^
Fact-checked
х

All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.

We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.

If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.

Pumpkin in atrophic and gastritis with hyperacidity

Medical expert of the article

Gastroenterologist
, medical expert
Last reviewed: 03.07.2025

Pumpkin is very useful for a healthy person. Perhaps, nowadays it is underestimated, but in the old days round bright balls grew in every garden. In the evenings in the village they savored seeds, and for breakfast they had pumpkin porridge. Dietary vegetable is becoming more and more popular among city dwellers who care about healthy eating. And since a large number of people have problems with digestive organs, it is reasonable to ask whether to include pumpkin in the diet for gastritis.

Can you eat pumpkin if you have gastritis?

When the digestive process is disturbed, the patient inevitably begins to doubt whether it is possible to eat pumpkin with gastritis. After all, even its most useful qualities can cause an inadequate reaction of the stomach and aggravate the pathological process. Therefore, the patient must be extremely picky and listen to the opinion of doctors.

Traditional medicine definitely recommends pumpkin for gastritis. In combination with other remedies, it helps treat the disease. The vegetable is 90% water. The soft consistency minimally irritates the stomach, after heat treatment it envelops the mucous membrane and protects it from harmful factors. Fiber promotes rapid digestion, without additional secretion of hydrochloric acid. [ 1 ]

  • The dietary properties are such that pumpkin is recommended even for babies as the first complementary food. Such food has a beneficial effect on the child's intestines, is easily digested and has a calming effect.

For patients with gastritis, food is prepared by steaming or in the oven, preserving the useful components as much as possible. You can add sour cream and greens, but not spices and spicy vegetables.

With increased acidity, pumpkin pulp can reduce it. Juice with reduced acidity improves digestion, reduces inflammation, and removes salts. You can make many dishes from pumpkin that are useful for both healthy and sick people.

Pumpkin for gastritis with high acidity

With increased acidity, pumpkin is an indispensable ingredient in a dietary ration for gastritis. Thanks to this culture, patients stop suffering from heartburn, belching, and discomfort in the epigastric region. It is suitable for consumption in any form - both raw and thermally processed, but the latter option is still better. Thermally processed dishes are tasty and appropriate for any type of disease.

Pumpkin juice is recommended for gastritis with high acidity. The drink is enriched with vitamins, omega3 acids, carbohydrates, minerals. Pectin stimulates peristalsis, metabolism, prevents the absorption of irritants. An adult patient only needs to drink a 200 ml glass of the drink per day.

  • The pulp is a storehouse of mineral and vitamin components. In addition to the direct effect on the stomach, it cleanses the liver and rids the body of excess fluid.

Pumpkin seeds resemble pulp in composition, but contain salicylic acid, which is not found in the pulp. Due to this feature, it is not recommended to eat seeds with increased acidity.

Pumpkin for gastritis with low acidity

With reduced intensity of hydrochloric acid secretion, pumpkin for gastritis is recommended in moderate quantities - boiled, baked or stewed. The processed pulp of the vegetable is better absorbed and broken down, has a positive effect on the well-being of the patient in the gastroenterology department.

Pumpkin for gastritis with low acidity helps to normalize stool. Regarding the dosage of dietary food, the patient should consult a nutritionist or gastroenterologist.

  • In case of decreased secretion and motility of the stomach, it is recommended to consume pumpkin seeds.

However, it would be naive for people with gastritis to rely only on pumpkin. Pumpkin dishes help get rid of toxins and prevent fermentation in the digestive organs. Pumpkin supports the liver and soothes inflammation. But the healing effect is provided by complex treatment, i.e. medications plus diet.

Pumpkin juice is often recommended for low acidity. It is drunk after meals, in a volume of up to 120 ml. The duration of intake is one to two weeks, a more precise period is determined by the doctor, based on the severity and causes of the pathology.

Pumpkin juice is easily processed and digested. It retains its medicinal properties for quite a long time in the refrigerator.

Pumpkin for atrophic gastritis

Food entering the stomach requires additional secretion of digestive juice. This is an aggressive secretion that irritates the walls and promotes the inflammatory process. Therefore, a gentle diet is a full part of complex treatment. Fatty meat, canned food, marinades, hot spices, and carbonated drinks are excluded from the diet. Ideally, you should eat only home-cooked food prepared according to dietary requirements and personal tastes.

Nutritional features:

  • You shouldn’t overeat: overeating is harmful for a sick stomach;
  • leave an hour interval between eating and drinking;
  • eat freshly grated apples on an empty stomach.

Both pumpkin juice and pulp are useful products for atrophic gastritis. Numerous recipes help to diversify the menu, including pumpkin baked in its own juice for gastritis. The dish improves digestion and removes toxins. It is prepared in the following way:

  • Place pumpkin strips up to 2 cm thick in the microwave, wrap the dish in film without holes so that they do not burn. Cooking time is 15 minutes. If the doctor allows, you can add sugar or sour cream and cook the pumpkin pieces until done over low heat.

Pumpkin for exacerbation of gastritis

Whether to include pumpkin in the diet for gastritis or not - the doctor should decide. You can not do this on your own, so as not to harm yourself instead of benefit.

  • The main positive aspect of the vegetable is that the pulp normalizes acidity, which usually exceeds the norm in this disease. Having an alkaline reaction, pumpkin relieves the patient from heartburn, nausea and pain.

In the presence of atrophy, it creates a protective film on the inner surface of the walls, heals wounds and inflammations. Neutral taste and dense consistency provide the opportunity to use pumpkin pulp as raw material for a variety of dietary dishes: from soups and porridges to jelly and pastries.

Only a doctor can determine when and in what form the product is most acceptable for the patient. Pumpkin is usually not recommended during an exacerbation of gastritis, especially raw. Pumpkin juice should also not be drunk during an exacerbation of the inflammatory process. The product is often included in the menu after the end of the acute period.

During an exacerbation, pumpkin soup or pureed soup with vegetables and greens can be useful. Pumpkin pulp is allowed as a separate product. Cereals are added to such porridge later, when the acute period is over.

Is pumpkin useful for erosive gastritis?

Pumpkin is included in the diet menu for gastritis and other digestive disorders. Its pulp is a repository of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Pumpkin dishes soothe the stomach and intestines, relieve inflammation, saturate the body, and do not linger in the digestive tract. It forms an alkaline environment that neutralizes excess acid. Is pumpkin useful for erosive gastritis?

  • One of the defining properties of pumpkin is regenerative. Pumpkin food heals erosions and also protects the stomach walls from the formation of new damage.

Thanks to pumpkin, with gastritis of this type, there is a possibility of stopping the pathological process. At the same time, the efficiency of the glands that produce enzymes and herbal juices can be restored.

  • However, experts warn that pumpkin is not a panacea. It can only partially help the patient, as a dietary component in complex therapeutic measures.

Pumpkin pulp is prepared both as a separate dish and in combination with other products. In any case, the cooking is gentle: peeled pulp is boiled, steamed or stewed, but not fried in a frying pan.

Erosions in the stomach occur when the mucous membrane protection is disrupted. Erosive inflammation of gastritis can be acute and chronic. Nutritional errors can be one of the causes of the disease, so treatment often begins with its correction. In the initial period, products that stimulate secretion are limited, and food that irritates the mucous membrane is excluded. In the chronic course, a moderately gentle diet is indicated.

  • Pumpkin is useful for gastritis when there is increased acidity and erosive changes in the stomach.

The benefit is that the product is able to neutralize excess hydrochloric acid, as well as regenerate damaged tissues. Thus, pumpkin protects the mucous membrane and prevents the appearance of new erosions in erosive gastritis.

  • Pumpkin is often used in the treatment of gastritis and pancreatitis.

Dietary dishes relieve stomach pain, stop vomiting and diarrhea, which are constant companions of inflammation of the stomach and pancreas.

In order for the pumpkin to give maximum benefit, it is necessary not only to cook it correctly, but also to choose the raw materials. The vegetable should be ripe, brightly colored, medium in size, with a dry stalk. There are no cracks, spots or dents on a quality pumpkin. Fruits stored for future use or collected from a personal plot should be stored in a dark, cool place.

Benefits

Healthy people do not have questions about the benefits of pumpkin. This is explained by its composition. The popular melon crop is rich in proteins, carbohydrates and does not contain excess fat. Pumpkin fiber saturates the body with vitamins and minerals, removes excess fluid, cleanses the liver and digestive organs. The calorie content of raw pumpkin is 22 kcal, processed - 25 kcal per 100g.

  • Pumpkin can be useful for gastritis if prepared and consumed correctly. [ 2 ]

Thanks to fiber, you can quickly feel full. This way, you can reduce the amount of food and normalize your body weight, so the vegetable is used in many weight loss diets. People with obesity should definitely eat pumpkin dishes.

The pulp of the orange vegetable has a beneficial effect on the body as a whole, which is why it is very useful in the diet during the cold season:

  • increases endurance;
  • stabilizes liver function;
  • protects from irritating factors;
  • prevents atherosclerosis.

Melons are good for diabetics. Pumpkin oil is used to remove parasites. The pulp, juice and seeds are used in dietetics and cooking.

Contraindications

Despite the abundance of useful properties, pumpkin is not recommended for everyone with gastritis. Thus, pregnant and lactating women, young children should be careful with the vegetable: they may develop allergy symptoms and diarrhea.

In case of hypoacid gastritis, raw pumpkin is contraindicated. Thermally processed product is limited in case of some concomitant pathologies. Here are these contraindications:

  • diabetes;
  • intestinal obstruction;
  • ulcer;
  • hypertension;
  • flatulence;
  • individual intolerance.

Possible risks

No matter how many laudatory odes have been sung about pumpkin, its inclusion in the diet for gastritis should be approved by a doctor. Because, rarely, possible complications occur: individual components of pumpkin provoke fermentation or allergies.

You can consume seeds and juice after the acidity has been established, so that food helps to normalize its level. Overdosing on seeds is dangerous for patients, in particular, with high acid levels.

Pumpkin for gastritis should be eaten in limited portions to ensure there are no undesirable effects. And only then include other dietary ingredients in the menu.

With any form of gastritis, doctors, along with medical measures, recommend a diet. Otherwise, recovery is impossible. Pumpkin for gastritis, in particular, the pulp, is beneficial and makes the therapeutic diet more varied. What dishes and in what quantities to eat - the doctor decides individually, discussing the topic of diet with each patient separately. Boiled, stewed, steamed food is suitable, but fried pumpkin is not suitable.


The iLive portal does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
The information published on the portal is for reference only and should not be used without consulting a specialist.
Carefully read the rules and policies of the site. You can also contact us!

Copyright © 2011 - 2025 iLive. All rights reserved.