If you have gastritis, it means that the soft tissue lining your stomach is inflamed or irritated. The symptoms can vary, but they may include stomach pain, indigestion, nausea and vomiting.
Gastritis can result from many different issues, including stress, bacterial infections and the use of certain pain relief medications.
Some long-term forms of gastritis are associated with an imbalance in your stomach microbiome – the population of microbes that live in your stomach. This is also called your gastric microbiome.
Treating gastritis involves addressing the root cause. It also often focuses on controlling levels of stomach acid and protecting your throat and stomach lining.
In this article, we’ll look at how gastritis affects your gut. We’ll also explore treatment options and ways to support your gut health.
How does gastritis affect your gut?
When your stomach lining becomes inflamed, the underlying cause may be temporary (acute) or long-lasting (chronic).
Some forms of gastritis just irritate your stomach lining. But other, more lasting forms can cause this soft tissue to thin and wear away.
Gastritis may also reduce the amount of acid in your stomach, an issue called hypochlorhydria. This happens when the inflammation affects the cells that produce stomach acid.
Without treatment, gastritis can lead to stomach ulcers – sores on the stomach’s lining. It can also increase the risk of stomach cancer.
Chronic gastritis most often results from an infection with bacteria called Helicobacter pylori.
Some researchers have suggested that when an H. pylori infection causes gastritis and reduced stomach acid, these factors create opportunity for other potentially harmful microbes to grow. As a result, the composition of your stomach microbiome changes.
An H. pylori infection may also lead to changes in microbiomes elsewhere in your gut, including your large intestine, where most of your gut microbes live.
If this happens, treating the H. pylori infection will help.
There’s also evidence that other harmful microbes, beyond H. pylori, can cause gastritis.
Symptoms
The symptoms of gastritis can vary significantly. And some cases of gastritis cause no symptoms at all.
Gastritis symptoms can include:
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stomach pain
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nausea
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vomiting
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indigestion
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feeling gassy
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bloating
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not being as hungry as usual
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feeling full
Probiotics for gastritis
Probiotics are live, friendly bacteria and other microbes that can support your health if you consume the right amounts.
There’s evidence that probiotics can help with certain gut issues, such as diarrhoea and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
When it comes to IBS, probiotics can relieve abdominal pain and bloating, which can also be symptoms of gastritis.
So, could probiotics help with gastritis? In some cases, they may support the main treatment, which will address what’s causing the inflammation of your stomach lining.
If your gastritis results from an H. pylori infection, probiotics could help improve your symptoms.
When gastritis is caused by an infection, the main treatment is antibiotics. But these medications can negatively affect your gut microbiome.
So, taking probiotic supplements alongside antibiotics could help protect the balance of microbes in your gut.
Probiotic strains that could help, alongside gastritis treatment, include:
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Clostridium butyricum
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Bacillus coagulans
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Limosalactobacillus reuteri
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Lactobacillus plantarum
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Pediococcus acidilactici
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Bacillus subtilis
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Enterococcus faecalis
If you’re thinking about supporting your gastritis treatment with probiotics, it’s a good idea to ask your doctor about the best approach.
Learn more about probiotic supplements.
Can changing your diet help with gastritis?
Gastritis can stem from alcohol consumption, and in this case, the treatment involves cutting out alcohol.
But for most people with gastritis, dietary adjustments won’t treat the inflammation. Still, making certain changes could help relieve or reduce the symptoms.
Cutting back on these foods and drinks could ease symptoms involving indigestion:
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drinks containing caffeine, such as teas, coffees and energy drinks
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fizzy drinks
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acidic foods and drinks, such as orange juice
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spicy foods, such as those containing chilli or garlic
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fatty foods, such as certain meats or fried foods
Meanwhile, a type of gastritis called autoimmune gastritis may make it harder to absorb iron and vitamin B12.
This condition causes your immune system to target cells in your stomach lining, leading to inflammation.
If you have autoimmune gastritis, health experts recommend screening for nutritional deficiencies. If screening shows that you have low levels, your doctor may ask you to take a supplement.
One rare form of gastritis is associated with certain foods. It’s called eosinophilic gastritis, and it occurs when a certain type of white blood cell builds up and causes inflammation.
If you have eosinophilic gastritis, you’ll need to work with your doctor to adjust your diet.
Gastritis treatment
The best treatment for gastritis will depend on its cause.
A doctor will prescribe antibiotics if they suspect that your gastritis results from a bacterial infection, such as with H. pylori.
As we’ve mentioned, if alcohol is causing gastritis, the key is to stop drinking. And if gastritis is associated with anti-inflammatory pain relievers, your doctor will discuss other options for pain management.
Other treatments control levels of stomach acid and protect the lining of your throat and stomach from further irritation. These medications include:
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proton pump inhibitors, which reduce the amount of acid your stomach produces
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antacids, which neutralise stomach acid if you have too much
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alginates, which protect the lining of your throat when stomach acid rises into it
To reduce symptoms of indigestion, you might also try:
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using an extra pillow – elevating your head and shoulders can help prevent stomach acid from rising while you sleep
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not eating 4 hours before you go to bed
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not smoking
Your doctor may also need to provide iron infusions or B12 injections if gastritis has caused a deficiency in these nutrients.
Summary
Gastritis involves inflammation of your stomach’s lining.
The best approach to treating gastritis depends on the cause. You can support the treatment with medications that protect the lining of your throat and stomach.
One of the most common causes of gastritis is an H. pylori infection, which can alter your stomach microbiome.
In this case, doctors treat the issue with antibiotics. Taking probiotics may help support your stomach microbiome, protecting it from both the infection and the antibiotic treatment.
To learn more about other gut health topics, visit Symprove’s Gut Hub.
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Gastric microbiota beyond H. pylori: An emerging critical character in gastric carcinogenesis. Biomedicines. (2021). Link.
Helicobacter pylori infection associates with fecal microbiota composition and diversity. Scientific Reports. (2019). Link.
Impact of Helicobacter pylori on the gastric microbiome in patients with chronic gastritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis protocol. BMJ Open. (2023). Link.
Iron and vitamin B12 deficiency in patients with autoimmune gastritis and Helicobacter pylori gastritis: Results from a prospective multicenter study. Digestive Diseases. (2024). Link.
The double-edged sword of probiotic supplementation on gut microbiota structure in Helicobacter pylori management. Gut Microbes. (2022). Link.
The impacts of probiotics in eradication therapy of Helicobacter pylori. Archives of Microbiology. (2022). Link.
The interplay between Helicobacter pylori and gastrointestinal microbiota. Gut Microbes. (2021). Link.
The role of non-Helicobacter pylori bacteria in the pathogenesis of gastroduodenal diseases. Gut Pathogens. (2022). Link.
Vitamin B12 deficiency in over 16s: Diagnosis and management. (2024). Link.
