u/Ill_Ebb836

I made a post last week and it seemed like a lot of people got interested in my results with cabbage juice. So I figured I’d share my findings on why I think it worked for me and who, I think, it could work for. As well as more details about juicing itself.

I'm referring to this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Gastritis/comments/1vicfu7/every_supplement_ive_tried_for_gastritis_in_8/

Just to reiterate my story - I had gastritis for years, I killed H.pylori with antibiotics many years ago but gastritis wouldn’t go away. I tried everything on the market, and only cabbage juice really made the difference. I have been symptom-free for at least half a year now, which is very long in my world. 

So here are my findings about cabbage juice:

1. The active compound in cabbage juice that seems to help people with gastritis is called vitamin u (actual name is s-methylmethionine, or SMM, but everyone calls it vitamin u). It is not an actual vitamin, it’s just a nickname.  Other cruciferous vegetables also contain it, but cabbage seems to have the most of it. It degrades from heat and moisture, so cooking cabbage or letting your juice stand decreases the effectiveness.
2. There is no evidence/connection between cabbage juice/vitamin u and H.pylori, so if you have H.pylori, that’s the first thing to fix. (I personally fixed it with antibiotics, but some people choose the natural route.)
3. Vitamin u in cabbage juice seems to boost mucous production in the stomach, so it works like a tissue-healing salve.

 

I had pain and nausea as my main symptoms, so when I drink the juice, it feels like my stomach just “calms down”. It doesn’t feel as irritated or inflamed, and that’s likely because vitamin u helps stimulate cells to release mucin, a protein that traps water and forms a thick gel, preventing highly acidic gastric juices from burning the underlying cells.

Based on the above, to me, it seems like it should work for people who have inflammation of the stomach due to NSAIDs, alcohol, stress or past infections (like in my case). 
However, if the infection is still active or it’s an autoimmune gastritis, it seems like that should be addressed first. 

How to make cabbage juice:
Super simple. I just bought a cheap juicer from Amazon, cabbage is easy to juice so no need to buy anything fancy. Make sure you use a juicer, not a blender, the fiber can be irritating. I usually juice half of an average-size green cabbage per portion, I drink it right away. I notice that it doesn’t work as well if I leave it, even in the fridge. Although on really bad flare days, I would juice the whole cabbage and drink it throughout the day. 

I personally don’t add anything else to the juice, it tastes decent and it’s already a lot of liquid to drink. I never see the difference between green and purple cabbage, although some people say that purple is better, I prefer the taste of the green. I notice the positive effect within 20 minutes or so. Mainly the nausea subsides and my appetite comes back. And once I eat, the stomach pain also subsides. 

I switched to vitamin u supplement eventually, as it is more sustainable and for me it works just as well. Since I started taking it regularly (I would juice only during flare-ups), the symptoms never came back.

Also, for people with other digestive problems, the soluble fiber in cabbage juice can cause issues. And if you have thyroid problems, be careful with cabbage juice because of goitrogens.

Hopefully this is helpful. Let me know if you have follow-up questions, I am happy to answer!

I have finished my 3rd week on Accutane, and in the last few days I have had new cysts form on my neck and back. My face has had a couple of little breakouts, which I hear is normal, but is it normal to get them on my neck/back?

I was diagnosed with gastritis 8 years ago (had it probably for a lot longer), and other stomach trouble for as long as I can remember myself. I've tried most of what gets recommended online, by doctors, by naturopaths and nutritionists. I am finally symptom-free for over half a year now, so I want to share what has helped me and what hasn’t. 

Please keep in mind this is my experience and every person is different. 

My symptoms were:

• Sharp stomach pain, which got worse with hunger
• Nausea, which also got worse with hunger and better after eating
• Got full easily
• Anxiety/depression - had the worst overwhelming feeling of doom when I’d get a flare.

Since I got diagnosed with both H.pylori and gastritis (endoscopy), I started my journey with prescription medications. Antibiotics for H. pylori plus esomeprazole (Nexium) to reduce stomach acid. That helped with eradicating H. pylori (tests came negative for years after) but did nothing for my gastritis, as I had another flare a few months later. Mind you, I refused to stay on PPIs for longer than a month as I genuinely believe that reducing stomach acid can cause way more problems down the line than it helps with. 

So, here are the supplements I've tried, ranked in order of least helpful to most helpful. My criteria for ranking them: do they decrease symptoms during a flare-up and do they prevent another flare-up?

Zinc carnosine - there is a lot of research behind it, but I personally feel no difference. I still take it just in case it is doing something and I just don’t know. 

Probiotics, especially Saccharomyces boulardii - again, I still take them, but I feel no difference. I have never felt any difference.

Curcumin - no difference.

Mastic gum, marshmallow root, L-glutamine, slippery elm bark, aloe vera leaf extract, collagen - these all gave me a bit of a “coating” feeling during a flare. Nothing drastic, just a bit of soothing, which does help during a flare, especially mentally. But I don’t notice much of a difference long term, my gastritis comes back even when I’m taking them all regularly. I still take L-glutamine, again, a lot of research there.

DGL (the deglycyrrhizinated licorice, not regular licorice) - during a flare it genuinely took the edge off. I took it in a liquid/tincture form and I felt much better right away. I don’t take it when I don’t have a flare as there are some potential side effects. But during a flare - that was my go to. 

CBD - not a stomach supplement exactly, but it calms my anxiety, and when my anxiety comes down my stomach usually follows. I honestly can't tell you which is the chicken and which is the egg, my stress and my gut are so tangled together. CBD is anti-inflammatory so maybe that helped too. I found it helped with easing off the symptoms as well as stopping some flare-ups from happening. The biggest issue is that it is not available everywhere and I travel a lot. 

Cabbage juice (or vitamin u) - that’s what has kept me symptom-free for the past half a year. I used to drink cabbage juice during my flares and it would really help. Eventually I figured out that the active ingredient is vitamin u, or S-methylmethionine. Similarly to cabbage juice it works right away during a flare-up (maybe takes like 30 mins) and once I started taking it in a supplement form regularly, I haven’t had a flare-up since. Or even a hint of a flare-up, which is very unusual for me. 

To be honest, when I juiced cabbage for the first time, I felt a bit crazy. I know a lot of people in this community do it, which I admire them for, but a lot of my friends made fun of me for years. But hey, whatever works, works. Just know, if you feel this way too, you're not alone. 

One note on the juice: make sure you actually juice it, not blend it, you want pure liquid with the fiber removed. Fiber can be irritating on an already inflamed stomach.

*I obviously follow a clean diet, no alcohol, no spicy food. I still drink coffee and eat chocolate. I also eat regular small meals.

If you have any questions about my diet or my symptoms, I am happy to answer them.

I am starting my course today and feeling a little nervous.
For those who've tried it, what side effects did you experience and what actually helped keep them at a minimum?
Any tips and suggestions are appreciated!