Ulcers and gastritis: natural remedies and diet to adopt

The essentials. A hollow pain that keeps coming back for weeks, especially at night, calls for medical attention: the ulcer is often linked to the bacterium Helicobacter pylori or to repeated use of anti-inflammatory drugs, and this can be diagnosed and treated. Natural remedies come as a complement, never as a replacement. For the stomach, Professor Akim Bouterra's teaching points first to honey, alone or combined with licorice, ginger, turmeric or fenugreek, as well as propolis and ajwa dates. Licorice should be avoided in case of high blood pressure, and honey remains a sugar that a diabetic person must take into account.

Many people live for months with a burning sensation in the pit of the stomach without knowing whether it's gastritis, an ulcer, or simple indigestion that has lingered. The distinction isn't a detail: it changes what should be done, and it decides what a natural remedy can and cannot do.

Passing heartburn or an established ulcer: the first thing to determine

Heaviness, acid reflux, or a burning sensation after a rich, late, or very spicy meal passes within a few hours and doesn't return every day. This is indigestion, and good eating habits are often enough to make it stop.

An ulcer and chronic gastritis, on the other hand, settle in. The pain is more hollow, located in the upper abdomen, it returns at fairly regular times, sometimes at night or well after meals, and it has lasted for weeks. Two causes dominate: the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which colonizes the stomach lining and is detected by a simple test, and repeated use of anti-inflammatory drugs or aspirin, including self-medication for ordinary aches. Tobacco, alcohol, and prolonged stress further weaken the lining.

Certain signs call for consulting a doctor without delay, before any remedy: vomiting blood or a dark, coffee-ground-like fluid, black and sticky stools, unexplained weight loss, difficulty swallowing, sudden and intense pain, fatigue with paleness. In these cases, only a doctor can act. And when treatment has been prescribed, particularly to eradicate the bacterium, it must be carried through to the end: the remedies presented here support it, they do not replace it.

Soothing the lining: honey first

The first remedy retained by the Institute for the stomach is honey. According to Abu Said al-Khudri, a man came to tell the Prophet ﷺ that his brother was suffering from a stomach ailment; he replied three times in a row, "Give him honey to drink," then said: "Allah has spoken the truth, and your brother's stomach has lied. Give him honey to drink" (al-Bukhari and Muslim). From this hadith come very concrete rules: the dose is repeated, it has an amount and a measure, and the sick person's conviction is part of it. Ibn Mas'ud, for his part, said: "Use the two remedies: honey and the Qur'an" (reported by Ibn Majah, al-Hakim who authenticated it, and al-Bayhaqi).

In terms of properties, honey is described as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, healing, and antioxidant, with a pH of 4 to 5 very close to that of the human body. It is also reported that the Prophet ﷺ took it in the morning on an empty stomach.

Not all honeys target the same thing. For ulcers, we retain jujube honey (sidr) and white honey, the latter also cited for digestive trouble and constipation. For heartburn, it's thyme honey and rapeseed honey; for indigestion, rosemary honey; manuka honey, described as antibiotic and antioxidant, is cited for digestion.

Two preparations recur in the Institute's teaching for the stomach. The first, for digestive trouble and ulcers: honey, licorice, ginger, and cinnamon, one to two teaspoons in the morning on an empty stomach. The second is a complete recipe for ulcers: 500 g of jujube, thyme, fir, or heather honey, 25 g of ground licorice, 15 g of ginger, and 15 g of turmeric, one spoonful on an empty stomach in the morning and evening. Mix well, store in a clean jar in a cool place, and stick to the dose. Diluted in a little warm water rather than hot, the mixture is often better tolerated than a spoonful of pure honey on an irritated stomach.

Rebuilding the digestive terrain

Soothing isn't enough: the stomach also needs to stop being irritated every day. For ulcers, the Institute's teaching also retains the combination of honey and fenugreek, propolis, and ajwa dates.

Apart from these remedies, a common-sense note: talbina, that very gentle barley porridge, is a simple way to replace an acidic or overly fatty breakfast with something warm and mild. It doesn't heal an ulcer, but it avoids starting the day by irritating the lining.

Daily diet

This is often where the difference lies between gastritis that lingers and gastritis that settles down. A few simple guidelines, valid every day:

• Split meals up. Smaller, more frequent meals tire the lining less than one large meal, and you stop before feeling overly full.
• Eat slowly, seated, chewing thoroughly: the stomach then receives food whose digestion has already begun.
• Don't drink anything ice-cold. Very cold drinks tighten up a stomach that's already in pain; room-temperature or lukewarm water is preferable.
• Don't eat right before going to bed. Leaving at least two to three hours between the last meal and bedtime limits nighttime reflux.
• Set aside whatever burns or comes back up: very spicy dishes, fried foods, rich sauces, citrus juice and raw tomato on an empty stomach, strong coffee and tea on an empty stomach, sodas.
• Quit smoking, which keeps the lesion going, and avoid self-medicating with anti-inflammatory drugs.

In practice

A typical day, once the diagnosis has been made and medical treatment is underway if there is any:

• On waking, on an empty stomach: one spoonful of the honey, ground licorice, ginger, and turmeric mixture, or one to two teaspoons of the honey, licorice, ginger, and cinnamon mixture, optionally diluted in a little warm water.
• Breakfast: something warm and mild rather than acidic or fatty; let some time pass after taking the honey.
• During the day: three to four modest meals, regular non-iced water.
• In the evening: the second spoonful of the mixture, according to the recipe followed, and a light dinner eaten early.
• Over time: repetition is part of the remedy, as the hadith of honey teaches. The course is kept up for several weeks, without increasing the doses on one's own, noting what provides relief and what triggers the pain.

Precautions

Licorice is the main precaution. Taken regularly, it can raise blood pressure and promote potassium loss. A person with high blood pressure, on treatment for the heart or kidneys, or on diuretics, should not take the mixtures containing it without their doctor's advice: the version without licorice, honey alone or honey and fenugreek, remains preferable in that case.

Honey remains a sugar. In case of diabetes, it should be taken in moderation and accounted for during the day; acacia honey is in fact noted as the most suitable for diabetics. Honey is never given to a child under one year of age.

Ginger and turmeric call for caution in case of anticoagulant treatment or planned surgery, and may be poorly tolerated during a painful flare-up: start gently. A pregnant or breastfeeding woman should seek her doctor's advice before any course. In case of allergy to bee products, honey and propolis are to be avoided.

Finally, a remedy that brings no relief after a few weeks, pain that worsens, or any of the warning signs mentioned above call for a doctor, without delay. Healing belongs to Allah, and the means He has placed at our disposal also include examination and treatment.

Frequently asked questions

Which honey should I choose for an ulcer or gastritis?

The course's lessons retain jujube honey (sidr) and white honey for ulcers, thyme honey and rapeseed honey for heartburn, and rosemary honey for indigestion. Manuka honey is also cited for digestion. Failing that, a quality, unheated honey, taken in the morning on an empty stomach, remains the starting point.

Won't honey risk worsening the acidity?

Honey has a pH of 4 to 5, very close to that of the human body, and the course credits it with anti-inflammatory and healing properties. Taken on an empty stomach and diluted in a little warm water rather than hot, it is generally well tolerated. If a dose consistently triggers pain, stop and talk to your doctor about it.

I have high blood pressure: can I take the mixture with licorice?

It's best to abstain without your doctor's advice. Regular consumption of licorice can raise blood pressure and lower potassium levels, which is problematic when on antihypertensive or diuretic treatment. Honey alone, or the combination of honey and fenugreek, remains an option retained for ulcers.

Can these remedies replace my treatment for Helicobacter pylori?

No. Eradicating this bacterium relies on medical treatment that must be followed through to the end, under a doctor's supervision. The remedies of Prophetic Medicine serve as a complement, to soothe the lining and support the digestive terrain.

How long should the course be kept up?

The hadith of honey teaches that the dose is repeated: a remedy taken once doesn't match the scale of an established illness. The course is therefore kept up for several weeks, at a regular dose, without increasing it on one's own. If nothing improves, or if the pain worsens, it is up to the doctor to take over.