In case you don’t know, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) or chronic acid reflux is a digestive disease that affects the ring of muscle between your stomach and the esophagus. When this disease surfaces, you can either experience heartburn or acid indigestion. Hiatal Hernia is one of the common causes of heartburn, according to health specialists. This condition occurs when the muscle tissue that surrounds the bands of muscles at the base and top of the esophagus weakens. This case will most likely cause your stomach’s upper part to bulge up into the chest cavity through the diaphragm.
GERD is never a life-threatening disease if care is taken at the early stages. Interestingly, there are different treatment options you can rely on to reduce your GERD symptoms. You can either use a reliable acid reflux medication, such as Omeprazole capsules, consider going for surgery, or rely on dietary & lifestyle modifications.
Read on to discover everything you need to know about GERD and how to focus on dietary and lifestyle adjustments.
What are the warning symptoms of GERD?
Before talking about the dietary and lifestyle adjustment procedures for GERD treatment, here’s a quick question; how exactly can you tell whether or not you have GERD?
According to recent studies, 1 out of 4 adults experience heartburn at one point or another in the UK. Well, heartburn cases that only happen occasionally are normal. What is not normal is when a patient frequently experiences GERD symptoms that get worse or even wake you up every night. In this case, you might be experiencing chronic acid reflux. The best way to treat this chronic digestive disease is by relying on a combination of medications for acid reflux (UK), which are prescribed by your healthcare provider, and dietary & lifestyle adjustments.
Dietary and lifestyle modifications for acid reflux
So far, you already know that prescribed acid reflux tablets, such as Omeprazole for heartburn are effective in treating and reducing GERD symptoms. To increase your chances of getting treated quickly, you can also consider eating or avoiding certain foods as you take your medications.
Below are a few effective foods you can consider taking along with your acid reflux medication:
1. Chicken Breast
No doubt, chicken breast is an effective diet for acid reflux. When considering this food, ensure to skip the fatty skin part and avoid going for the fried option. Instead, you can consider baking, grilling, or broiling the chicken breast.
That’s not all; lettuce, sweet peppers, and celery are a few reliable vegetables you can consider along with the chicken breast.
2. Brown Rice
According to food specialists, brown rice is a complicated carbohydrate food that takes a long time to digest. Because of the long digestion rate, this food is certainly good for acid reflux. You can prepare brown rice anyhow you want it, just make sure you avoid its fried option.
3. Melons
In addition to your reflux tablets, you should also consider eating melon-based foods, such as watermelon. You can also consider a few other low-acid fruits, such as honeydew and cantaloupe.
4. Oatmeal
Oatmeal is a good source of fiber. It promotes regularity, which is why it’ll make a good combination with your reflux medication.
5. Fennel
Fennel is a low-acid vegetable that features different nutrients that could help your stomach walls relax and prevent acid reflux.
6. Ginger
Ginger is perfect and effective in relaxing the stomach walls. When considering this food, you can go for ginger tea with zero caffeine. Alternatively you can consider dried ginger (low-sugar).
Foods to avoid for acid reflux
To get the beat out of your acid reflux medication, you need to avoid certain foods that can worsen your GERD symptoms. That said, ensure to stay away from caffeinated, greasy, and acidic foods.
- First, avoid taking caffeinated tea and coffee. If you must take tea, consider a product with zero caffeine.
- You’re also restricted from taking carbonated beverages during your acid reflux treatment These drinks can bubble in your stomach and trigger your GERD symptoms.
- Other foods to avoid for acid reflux include chocolate, peppermint, grapefruit or orange (it has high acid content), tomatoes (including ketchup and marine sauce), alcohol (it increases stomach acid content), and late-night snacks.
