Is Watermelon Good for Gastritis?

Is watermelon good for gastritis? You are here because you wish to learn the truth. As a gastritis sufferer myself, one thing that I can say is that there is a lot of confusing information out there relating to what to eat and what not to eat. As an example, people will say you should stay away from dairy products. Then they will state that you should take yoghurt since it is good for your gut, all in one statement. One of my tasks on this website is to canvas for the truth for the benefit of other people with gastritis. So, is watermelon juice good for gastritis?

Is watermelon juice good for gastritis?

The good news if you love watermelon is that the fruit is very good for gastritis. In terms of PH, watermelons fall between 5.18-5.60. That’s relatively weak, as long as you drink your watermelon juice or eat the fruit in moderation.

Watermelons are actually a potential tool in your arsenal as you seek to get rid of gastritis pain fast. That’s partly because the fruit is around 91% water. What it means is that if you eat watermelons while undergoing a flareup of your gastric pain, water from the fruit will help you by diluting the acid in your stomach.

You may be aware that stomach acid is the number one cause of gastritis pain. So, by diluting it, you will be essentially lessoning the pain. It’s a good option if you are unwilling to take an antacid.

PH, Food and Gastritis

As you try to find out whether or not watermelon is good for gastritis, you will likely come across the issue of PH in food. That can be a bit confusing. At least it was a bit confusing for me.

The thing that I have learn is that the PH scale runs up to 10. What you need to do if you have gastritis is to look for foods that have a high PH. In fact, the higher the PH, the better the food is for you.

That’s because high PH foods are less acidic. They are, therefore, less likely to trigger acid production in your stomach. And acid is the greatest enermy as far as gastritis is concerned. It’s what corrodes the stomach lining, causing inflamation.

The more acid is produced into your stomach, the more pain you are going to feel. Anyway, low PH foods include energy drinks, carbonated water, sodas, popcorn, cheese, beer and even distilled water. High PH (alkaline) foods include vegetables such as spinach, kale, cabbage and fruits such as watermelons and mangoes.

Watermelon nutrition value

That’s the answer to the question; is watermelon good for gastritis? It has to be pointed out, however, that watermelons are good for everyone’s health, and not just for people who are suffering from gastritis. So, what are the nutritional benefits of watermelons?

In general, watermelon contains a number of nutrients that are good for you and your family. For one thing, the fruit is very low in calories, while being very high in water. The water is essential as far as staying hydrated and healthy is concerned.

There are also a lot of antioxidants in watermelon. Antioxidants are great for getting rid of potentially harmful elements (free radicals) that accumulate in our bodies over time.

Watermelons also have Vitamin A, B1, B5 and B6. These are all good for the proper functioning of the human body. In addition, watermelons have potassium and copper.

My own experience with watermelons

I am fairly addicted to watermelons and will eat a very large one alone in one sitting. In any case, the situation that I described above applies to me. If I eat a little bit of watermelon while having a gastritis pain attack, the fruit effectively neutralizes the pain.

This is something that I have explored several times, and the results are almost always the same. Having said that, its worth repeating that there is need for moderation whenever a gastritis sufferer eats something.

You don’t want to overfill your stomach because doing that effectively exerts pressure on the walls, thus triggering or adding to your pain. Remember that gastritis is inflammation of the stomach lining. Until you have healed properly, you will want to take things in moderation.

Stay away from what you cannot tolerate

So, is watermelon good for gastritis? The answer is generally yes. However, the thing about the disease is that there is no one size fits all as far as what to eat is concerned. This is something to which I alluded at the beginning of this post.

You will find that some people can tolerate some foods that are seemingly on the forbidden list. Other people will be intolerant to foods that are said to be okay. You will have to find out what works for you. You will also need to learn what does not work. That experience can only come the hard way.

That’s what I have been trying to do. Watermelon is okay for me, as long as I don’t overdo it. True, the gastritis diet is nothing to write home about. It’s supposed to be bland and unappealing. But no one is going to be able to define what to eat or what not to eat for any other person.

This article is but a general guideline. Yes some things are universal to all gastritis sufferers, such as staying away from spicy food and alcohol. However the rest of the foods that are out there lie somewhat in what one may regard as a gray zone.

Within this area, the subject gets rather confusing. While doing research for this article, we discovered that some people claim that watermelons are not good for you, while others claim that they are very good for you. These articles are written by people who do not have gastritis.

This post was an attempt to present the point of view of someone who is actually suffering from the disease. Based on my own experience, watermelons can be tolerated fairly well. In fact, I have found that they are good for my gastritis because they help sooth any gnawing pains.

I have already noted that that’s probably from the fact that all that water tends to dilute the acid in the stomach, thus serving as a tonic.

What is a stomach biopsy? That’s something that you may wish to learn about.

Summary

In this article, we focused on the question of whether or not people with gastritis can eat watermelons. We noted that the fruit has a low PH, making it idea for people suffering from the disease.

It was noted, however, that there is need to moderate intake of the fruit. Like any other food, watermelon can trigger pain when it is taken in large quantities.

Feel free to leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you. Share your experience with watermelons and other foods. You can also subscribe to our newsletter. That way, you will be notified when other gastritis related articles get published.