What to Eat to Improve GERD

If you have been suffering from GERD for a while you probably already know that what you eat on a daily basis is very important. What you eat can cause you to experience GERD symptoms regularly or it can help keep your symptoms away.

This is why following a good GERD diet is imperative if you want to avoid having to deal with annoying symptoms such as heartburn, acid reflux, sore throat, a lump feeling in your throat, and more on a daily basis. The problem for a lot of people is that switching to a GERD diet can be tough in the beginning.

Sticking to a specific diet plan for a long period of time can be challenging for anyone. However, if you can manage to follow through with your GERD diet for at least 2 months you should begin noticing your symptoms don't show their ugly heads as much as they used to.

According to My GERD and Reflux Cure, the main thing to remember when you're on a GERD diet is to avoid eating any food that will trigger your symptoms or make them worse. In order for you to find out what causes your GERD to flare up the best thing for you to do is get yourself a journal.

In this journal you're going to want to jot down any food you feel triggers your GERD after you eat it. Simply take this journal with you everywhere you go and jot down everything you eat each day. You want to put down in your notes how you feel after each thing you eat during the day.

You also want to put down the time you eat certain things because sometimes if you eat something during the day it won't affect you as badly as it would if you ate it at night before you lay down to go to sleep. You should keep this journal updated with everything you eat each day for about 2 weeks in order to find out what type of foods are really causing your GERD symptoms.

Foods That Trigger GERD Symptoms

To help give you a head start on your daily food journal here is a small list of foods and beverages that are known to trigger GERD and acid reflux:

Citrus Foods - If you are dealing with GERD stay away from fruits and vegetables that are highly citric. Some examples of citrus foods that should be avoided include tomatoes, lemons, oranges, tangerines, and grapefruits.

High Fat Foods - Foods like chocolate, butter, biscuits, sausages, and ice cream are high fat foods that trigger GERD by preventing the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) from keeping out the back-flow of stomach acids into your esophagus.

Spicy Foods - Spicy foods such as hot sauce, garlic, curry, chili, and peppers cause GERD symptoms to flare up because the slow down how fast food is emptied from your stomach. Moreover, spicy foods can irritate your esophagus and make your symptoms even more difficult to deal with.

The foods and drinks listed above are common GERD triggers that should be avoided or at least reduced to a minimum. Along with removing these foods listed above from your diet you should start eating the types of food that can help improve your condition.

Foods That Help GERD

If you want to learn how to get rid of GERD permanently you have to learn what types of food you should be including in your daily diet. Some of the best foods that help improve GERD include:

Green vegetables - Green veggies such as kale, spinach, and broccoli should be at the top of your list in your GERD diet. Eating these foods will help neutralize stomach acid and help keep your LES functioning the way it should.

Non-Acidic Fruits - We already covered that acidic fruits like grapefruit, lemons, and oranges can make your GERD worse. Well in order to improve your GERD condition you have to start eating more non-acidic fruits such as blueberries, peaches, apples, and bananas. These fruits will help improve your gut health along with strengthening your esophagus.

Meats - When you're trying to follow a successful GERD diet you're going to have to start eating less fatty meats. You want to eat low fat meats such as turkey, chicken, or even lean beef. Fish is also a good choice to include in your daily diet to improve your condition.

Conclusion

Now that you have an idea what foods set off GERD and what foods actually help improve your condition it's time to put it all together. Start eating more of the foods that can help prevent your symptoms and eat less of foods that will trigger them. Also, remember to keep a food journal so you know exactly what foods are causing your symptoms to flare up.