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Gerd Diet
By admin | June 17, 2008
The painful and uncomfortable affects of GERD (gatroespageal reflux disease) can be reduced by some simple changes in your food and drink intake.There are a range of foods and drinks that generally exacerbate the symptoms of GERD. In developing a GERD diet that suits you, you need to became aware of the foods that trigger painful episodes. Once you have established this, it is a case of eliminating these from your diet and finding alternatives, if necessary.
The key to adapting an effective GERD diet is to stick to healthly, low fat foods that are not highly acidic. So the kinds of foods that you should be thinking about cutting out are:
- Fatty foods – these include any foods that have a high content of saturated fats (fats that usually solidify at room temperature) such as fried foods, fatty red meat, cream, butter, full fat milk (and full fat milk products) etc. You should aim to ensure that less than 30% of your food calories are from fat and keep saturated fats to an absolute minimum. Food containing high levels of fat takes longer to digest thus forcing the stomach to secrete increased amounts of acid. This, therefore, increases the possibility of stomach acid entering the esophagus which may trigger a painful episode;
- Acidic fruits like oranges, limes, pineapples, gratefruit, lemons and also tomatoes should be avoided;
- Acidic vegetables such as peppers and raw onions should also be eliminated from your diet;
- Chocolate, spearmint and peppermint can trigger the symptoms of GERD, so they are best avoided;
- Spicy foods can cause problems for GERD sufferers, so these will have to removed from your diet;
- Try to avoid consuming alcohol, drinks containing caffine and carbonated drinks.
By this stage you may becoming despondent and wondering what the heck you’re going to eat on your GERD diet! Well, there are lots of foods that will help to limit the impact of GERD, whilst enhancing your overall health. Furthermore, a healthy diet will help to control your weight which is a really important aspect of tackling the symptoms of GERD. Being overweight puts pressure on your abdomen which can push up your stomach and cause acidic liquid to move into your esophagus. So the kinds of foods you should be eating are:
- Foods that are high in complex carbahydrates – these foods include things like bread, pasta and rice. These foods have the capacity to adsorb digestive juices, helping them to remain in the stomach rather than travelling to the esophagus;
- Lots of non-acidic, non citris fruits and vegetables e.g.apples, bananas, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, peas, green beans etc;
- For protein you can eat skinless white meat such as chicken, very lean red meat and fish. Vegetarian GERD sufferers should try to limit the use of dairy products as a means of getting protein and stick to things like soy products, whole grains, legumes, and seeds.
Whatever you decide to eat as part of your GERD diet, try to eat small, frequent portions. If your stomach is dealing with small amounts of food at a time, it is less likely to sectrete large amounts of acid that can eventually end up causing you pain.
Remember, the key to limiting your GERD symptoms through diet is choosing healthy, low fat foods that don’t have a high level of acidity. In addition, to tackling your GERD symptoms such a diet is likely to help to regulate your weight and improve your overall wellbeing.
It is important to consult your doctor before embarking on a GERD diet and if your GERD symptoms continue to persist despite making appropriate dietary changes, return to your doctor to seek immediate advice.
Topics: Acid Reflux, Diet for Heartburn, Heartburn, gerd | No Comments »
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