowering my stomach acid temporarily could potentially worsen the condition in the long run.
I’ve decided to try cabbage juice. Apparently this veggie is one of the wonder-workers in the garden, particularly beneficial when it comes to stomach ulcers. I’ve tried it and it works. The taste isn’t bad, either. Especially when combined with carrots and apples.
Cabbage juice recipe
Cabbage juice is easy to make and quite tasty, especially when combined with apples and carrots. To make an 8-ounce glass, you’ll need one large carrot, one small apple (organic please, as this is one of the most toxic when it comes to commercial pesticides) and a quarter head of cabbage. I cored the apple, discarding the center and peeled the carrot. For the cabbage, I cut out the hard stem and used 1/4 the leaf body.
Simply turn of your juicer, insert vegetables and voilá, you have cabbage juice! Some kind of beautiful, isn’t it? (First photo is before mixing.) Knowing that your holding a cup full of powerhouse antioxidants adds to the allure. Granted you have to drink this four times a day for the quick healing results, but it is good and I can use the extra vitamins. For those of you prone to gas, reduce your intake to 4-ounces.
So there you have it. I’ve begun my experiment with the natural healing benefits of Cabbage-Carrot-Apple Juice.
Anti-inflammatory foods
For those suffering from inflammatory conditions like arthritis that lead to the need for NSAIDs, try cutting out bread, refined sugars, dairy and animal meat (cow, pig, chicken). I’ve done it and it really works to eliminate my achy joint pain. In fact, it only takes about a week to see real results!
Foods to incorporate into your die include dark leafy greens like kale and spinach, strawberries and blueberries, sweet potatoes and avocados, olive oil and nuts. Fish like salmon and tuna provide the all important omega-3 fatty-acids that you’ll need to boost your well being.
Try it for yourself. Might be one more reason to get outside and get gardening!
Other obvious pointers would be to replace coffee with tea and to try eating yogurt (the least acidic yogurt you can find) with live cultures or taking probiotics. While this second option will not necessarily change the PH balance of your stomach, it is suspect that a medicine you took initiated this problem. Usually when that happens it’s because the medicine upsets the production of the natural bacteria in your stomach that help break down your food and keep your chemistry stable. The logic is that if you’ve killed them off, then you need to replace them until they can start reproducing on their own. Also, they can’t hurt you so there is no downside to trying. Well, the only thing is that yogurt can be kind of acidic, but there are other ways of consuming good bacteria. Good luck!
Taking probiotics and loving it! Yogurt in the a.m. with my flaxeed, granola and banana. 🙂 Definitely feeling an improvement!
I’ve been drinking cabbage juice for nine days now to cure what I believe to be an ulcer. I’m only wondering, if I have the h pylori bacteria that the websites talk about, will the cabbage juice kill that, or am I wasting my time?? Will I have to get antibiotics to heal the ulcer, or can cabbage juice do it all on its own??
From what I gather, drinking cabbage juice will heal the ulcer–the irritation in your stomach lining — but not “cure” you of the bacteria. Apparently, it seems the antibiotics are having a hard time eliminating the bacteria from your body as well.
H pylori bacteria are an integral part of the equation, but one of many. Some studies have shown that eating foods high in sulforaphane (also found in cabbage) can go a long way to reducing levels of the bacteria in your stomach. A Johns Hopkins study worked with broccoli and suggests, however, “The HpSA levels returned to pretreatment levels eight weeks after people stopped eating the broccoli sprouts, suggesting that although they reduce H. pylori colonization, they do not eradicate it.”
Actually getting gas from cabbage is almost exclusively from COOKED cabbage and not raw!
What an excellent response. Thank you for this. I’ve let my diet slip recently, stopped making cabbage juice and slipped in the growing of my sprouted broccoli seeds and guess what? My stomach pain, floating stools, nausea and uneasiness are back with a vengance!!
You are welcome Matthew. Didn’t know about the broccoli seed thing. Good information as well!
Just wondering what the results of the cabbage juice experiment were in terms of healing the peptic ulcer. Did you end up having to go the antibiotic/antacid route or is the ulcer healed completely? Would greatly appreciate input as I think I currently have one!
Unfortunately, my husband abandoned his experiment before a determination could be made–but it worked wonders for me! Try the cabbage juice for a month and see for yourself. Would love to hear about your experience!
Just starting the Cabbage and Carrot juice. A friend told me of this. But she didn’t say to add apple. Will apple juice do as well? I feel so full right now after having 1/4 C. juice, 1/2 hr. before a meal. Only had a small meal, so maybe this is also good for loosing a little weight. I’m a little concerned about the apple, because I just in past 3 days have been able to eat without running to the restroom. Can you tell me if this juice could start this again? And what about flatulence and bloating?
Sorry, but I am really apprehensive.
Apple is notorious for gas and could pose trouble. It’s still good without it, or add another fruit for sweetener, maybe strawberries or melon?
To Kill the bacteria that causes the ulcer H pylori use GRAPEFRUIT SEED Extract. ( Google it) A friend puts it into to capsules and takes it that way …she says it works excellent. You could take it along with the Cabbage juice.
Thanks! I’ll check it out.
I have also started Slippery Elm ( powdered form) I find both Cabbage juice and the slippery elm hard to take. In the sense that I feel so full all the time.
I do believe it is helping I just started this week and have noticed my pain and acid stomach are no longer bothering me. I did not wake up at night with stomach pain last night after taking the slippery elm.
Some web sites say you only need to take it (slippery elm) once a day and others say a tea spoon 3 x a day. I think you have to experiment with what works for you. I only did the Slippery elm once yesterday and it seemed to ok.
To mix it can be quit a challenge, I made a paste out of 1 teaspoon and mashed it into a banana. Later I tried to mix it with water, first hot, then added cool water it went lumpy so I ended up getting my stick blender out and that did the trick. One thing to be sure is take the SE at least two hours away from any medications, as it does not allow the stomach to absorb as well.
I am also going to a very good Homeopathic Dr. who is treating the underlying cause of my duodenal ulcer.
I haven’t started Probiotics I just find it so daunting, there are so many on the market I just don’t know which ones to buy. Any suggestions?
Hope this helps.
Thanks for all the great info, Wendy!