Among medical workers, the Meilengracht diet is very popular (the composition of the menu is given below), which greatly alleviates the painful condition of peptic ulcer, promotes healing and scarring of stomach and duodenal ulcers. In the article, we will consider this diet in detail. Here's a sample weekly menu for the Meilengracht Diet.
What is a peptic ulcer
Peptic ulcer is a fairly common disease that can be accompanied by stomach bleeding. Often has a chronic course with exacerbations in the offseason. During such periods, an ulcer appears on the walls of the mucous membrane of the stomach or duodenum, which can only be seen during x-rays.
The main symptoms of the disease are frequent heartburn, sharp pains in the abdomen, which can be half an hour after eating or the so-calledlate, when a person experiences pain from hunger, that is, 3 hours after the last meal.
Usually, peptic ulcer disease indicates a wrong lifestyle, frequent nervous stress, the presence of bad habits, such as smoking or alcohol abuse. Subject to such a disease are people who do not follow the diet, eat in a hurry with anything - sandwiches or fast food.
Basic Diet Principles
Danish doctor-clinician Meilengracht in 1935 conducted research among patients suffering from peptic ulcer. He noticed that the patient's condition improves if he is fed with food rich in proteins.
Let's look at the basic principles of the Meilengracht diet:
- Food should not irritate the walls of the stomach either mechanically, or thermally, or chemically. This means that the food should not have large and hard pieces, it is advisable to grind it. Nowadays, it is convenient to use a blender. Food should be warm, not cold (below 20 degrees) or hot (more than 42 degrees). Sour, s alty and spicy foods have a negative effect on the walls of the stomach, and if there is an ulcer, they cause sharp pain up to bleeding.
- Meals should be fractional and frequent. Approximately every two hours you need to put something in your mouth, otherwise hunger pains will begin. This is due to the fact that gastric juice strongly irritates the gastric mucosa, as it has an acidic environment. If there is food in the stomach, it will bind this acid, protecting the mucous membrane fromirritation.
- There should be enough nutrients in food, especially proteins, which not only have a binding effect in reaction with gastric acid, but also help to scar the ulcer itself. It must be balanced, provide adequate nutrition for a sick person.
Menu Features
Meilengracht diet is especially useful for stomach bleeding. When an ulcer is located above a vessel in the wall of the stomach, then when it grows, bleeding into the stomach cavity can occur. At the same time, a person experiences general weakness, nausea, which can result in bloody vomiting. At the same time, the lips and fingertips turn pale, the pressure decreases, and the pulse quickens. In an acute situation, a person can lose consciousness and even fall into a coma.
Meilengracht suggested for a small bleeding that does not require gastric resection, a completely complete diet, enriched with a large amount of protein food. Also increased the proportion of ascorbic acid and phylloquinones.
During the period of bleeding, food is allowed only in a liquid or puree state, without solid particles. It is best to beat food with a blender or wipe through a fine sieve. Butter, dairy products (milk, cream and sour cream), only soft-boiled eggs, boiled pureed vegetables, beef and fish, whipped soups, mashed potatoes, fruit and berry jelly (non-acidic) are recommended, but be sure to strain them through a sieve so as not to accidentally got a small bone from a berry. From cereals, you can cook rice and semolina until boiled. You can drink tea or brothrose hips, not too sweet.
Features of the menu after the operation
If a patient with peptic ulcer has undergone an operation to resect an ulcer in the stomach, then the first days you can’t eat at all. Then the Meilengracht diet menu is assigned. It is strictly forbidden to eat any bread. Permissible, with the permission of the attending physician, not earlier than on the 6th or 7th day after surgery.
Meals should be fractional, in small portions, approximately every two hours. There should be at least 6 doses per day. Protein food up to 150 grams, and carbohydrate-containing food, on the contrary, should be reduced to 300 grams per day. Eat as little sugar as possible, as these are easily digestible carbohydrates. Vitamins need to be added, but milk is slightly diluted with water. Patients after gastric resection surgery should adhere to a diet for up to six months.
Meilengracht Diet Reviews
According to ongoing research by AMH, the feedback on the effectiveness of the Danish clinician's diet is excellent. The very next day after the cessation of nausea and vomiting with blood, patients were given boiled meat, a steam omelet, semolina porridge with milk, boiled carrot puree and white stale bread without a crust. The patient's condition improved rapidly, bleeding stabilized, and hemoglobin improved.
Sample menu for the week
Meals are divided into 6 meals. Breakfast - at 8.00, lunch - at 10.30, lunch - at 13.00, afternoon tea - at 15.30, dinner - at 18.00 and late dinner - at 20.30. Consider the days of the week an approximate menu for the week of the Meilengracht diet.
Monday:
- boiled oatmeal;
- vegetable broccoli and carrot puree;
- slimy buckwheat soup and turkey soufflé;
- chicken egg steam omelet;
- strawberry jelly;
- curd soufflé.
Tuesday:
- buckwheat porridge;
- soft-boiled egg;
- chopped boiled fish and beets;
- slimy soup with buckwheat;
- corn porridge;
- mashed boiled apples (remove peel and pits).
Wednesday:
- boiled oatmeal;
- milk jelly;
- slimy barley soup;
- boiled vegetables - beets, carrots and kohlrabi cabbage, mashed;
- curd soufflé;
- semolina porridge.
Thursday:
- corn porridge with milk;
- boiled beets, mashed and grated boiled veal;
- mashed boiled potatoes;
- slimy rice and chicken soup (mashed);
- buckwheat porridge;
- boiled peach mousse.
Friday:
- rice porridge;
- soft pear jelly;
- slimy oatmeal soup;
- vegetable puree with turkey meat;
- milk jelly;
- decoction of rose hips with sugar.
Saturday:
- Grated buckwheat porridge;
- milk jelly;
- slimy turkey rice soup;
- vegetable puree from carrots andbroccoli;
- fish soufflé with blended vegetables;
- milk jelly.
Sunday:
- semolina porridge;
- chicken egg steam omelet;
- rabbit meat soufflé and vegetable puree (potatoes, zucchini and carrots);
- slimy rice soup;
- mashed beets and fish soufflé;
- banana puree.
This is only an approximate menu. You can vary it in many ways by adding pumpkin and chicken, beef and quail meat, a boiled egg in a bag, cauliflower, etc.
Conclusion
Diet is useful not only for bleeding with peptic ulcer disease, but also for gastritis and other gastrointestinal problems. By following this menu, you can quickly restore your normal state, get rid of the pain and symptoms of peptic ulcer. Stay he althy!
