Foods to eat when you have H pylori and a bad tummy

I’m often asked what foods to eat when you have H pylori, and for several reasons it’s not that easy of a question to answer.

It may be more important to consider foods to avoid when you have H pylori rather than the ones you eat.

Why?

Simply because some commonly eaten foods can make H pylori symptoms much worse, and make it harder to eradicate H pylori infections.

Foods such as refined vegetable oils, gluten, cow’s milk, soy, sugary foods, processed carbohydrate, alcohol, processed meats and spicy foods should all be eaten with caution if you have an H pylori infection.

In some people (not everyone), symptoms will simply not go away unless these foods are avoided, even when H pylori is eradicated.

Problems in deciding which foods to eat when you have H pylori

Some foods can definitely kill H pylori and this is shown in the scientific literature.

But there is a big difference between knocking out H pylori in a test tube and eradicating it from the human digestive system (see below).

Another thing that makes it tricky is that we don’t really know how much of a food should be eaten to actually eradicate H pylori properly.

Some foods to eat when you have H pylori

• Cranberries (or cranberry juice)
• Broccoli sprouts (not easy to find – easier to get as a supplement – see below)
• Certain berries (e.g. blackberries, raspberries, but these can irritate the gut, too)
• Garlic (can also be taken in supplement form)
• Raw milk (unpasteurized) and yoghurt
• Turmeric (an Indian spice that contains curcumin)
• Licorice (be careful if you have high blood pressure)
• Cinnamon
• Manuka honey
• Olive oil
• Coconut oil

As well as these fairly common supermarket items, many individual vitamins, minerals, herbs and plant compounds have also been shown to kill H pylori.

For example, mastic gum, black seed oil, bee propolis, silver, oregano oil, bismuth, vitamin C, zinc L-carnosine and resveratrol have all shown promise in killing H pylori in the human stomach.

Killing H pylori in the lab – fairly easy!

Killing H pylori in a lab is not that hard. Scientists can isolate the bacteria and then expose it to measured amounts of a substance.

They can then report whether the substance kills H pylori, or the degree to which it has a beneficial effect.

If you look at the scientific literature you will see that the majority of experiments looking at what foods can kill H pylori are done in a laboratory environment.

This is great as it gives insights into possible H pylori treatment alternatives, but it clearly  has some drawbacks.

Killing H pylori in your stomach – maybe not so simple!

Your stomach is different from a lab dish. It contains acid, enzymes, hormones and other substances, not to mention the foods you eat on a regular basis.

A food or herb that knocks out our friend H pylori in the lab isn’t guaranteed to have the same effect in your stomach and intestine.

The only way you can really know whether H pylori is being killed in your body is to run tests before the protocol and tests afterwords, which isn’t a cost-effective way of doing research, unfortunately.

Pharmaceutical companies don’t want to do this kind of research because they are not interested in promoting food.

They can’t make money from promoting natural substances. A natural substance cannot be patented under law, so no matter how effective the natural substance may be, it won’t get any recognition from Big Pharma.

Sadly, this is something we just have to deal with.

Try using these foods and combinations:

Despite the confusion, you have nothing to lose by adding some of these foods to eat when you have H pylori.

They are not harmful, and may be of considerable help.

Some of these foods promote health in other ways. For example, coconut oil and raw garlic is also effective in fighting Candida overgrowth, which often accompanies H pylori.

• Eat some raw garlic  (not if you are on blood thinning medications)
• Try 1-2 tsp coconut oil in the morning and at night and cook with coconut oil regularly
• Dress your salads with some olive oil and apple cider vinegar
• Add turmeric and cinnamon liberally to your cooking
• Chew good quality salted licorice (be very careful if you have high blood pressure)
• Drink some cranberry juice
• Grow broccoli sprouts and eat them frequently

I can’t guarantee you’ll have success with these foods – I usually use herbal supplements as well as foods with my clients to help them get rid of their H pylori.

What herbs and supplements work best for H pylori?

Some of the food items listed above can be found in highly concentrated supplement products:

• Designs For Health Allicillin (concentrated garlic)
• Lauricidin (concentrated lauric acid from coconut oil)
• C3 Curcumin or Liposomal Curcumin (potent turmeric supplements
• Designs For Health Gastromend-HP (contains licorice and also mastic gum)
• Ayush Herbs Rentone or Moss Nutrition UT Select (cranberry)
• Jarrow Formulas Broccomax

Whilst these supplements are undoubtedly potent (I’ve had great success using them with my clients), there are some caveats that you should be aware of.

Not everyone tolerates these products – they can cause side effects from time to time.

It’s also essential to use them in the right dose and for long enough for them to have a beneficial effect.

I also use Matula Herbal Formula quite a lot with my clients. It’s not the cheapest product but it works very well in the majority of cases.

My H Pylori Diet book outlines the specific supplement protocols I’ve found to be effective, laid on top of a solid nutrition and lifestyle plan.

So when considering foods to eat when you have H pylori, please remember that supplement protocols or antibiotics may be needed in addition to your foods in order to eradicate H pylori.

Try The H Pylori Diet and H Pylori Home Recovery Plan

Because this topic is so confusing, I wrote The H Pylori Diet which lays out the precise eating plan I use with all my clients.

It includes foods to avoid and foods to eat if you have H pylori, menu plans and recipes, not to mention the specific herbal protocols that knock out H pylori.

For a small monthly investment, The H Pylori Home Recovery Plan goes a step further by delivering more detailed content in a specific sequence right to your computer or mobile device.

You also get weekly calls with me, as well as community support to make sure you heal your digestion and other the areas of health you don’t feel happy with right now.

The whole idea is to put an end to your confusion and restore your vitality in the shortest possible time, whilst teaching you to maintain optimal vitality for the rest of your life.

Best,

Dave.