This is part two of looking at common causes of mouth ulcers.Part one can be found here.

Emotions

I find that prolonged negative feelings can lower the immune system, and be the ideal conditions for getting more canker sores. Stress and anxiety are a good examples. Stress is the feeling of not being able to cope with the current reality or situation. It is similar to fear, because it is about being scared of the consequences of failure. That’s why exams can cause people to feel stressed, as well as pressure at work or having too much on your to-do list.

Anger is something else which can drain a lot of energy from the body, and as a result lower immune capabilities and make it easier to get canker sores. Anger is a complex emotion, and a useful trigger that something is wrong, usually in response to fundamental need not being met, such as respect. It is a complex emotion and it is worth investigating anger management classes if you get angry a lot, whether you overtly get cross with people, or keep it all in.

Food

Food is a big area to look at in regards to canker sores. Food can cause canker sores for the following reasons:

• An allergy to the food
• The food is sharp and causes abrasions in the mouth
• The food is acidic
• A general unhealthy diet that adversely affects the immune system

Here is a list of foods people have mentioned they have found linked to canker sores:

• Acidic foods & drinks
• Alpha-linolenic acid
• Apples
• Artificial flavors colors & preservatives
• Aspartame
• Avocado
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Bananas
• Beer
• Benzoates
• Biscuits
• Blackcurrant
• Blue cheese
• Boiled sweets
• Bread (and other yeasty foods)
• Champagne
• Cheese and strong cheddars
• Cherries
• Chocolate
• Cinnamon
• Citric acid
• Citrus Fruits
• Coloring (Red especially)
• Coke
• Concentrated drinks (squash)
• Crisps / Chips (Salt And Vinegar)
• Dr. Pepper
• Dried Fruits
• Eggs
• Fatty foods
• Fizzy drinks
• Fizzy Sherbert
• Flavorings
• Fruit Cake
• Fruity Brown Sauce
• Garlic
• Glucose syrup
• Gluten
• Grapefruit
• Guava fruit
• Haribo sweets
• Hot peppers
• Ice Pops
• Ketchup or mayonnaise
• Kiwi fruit
• Lemonade
• Lemons
• Licorice
• Lollipops
• Marmite
• Meat
• Melon
• Milk and dairy products
• Mint
• MSG (mono-sodium glutamate)
• Natural fruit acid
• Nuts or seeds
• Olives
• Onions
• Oranges / Orange juice
• Passion Fruit
• Peanut butter
• Peanuts
• Pesticide residues on fruit
• Pineapple
• Pistachio
• Pizza (heated cheese)
• Plums
• Pop-tarts
• red meat
• Red wine
• Salad Cream
• Salt
• Skittles
• Sodium Benzonate (soft/fizzy drinks)
• Sorbitol (often found in gum, mints etc.)
• Sour Candy
• Soy
• Soy lecithin (471)
• Soy sauce
• Spicy Foods (Curries)
• Spicy food
• Strawberries
• Strong Coffee or Tea
• Sucralose (Splenda)
• Sugar
• Sweets
• Tomato Ketchup
• Tomatoes
• Vinegar
• Werthers Originals
• Walnuts
• Wheat, rye or barley
• White wine
• Wine gums
• Yellow #6 food dye
• Yogurt

This list is to give you an idea and see if there is anything you can relate too. I think it is worth seeing a dietitian before making major changes to your diet and having an allergy test might help too. Also you can test things that can easily be removed from your diet one by one. E.g. give up drinking coffee (drink water instead) and see if it reduces occurrences.