Gastritis

Related Terms

Gastritis is inflammation of the lining of the stomach. It is acute when it starts suddenly and lasts a short time. It is chronic if it is long lasting or goes away and comes back. It can cause belly pain and burning, burping, bloating, lack of hunger, and other problems. Long term gastritis can wear away at the lining of the stomach. This can lead to ulcers and bleeding.

Medicine can ease symptoms and heal the stomach lining. If you are taking medicine that is causing your gastritis, it will be stopped or changed.

Some people turn to alternate therapies to further ease symptoms. There isn’t much evidence to support that they are helpful.

Natural Therapies

Likely Effective

  • Chinese herbal decoction steeps raw Chinese herbs in water that is used to treat health atrophic gastritis in China and other Eastern countries. It may improve atrophic gastritis in people who also use standard therapy.B1

May Be Effective

Not Enough Data to Assess

  • Curcumin A5
  • Vitamin C A1, A2 (Note: Taking too much vitamin C may cause health problems.)

Editorial process and description of evidence categories can be found at EBSCO NAT Editorial Process.

Herbs and Supplements to Be Used With Caution

Talk to your doctor about all herbs or supplements you are taking. Some may interact with your treatment plan or health conditions. Some supplements discussed here have certain concerns such as:

Excessive vitamin C may be associated with kidney stone formation. Do not take vitamin C with iron supplements or blood thinners. Use caution when taking vitamin C and acetaminophen.

 

References

Supplements

A1. Yoshinaga M, Ohtani A, et al. Vitamin C inhibits corpus gastritis in Helicobacter pylori-infected patients during acid-suppressive therapy. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2001 Nov;16(11):1206-1210.

A2. Ma E, Sasazuk S, et al. Vitamin C supplementation in relation to inflammation in individuals with atrophic gastritis: a randomised controlled trial in Japan. Br J Nutr. 2013 Mar 28;109(6):1089-1095.

A3. Tang XD, Zhou LY, et al. Randomized double-blind clinical trial of Moluodan () for the treatment of chronic atrophic gastritis with dysplasia. Chin J Integr Med. 2016 Jan;22(1):9-18.

A4. Dai YK, Zhang YZ, et al. The efficacy of Jianpi Yiqi therapy for chronic atrophic gastritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2017 Jul 24;12(7):e0181906.

A5. Judaki A, Rahmani A, et al. Curcumin in combination with triple therapy regimes ameliorates oxidative stress and histopathologic changes in chronic gastritis-associated helicobacter pylori infection. Arq Gastroenterol. 2017 Jul-Sept;54(3):177-182.

A6. Weiser FA, Fangl M, et al. Supplementation of Caricol®-Gastro reduces chronic gastritis disease associated pain. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2018 Mar;39(1):19-25.

B. Other

B1. Fang WJ, Zhang XY, et al. Chinese herbal decoction as a complementary therapy for atrophic gastritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med. 2017 Jun 5;14(4):297-319.

Last reviewed February 2020 by EBSCO NAT Review Board Eric Hurwitz, DC