The gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD responds more to diet than to doses of medication prescribed for it - this is often the case. In fact, lifestyle and dietary alterations are generally the first choice of treatment for GERD. However, a GERD diet can be similar to any other heart-healthy diet, involving some or most of the following factors.
1.Identifying foods that are known to aggravate GERD symptoms and eliminating those items from the diet makes a lot of sense.
2.Changing the diet pattern and limiting each serving.
3.Implementing separate plan for obese people having gastroesophageal reflux disease.
As soon as a person has been diagnosed with GERD, certain foods that are known to create trouble and have been mentioned below should be eliminated from his/her diet.
1.Citrus fruits and fruit juices that include orange juice and pineapple juice
2.Fried food, fatty food and fast food
3.Chocolate
4.Coffee, caffeinated beverages and strong tea
5.Alcoholic drinks
6.Onions and garlic in raw form
7.Potato chips and French fries
8.Tomatoes, tomato soup, tomato sauce, tomato ketchup
9.All types of processed food including processed meat (Salami, etc)
10.Macaroni and cheese
As for changing and limiting each serving, the matter may alter from one person to another as also on the severity of the case.
As for implementing a separate diet plan for obese people, this is of vital importance as GERD can affect overweight people in a far more difficult way as compared to those who are not obese. However, obesity and GERD are two entirely different issues and hence should be treated as such.
Meanwhile, as part of the diet plan for gastroesophageal reflux disease, one may go in for a wide variety of nutritious, low-calorie foods in restrained amounts. This may include whole grains, low-fat or fat-free milk, vegetables, fruits, legumes, dry beans, lean meat, poultry and fresh water fish. To make the diet look more practical, here is what precisely a GERD diet should be. It should have:
1.30% or less of the day's total calories from fat
2.8% to 10% of the day's total calories from saturated fat
3.Fewer than 300 mg of dietary cholesterol per day
4.Sodium intake no more than 2,400 mg per day
5.Enough calories to sustain healthy weight and proper cholesterol level
Apart from following the diet pattern that can be scheduled for GERD affected patients, emphasis has also to be given to few other relevant issues that contribute to heartburn-free living. These include:
1.Eating smaller meals at regular intervals instead of one time heavy meal since large meals tend to loosen lower esophageal sphincter muscles, thereby allowing stomach contents to reflux back into the esophagus.
2.Eating meals much earlier than bed time, so that the stomach is given ample time to empty itself into the large intestine, thereby eliminating the process of acid reflux.
3.Opting for a holistic lifestyle that can match well with the diet prescribed for the GERD affected person.
Following the GERD diet plan is a good idea surely. But only this will never help - you will have to do much more than that. That is because at best the diet will be able to control the GERD and keep away the accompanying heartburn - but the problem may remain within, and so, chances are, the heartburn may return to cause more problems for you. What you actually need to do is turn to holistic remedies because it reaches deep within the body and identifies all the contributing factors of GERD and then treats them all. This comprehensive approach really works best for GERD. Holistic remedies are so effective because it treats the root causes and not merely the symptoms of the problem.
