Mothers and grandmothers warned us from childhood: eat regularly, otherwise you will get a stomach ulcer. We decided to check whether it is true that skipping lunch can cause stomach ulcers or is it just another horror story.

Internet users share stories about how they were often frightened in childhood: supposedly if miss some meals, you can get a stomach ulcer. They write that the ulcer arises from wrong And irregular nutrition, and medical sites, including official, for example when regional ministries of health. Besides Irregular eating may cause ulcers accused nutrition dry, on the go, "just sandwiches", abuse chips And soda, and also too much cold or too hot food.

Gastric ulcer (GUD), speaking scientific tongue, this is a defect in the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract, usually the stomach (gastric ulcer) or the initial parts of the duodenum (duodenal ulcer), which penetrates beyond the muscular plate. One of the most characteristic symptoms of this pathology is popularly called hungry (or sucking) pain. In addition, the patient Maybe suffer from heartburn, sour belching, nausea and vomiting, weight loss. PUD is a common pathology, in the world it is already diagnosed in 4% of the total population. Russian Gastroenterological Association counted, that up to 14% of all men and up to 11% of women will encounter it during their lifetime.

Probably, it was the popular name for the characteristic pains (hungry, sucking) that formed the basis of the idea that irregular nutrition is the cause of ulcers. The second possible option is that when emergence characteristic pain helps eat something immediately (for example, biscuits or dried bread).

For a long time, the scientific consensus considered ulcers to be a disease of a stress nature. Hungarian endocrinologist Hans Selye exposed rats to various stress factors: extreme heat or cold, continuous physical activity, loud sounds, exposure to toxic substances. After about 48 hours of such experiments, the animals weakened and gradually died, and damage characteristic of gastrointestinal tract was found in their gastrointestinal tract. Selye transferred his observations from rats to people, examining patients whose bodies began to fail out of the blue. Their symptoms did not fit any known disease, so the endocrinologist coined the term “suffering syndrome.” Stomach ulcers also began to be considered a stress pathology.

In 1979, Australian pathologist Robin Warren cultivated in an artificial environment the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. Along with his colleague Barry Marshall, Warren discovered in 1983 that the bacterium neutralizes stomach acid, thereby causing gastritis and ulcers. At the same time, the scientific community was in no hurry to accept the point of view of scientists and abandon the neurogenic theory in favor of the bacterial one. To confirm his discovery, Barry Marshall decided to take a radical step. He prepared a drink based on the cultured bacterium Helicobacter pylori and drank it. A few days later, he demonstrated changes in his stomach characteristic of gastrointestinal tract. Marshall then treated himself with a course of antibiotics to which the bacteria was sensitive. In 2005, the discovery of Warren and Marshall was awarded Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of the bacterial nature of stomach ulcers.

Thus, scientists were able to prove that stomach ulcers are predominantly a bacterial disease with an understandable pathogen and treatment methods. To date calculatedthat Helicobacter pylori is responsible for 90% of duodenal ulcers and 70% of gastric ulcers. However, the bacterium is not always responsible for this pathology.

Second provoking moment is taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). To this group of substances include aspirin, analgin, ibuprofen, meloxicam, diclofenac, etc. These drugs disrupt the normal protection and restoration of the gastric mucosa, making it more sensitive to acid. Smoking violates ulcer healing and increases the frequency of relapses, but alcohol, although it serves as a strong stimulant of acid secretion, does not contribute to the appearance of ulcers or longer healing. However, smoking itself does not cause ulcers.

In third place after bacteria and NSAIDs is the genetic factor. After analyzing the genotypes of 456,327 British people, scientists identified eight loci (gene locations on the chromosome map) that contribute to the development of peptic ulcer. The same hypothesis is confirmed by the fact that 50–60% of children suffering from duodenal ulcers have burdened family history. To even more rare causes of stomach ulcers, scientists include:

Zollinger-Ellison syndrome (tumor of the islet apparatus of the pancreas);
malignant processes (stomach cancer, lung cancer, lymphoma);
some viral infections;
vascular insufficiency;
radiation therapy;
Crohn's disease (or ulcerative colitis);
chemotherapy;
shock (extensive burns, injuries, surgical interventions).

American College of Gastroenterology in a review article on PUD analyzed Myths about this disease: “Ulcers are not caused by emotional stress or anxiety. They are not caused by spicy foods or diet. Some foods may irritate an existing ulcer, but the food is not the cause of the ulcer. People with this diagnosis do not need to adhere to a strict diet for the rest of their lives. The days when patients with ulcers only eat certain foods are a thing of the past.”

At the same time, regular nutrition is an important part of the treatment of already formed stomach ulcers. As part of special therapy required take the medications prescribed by your doctor, and then eat something at a specified interval (usually 30 minutes to an hour).

And although irregular eating does not cause stomach ulcers, it is still not beneficial for the body, as it can become the cause of impaired secretion of hydrochloric acid and a decrease in the quality of secreted gastric juice. In addition, with irregular nutrition, people often eat on the go and abuse fast food. Moreover, Swedish doctors, during a 27-year follow-up found outthat irregular eating habits during adolescence are associated with the risk of developing metabolic syndrome (excess fat tissue around the waist, elevated blood glucose levels, elevated blood cholesterol levels, hypertension).

Thus, although irregular eating does not lead to stomach ulcers, as we were afraid of as children, it provokes many other unhealthy conditions. Therefore, it is better to monitor the frequency of meals and try to snack on the go as rarely as possible.

Cover image: Photo by Sajad Nazeran on Unsplash