Diet for a Person With High Cholesterol and a Stomach Ulcer

While many conditions can be solved through the use of prescription medication, the cost and side effects of relying on drugs tends to be off-putting for a sizable number of people. Stomach ulcers and elevated cholesterol levels are two fairly common conditions affecting a large number of individuals, but they can both be positively affected through the use of dietary means. A combination ulcer and cholesterol diet can help to minimize symptoms of an ulcer while concurrently lowering your overall cholesterol level.

Ulcer Diet

• Follow an elimination diet to reduce or wholly eliminate the symptoms of an ulcer. According to information from Drugs.com, the crux of an anti-ulcer diet is consuming three square meals per day (to minimize the production of stomach acid) while avoiding problem foods that tend to exacerbate symptoms. While on an anti-ulcer diet, you should strive to avoid the following foods and food types: caffeine, alcohol, pepper, spicy foods and lactose, as all of these foods can irritate the lining of the stomach or cause a disproportionate increase in the amount of stomach acid produced, increasing the symptoms from your ulcer. Beyond those specific food groups, you should pay close attention to your diet, keeping an eye out for any other specific foods that tend to increase your symptoms. For example, vegetables that cause gas, such as broccoli can be a problem for some ulcer sufferers, but not for others. Eliminate any additional food that you discover is resulting in the buildup of stomach acid and a worsening of your ulcer symptoms.

Cholesterol Diet

• Follow a basic heart-healthy, low-cholesterol approach to round out your diet. According to information from the American Heart Association, you can positively affect your cholesterol levels by sticking to a plant-based diet containing large amounts of fruit, vegetables and whole grains while limiting your total intake of dietary fat to no more than 25 to 30 percent of your total daily calories and limiting cholesterol intake to no more than 300mg per day. Evaluate cholesterol levels by reading the nutritional information for all of the items you consume, avoiding high cholesterol foods (such as egg yolks) in favor of lower cholesterol alternatives (such as egg whites or egg substitutes). Generally speaking, at least two-thirds of your plate at every meal should be filled with plant-based sources, with the remaining third filled with lean protein and a bit of heart-healthy unsaturated fat such as almonds or olive oil. So long as you follow this approach while avoiding the ulcer-aggravating foods listed above, you can easily help bring both your ulcers and cholesterol levels under control at the same time.