Acid Reflux Diet
When people suffer from acid reflux this means that acid is backing up form their stomachs affecting the food pipe or esophagus. It can cause people a lot of proplems and pain if it isn't treated. In medical terms acid reflux is also known as the Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD).
GERD affects up to one third of the adult population of the U.S. However, not only adults are effected but even infants and children. Two major causes of the disease are people's diets and their sleeping habits. Those have to be changed in order to reduce a person's acid reflux problems.
Change your eating habits
As the LES muscle that closes off our stomach is effected by pressure a good remedy for the acid reflux disease would be to fast and to keep your stomach empty. The fasting should take place on three consecutive days. If you intend to go for fasting for more then 3 days you should first talk to a physician.
You should drink a lot of fruit juices like apple juice, carrot juice, cabbage juice or lime juice with water and tea. In addition you can also add another single food item to your diet on the first day, for instance carrots, apples or brown rice. On the second day you continue with this mono acid reflux diet plus you eat some fruits. On the final day of fasting you can eat salads, fresh fruit, or steamed vegetables, too. After those 3 days most people feel a lot better than before.
Which foods should you avoid?
There are several foods which in general have a negative impact on your acid reflux problem and which you should therefore try to avoid. If you stick to the following rules the chances are high that you will be able to get rid of your acid reflux problems:
- Don’t eat an excessive amount food which has vitamin C.
- Avoid spicy foods, chocolate, peppermint, alcohol and coffee.
- You should try to maintain an upright position for 45 minutes after eating.
- Try to avoid eating tomatoes and oranges because these are acidic foods.
- Don’t eat too much food at the same time. Keep your stomach slight empty.
- Avoid milk and milk products before bed time because they contain calcium and fat.
- Don’t eat 2 hours before you go to bed and don’t lie down immediately after eating a meal.
- Avoid vegetables like cabbage, onions, cauliflower, spinach, and broccoli.
- Avoid smoking, soft drinks and food which has a high amount of fats.
- Acid Reflux patients should avoid drinks which contain air or compressed gases. Hence, avoid carbonated drinks as far as possible. Beware that both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks can contain air or carbon dioxide.
What you should eat!
It is logical that noone can change his/her diet from one day to the other. As with a normal diet to lose weight a change in your diet to cure your acid reflux has to follow a proper plan. With a proper plan in place, you will accept the change in diet more easily. Your body will get tuned gradually, too. Moreover, the diet will then work in the maximum effective way.
There are different types of food that can be eaten at different times of the day and which are good for people suffering from acid reflux:
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Breakfast Menu
It is true that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Many people still ignore this rule and don't eat anything or not enough for breakfast. For people suffering from heartburn breakfast is important too. An ideal breakfast menu can include oatmeal cereals, milk, bread with a tablespoon of margarine and some papaya. The quantity of these foods can be adjusted somewhat depending upon your needs. Usually, a cup of oatmeal cereal, about one glass of skimmed milk, 2-3 bread slices and about 5 papaya slices is a good enough meal to start the day.
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Lunch Menu
Having a balanced lunch is also an important way of eliminating heartburn. Heartburn patients should start with some light food like a soup and sandwich. Soups like chicken soup or chicken noodle soup would be best for you. A perfect sandwich for a heartburn patient would for instance consist of 2-3 slices of whole grain breads with a little mayonnaise, 4 oz of chicken and apple sauce with no sweetener. You can also add some vegetables like lettuce and carrots if you like to.
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Dinner Menu
Having discussed breakfast and lunch the only meal that is missing is dinner. There are a lot of choices for hearburn patients concerning the dinner. You can eat a variety of meat, but it should always be in the right quantity. The meat options you have are chicken (not fried, but baked), turkey or shrimp. You can have some rice or bread on the side. What you should never do is to overeat on your meals, because if you do this can become a cause of heartburn again.
Because acid Reflux is not a major disease it is often often ignored. However, if you are experiencing some heartburn symptoms you should immediately visit the doctor.
There is also research in process to eliminate it in neurologically impaired children. For normal adults, a change in diet can very well get you relieved from this ailment for your entire life time. Acid Reflux is often due to irregular eating habits, digestion problems and insufficient sleep. If someone is ready to change his or her eating and sleeping habits then he/she can definitely control and eliminate acid reflux problems..