WHEN Gordon Ramsay was recently diagnosed with a stomach ulcer, he blamed it on eating the local food while filming Kitchen Nightmares in the US.
However health experts reckon that it's far more likely that a germ was giving the celeb chef grief rather than an American diet of burgers and chips.
About 80 per cent of ulcers are caused by an infection with a bacteria called Helicobacter pylori; the result being a deep, burning pain in the mid-section from the navel to the breastbone that can last from a few minutes to several hours.
H. pylori is one of the most common infections in the UK. No one is certain quite how we are infected by the bacteria but it can be transmitted from person to person through contaminated food and water and a course of antibiotics is the most effective treatment.
The most common form of ulcers are peptic (or gastric) and occur in the lower stomach or duodenum when the surface lining becomes rawand can be caused by H.pylori infection or taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
Ulcers can give you similar symptoms to indigestion but the pain tends to be more severe.
Dr Annabel Bentley, assistant medical director for health insurance firm Bupa, explains:
"When people say they have a stomach ulcer (the medical term is peptic ulcer), they actually occur in two parts of the body - the stomach itself and the duodenum. Duodenal ulcers are more common.
"In the body, the stomach produces acid to help digest your food, and once your stomach has ground up the food and mixed it up with acid it passes to the next bit of your bowel which is called the duodenum. Both your stomach and duodenum have a layer of mucus lining them to help protect your own body from the acid. When someone gets a peptic ulcer, it's a bit like getting a mouth ulcer."
Ulcers occur when the membrane lining the digestive system breaks down or erodes.
"Duodenal ulcers affect about one in 10 people at some point in their lives, typically between the ages of 45 and 65, men slightly more than women," Dr Bentley says.
"Ulcers that occur in the stomach are less common and affect older people, usually over the age of 65, and may be associated with stomach cancer."
Lifestyle factors like stress and diet are not the cause of ulcers but they can certainly make the symptoms worse.
Sufferers should try to avoid emotional stress, spicy food, smoking and excess alcohol.
Ramsay's belly ache might also have been triggered by kitchen heat.
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