Key takeaways:
If you’re taking sucralfate, you should avoid eating for 1 hour before, and 2 hours after taking the medication.
You don’t have to limit your diet when taking sucralfate. But certain foods may make ulcer pain worse.
Some foods — like spicy foods and citrus fruits — can cause pain for some people. But they can actually be helpful for others. Pay attention to how you feel after eating. This will help you understand which foods to avoid while taking sucralfate.
Save on related medications
If you’re starting a new medication, one of the first questions you might ask is, “Are there any foods I should avoid?” When it comes to sucralfate, the answer isn’t exactly straightforward. Here, we’ll review what sucralfate does, and why it’s best to take on an empty stomach. We’ll also discuss what the science says about avoiding foods while taking sucralfate. This will help you make an informed decision about what foods are best for you.
What is sucralfate?
Sucralfate is a medication that helps to heal duodenal ulcers — ulcers in the first part of the intestine. Sucralfate coats the intestine and protects its lining. It does this by blocking acid and enzymes. An ulcer can heal more quickly with this protection. And some people take sucralfate to prevent future ulcers.
Can you take sucralfate with food?
Sucralfate should be taken on an empty stomach. That’s because food can block sucralfate from binding to the lining of your intestine. Sucralfate can’t stick to the ulcer or the lining around it if you have food in your digestive tract at the same time. So, it’s best to avoid eating food around the time you take your medication.
How long after taking sucralfate can you eat?
If you’re taking sucralfate before your meal, it’s best to avoid eating for 2 hours after taking the medication. This will give sucralfate the time it needs to coat the digestive tract — without food interfering. This will also help the medication be more effective.
If you take your sucralfate before food, it is best to wait an hour to eat.
Do certain foods interact with sucralfate?
There are no specific foods that interact with sucralfate. Sucralfate stays in your digestive tract and doesn’t get absorbed into the bloodstream. But make sure you are avoiding food for the recommended amount of time before and after taking your medication.
That said, most people on sucralfate are using it to treat duodenal ulcers. So, it makes sense that you should avoid any foods that could worsen your ulcer pain. You might also want to avoid foods that could lead to any symptoms of heartburn or reflux. These symptoms can be like ulcer symptoms, which may make it hard to tell if your medication is working.
So which foods should you avoid? It depends. Gastroenterologists do not recommend that everyone with an ulcer should avoid specific foods. But some people with ulcers find that certain foods make their pain worse. And certain substances — like caffeine and alcohol — might irritate the intestinal lining and make it harder for ulcers to heal.
Foods you might need to avoid if you’re taking sucralfate for ulcers
It’s important to know which foods are the common culprits when it comes to digestive discomfort. That way you can monitor for patterns to see if they cause your symptoms to flare up. Then you can decide which foods you might want to avoid — and which foods you can continue to enjoy.
The following foods are some of the most common to trigger stomach discomfort. Pay close attention to see if they worsen your pain.
Spicy foods
Experts agree that spicy foods do not cause ulcers. But these foods can irritate the ulcers that already exist. So spicy foods can be a pain trigger for people with ulcers. On the other hand, some research shows capsaicin — the chemical that makes peppers spicy — can help ulcers heal. So, take note of how spicy foods make your digestive system feel.
Some examples of spicy foods include:
Hot peppers like habanero, jalapeno, and ghost pepper
Foods made with spices like cayenne, ginger, and chili
Spicy sauces like salsa and curry
High-fat foods
High-fat foods might irritate ulcers. So, when an ulcer is healing, some guidelines recommend caution with fatty cheeses and meats. High-fat foods include:
Ground beef with 25% to 30% fat content
Bacon and pork sausage
Full-fat cheeses like mascarpone, gorgonzola, and cheddar
Foods made with butter and heavy cream
Citrus fruits
Citrus foods contain a lot of acid. So, in the past, people with ulcers were told to avoid citrus fruits. There isn’t a lot of evidence that citrus foods are harmful for people with ulcers. But some people do have worse ulcer pain after eating them. If you do, you should avoid citrus.
If they don’t trigger pain for you, eating citrus fruits might actually be helpful. Research shows that flavonoids — natural chemicals found in many citrus fruits — can protect the intestinal lining. And citrus fruits may help to destroy Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), a bacteria that causes ulcers.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes, and the sauces made from them, also have a high amount of acid. They can cause ulcer pain for some people, so those people should avoid them. But like citrus fruits, they also contain flavonoids. So, tomatoes may protect the intestinal lining. This is helpful when you are taking sucralfate to heal an ulcer.
Fried foods
Fried foods might cause increased pain and discomfort if you have an ulcer. Eating a lot of fried foods may also be linked with H. pylori infections, which are a major cause of ulcers. That’s the opposite of what you want when you are treating ulcers with sucralfate.
Dairy
In the past, it was common to recommend dairy foods as a way to soothe ulcer pain. And certain kinds of bacteria found in yogurt and other dairy foods — lactobacillus and bifidobacterium — can be helpful. They can decrease H. pylori and improve the gastrointestinal lining. But drinking milk is no longer recommended as a treatment for ulcers. Some evidence suggests that milk might actually lead to more acid production. So, see how your body feels after consuming dairy products to decide if you should avoid them while taking sucralfate.
Chocolate
Chocolate can cause ulcer pain in some people. But the research is not clear on whether it increases stomach acid. It may irritate the stomach lining and cause reflux symptoms, which can feel similar to ulcer symptoms. If so, that discomfort could make it hard to tell if the sucralfate is working.
Caffeine
Coffee, tea, and other drinks with caffeine increase acid and enzymes in the stomach. Sucralfate helps heal the intestinal lining by blocking acid and enzymes. So, avoiding caffeine may help sucralfate protect the lining. However, the research is not clear whether caffeine is actually harmful to the lining or ulcers.
Alcohol
When it comes to alcohol, the evidence is more clear: Drinking alcohol can worsen ulcer symptoms, and cause digestive pain. It can also increase your chances of complications like bleeding from an ulcer. So, if you are taking sucralfate to treat an ulcer, it’s best to reduce or avoid alcohol intake. Avoiding alcohol can also help ulcers heal, which helps sucralfate do its job.
Carbonated beverages
Like many of these foods, carbonated beverages are a trigger for acid reflux in people with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). But there isn’t a lot of research to show that they make ulcers worse. If drinking fizzy drinks gives you reflux symptoms, you might feel like it’s hard to tell apart from your ulcer pain. When you take sucralfate for an ulcer, see how carbonated beverages make you feel.
The bottom line
When you are taking sucralfate for ulcers, you don’t need to worry about avoiding foods that interact with it. The important thing is to take it on an empty stomach. But some people with ulcers experience pain when eating certain foods. So, it’s best to pay attention to how you feel when you eat them. You can use your symptoms to help decide if you should avoid those foods while taking sucralfate for an ulcer.
Why trust our experts?
References
Center for Applied Nutrition. Upper gastrointestinal tract disorders: Gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD). University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School.
Fox, M., et al. (2023). Dietary factors involved in GERD management. Best Practice and Research Clinical Gastroenterology.
Keck, J. P., et al. (2000). The role of alcohol use in dyspepsia. American Family Physician.
Mandalari, G., et al. (2017). Effectiveness of Citrus fruits on Helicobacter pylori. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Masood, M. I., et al. (2011). Beneficial effects of lactic acid bacteria on human beings. Critical Reviews in Microbiology.
MedlinePlus. (2017). Sucralfate.
Miki, K., et al. (2007). Effect of Bifidobacterium bifidum fermented milk on Helicobacter pylori and serum pepsinogen levels in humans. Journal of Dairy Science.
Nehlig, A. (2022). Effects of coffee on the gastro-intestinal tract: A narrative review and literature update. Nutrients.
Satyanarayana, M. N. (2006). Capsaicin and gastric ulcers. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition.
Schafer, T. W., et al. (2021). Peptic ulcer disease. American College of Gastroenterology.
Serafim, C., et al. (2020). A review of the role of flavonoids in peptic ulcer (2010-2020). Molecules.
Strate, L. L., et al. (2016). A prospective study of alcohol consumption and smoking and the risk of major gastrointestinal bleeding in men. PLOS One.
Taraszewska, A. (2021). Risk factors for gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms related to lifestyle and diet. Annals of the National Institute of Hygiene.
Vomero, N. D., et al. (2014). Nutritional care in peptic ulcer. Brazilian Archives of Digestive Surgery.
Zhu, Y., et al. (2014). Risk factors and prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in persistent high incidence area of gastric carcinoma in Yangzhong City. Gastroenterology Research and Practice.
