PA and diet

[Ronja]

Hi! I have just recently been diagnosed with PA and have been getting iron and b12 injections . After still having many problems with my gut, and fatigue and headaches, I also found out I am lactose and wheat intolerant, I’m still waiting to do fructose and glucose testing .

I’m wondering if anybody successfully has altered their diet to help their systems of PA and other guy problems? There are so many approaches out there ( Keto, paleo, Fodmap, GAPS etc) I’m a bit lost and also with the food intolerances don’t know where to start

Thanks!

[wedgewood]

As you have PA , you will have low/no stomach acid (Hypochlorhydria/Achlorhydria), which upsets the stomach flora . In my case this led to nausea , bloating and stomach ache . No NHS treatment for this . I found that probiotics helped me no end .(Symprove, unfortunately expensive) I now resort to home-made sauerkraut . Really cheap and good nutrition in other ways ( recipes on Internet ) Putting chopped onion in it makes it tastier . You could also look for Achlorhydria diet on the Internet . Very best wishes to you .

[Ronja in reply to wedgewood]

Thanks! Will look into it

Just got a call from the doctor though that I now have an acute infection of heliobacter bacteria on top of the pa . So will have to treat that first

[wedgewood in reply to Ronja]

Good that it’s been diagnosed . Very important to get that sorted !

Best wishes .

[Miss-guineapig in reply to wedgewood]

I have nausea and stomach ache, particularly in the morning. I planned to see my GP, I won't bother now after reading your reply. You have just answered a big question I had. Thank you so very much, it makes so much sense, my husband is googling Sauerkraut as I type ha ha ha x

[wedgewood in reply to Miss-guineapig]

Best of all is to use organic cabbage to make sauerkraut , and not to cook it or warm it above 40c . If that all seems too troublesome , organic , unpasteurised sauerkraut can be obtained from health food shops .

Patients with seriously low stomach acid can also take Betaine Hydrochloric acid capsules with Pepsin . Best to use it with the advice of a nutritionist or dietician ( obtainable on Amazon uk .)

Some people take acids drinks like lime juice

or diluted organic cider vinegar . Having low stomach acid also hinders absorption of other vitamins and minerals , so a tablet containing a moderate amount of those ingredients is a good idea also .

I do hope that you are helped with the info . If not , then at least no harm will have been done . All the best 👍🤞

[Miss-guineapig in reply to wedgewood]

Will certainly give it a go, nothing to lose, many many thanks Wedgewood x

[wedgewood]

Just saw an interesting article “Natural remedies for Hypochlorhydria/Achlorhydria “ Worth a look .

[Baggy8]

I've had B12 def and diverticular disease for a few years, and to be honest had got to the stage of laying all my difficulties at the floor of the B12 deficiency. I had found that my optimal time to SI was fortnightly, and that kept most of my symptoms in check. Just over 4 months ago when I reached a size 22 and realised how my future life would be compromised by carrying this weight, I changed my way of eating. I cut out sugar (including all white carbs), and no processed foods. My weight loss was great, but my greatest benefit was my health. I'm still B12 deficient, but only have 6 weekly jabs and the tummy issues and energy are brilliant. In MY case I believe I've helped to address a need I didn't know I had which has enabled my gut to heal enough to absorb more B12 from my food. As i now have the evidence of my personal experience, when I see my GP (which I tend not to do), after the advice on here, I intend to ask for testing for celiac's as it's in the family as the only time things play up is after bread.

I've looked at the different approaches you've mentioned, spent some time researching each and did my own thing. Which is kind of like the Mediterranean diet/Blood sugar diet. I couldn't be fagged to count calories 😏

Good luck...

[Ronja in reply to Baggy8]

Thanks! Yes I figured I will have to find my own way in what works and what doesn’t . But it’s great to know that food does and can make a difference

[natcap1]

Hi Ronja,

I used to be fine cutting out wheat and dairy. Recently I discovered I had PA and atrophic gastritis (I’m still unclear whether these are the same thing!) as my stomach issues worsened. The low FODMAP diet has sorted the stomach symptoms. The Monash University have lots of information about it online. I wouldn’t go down this route first though as it’s very restrictive. Try reducing / cutting out wheat and dairy first as they seem to commonly cause problems. Then you have the low FODMAP diet to fall back on if things don’t improve.

[Cwilli]

Hello Ronja. Welcome. I did major diet changes when I was diagnosed with PA and Hashimoto's. No gluten, dairy, soy. I eat mostly a paleo diet however I am not 100 percent compliant. I sneak in a little rice and eat some gluten free sweet snacks. I find I feel much better when I am eating whole natural unprocessed food, lots of veggies and grass fed meats. I am still working on adding in the fermentation foods and homemade beef broth( which they say is super good for our tummies) it is all rather time consuming. But I can really feel awful when I fall off the wagon and eat "bad" foods. Good luck to you. 🙂

[topher2018]

This post (and Cwilli’s response) might have been written by me. I have been struggling with what to do diet wise. I am on the AIP diet in hopes that it will aid digestion and also stave off Hashis as I have only been diagnosed with PA. Had an endoscopy recently that confirmed that my pareital cells had been attacked. Did a Heidelberg test today that confirmed my stomach makes basically no acid. So will be resuming use of HCl pills in addition to vinegar/lemon concoction with meals. Also doing probiotics although that helps further down in the process as I understand things. I have been wondering why there is not a more universally applicable food/diet program recommendation for us since we are all (or almost all) starting from the same acid deficient state.

[BiancaB12]

Having PA, I also feel better with a small amount of diluted, organic apple cider vinegar (with the mother) before each meal. I found it also helps if I add a little honey and just drink it all in one gulp. Having the acid linger on the teeth can affect the tooth enamel.

I also found it helps to avoid wheat, gluten, and processed sugar, and focus more on vegetables, protein, probiotics and the fermented cabbage. I had trouble digesting raw veggies, though, probably also due to the low stomach acid.

It can also help to not mix fruit with other foods at a meal, especially avoiding fruit after a meal, as it sits and ferments and causes gas/bloating.

I wonder if there is a genetic link between PA and low stomach acid, because the way I found out about the low acid was through my naturopath analyzing my genetic data and noticing this issue.

Wishing you much success!