What to Eat and Skip if You Have an Ulcer

For a long time, stress and spicy foods were thought to be the main causes of digestive ulcers. Scientists now know that most cases are actually linked to bacterial infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) or to extended use of high-dose nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

When H. pylori triggers the immune system to send inflammatory cells, or when NSAIDs wear down the stomach’s protective mucosal lining, an open sore forms. That sore is an ulcer.

“Once the protective wall erodes away, a pit forms, and that’s where an ulcer is,” says Matthew Hoscheit, MD, a gastroenterologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

Although food does not cause ulcers, some foods can aggravate one if you already have it. “Because the sore develops where the protective lining has eroded, it is constantly irritated by stomach acid, which can make eating feel very painful,” Dr. Hoscheit says.

The most common digestive ulcers are stomach ulcers and duodenal ulcers, which occur in the small intestine. Together, these are called peptic ulcers, a name based on pepsin, a digestive fluid produced in the stomach.

Some foods may be easier to tolerate than others when you have a peptic ulcer. Here is what to think about including and what may be best to avoid.