Hiatal hernia diet?

jean_rennolds
jean_rennolds Posts: 27 Member
edited November 26 in Health and Weight Loss
I have recently been diagnosed with a hiatal hernia and I have lost weight since then but I had quit doing a lot of things that I was supposed to be doing. About a month or two ago I had strep throat and was able to kick the soda habbit because it tasted like metal. I have started drinking Sobe elixir which is pretty good. However in this past two weeks or so I have found that a lot of foods I never used to have trouble with (such as grapes, or tea) are really starting to affect me in a not so good way. To put it bluntly they cause gas that is so bad that it has me in pain all night long. It's pretty rank too. I know I'm not supposed to eat red meats or tomato sauce or tomato based any thing. I'm finding I can't eat garlic salt either. Besides the obvious items I can have I am in need of some help to figure out what the hell can I eat that I might acutally like. I had some shrimp with garlic margerine and paprika last night and this morning I had that bad gas again. So is it the margerine, the garlic or the paprika or all of it? I have never liked a lot of fancy dishes and I have never really dieted before so this is still all new to me. Please can some one help?

Replies

  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Did your doctor give you a forbidden list? If so, it's critical that you follow that. If you are having trouble with certain foods, it's off the list too.

    I have diverticulosis which food can be trapped in pockets and besides the pain there's a lot of gas too. If you are having bad gas and pain, chances are the food is trapped causing the gas.

    If I were you I'd try a low fiber high carbohydrate meal and see how that goes. But I don't have the forbidden list. You do.
  • jean_rennolds
    jean_rennolds Posts: 27 Member
    No my Docter didn't give me a forbidden list. I just looked it up on the internet but it's not much help. I'll be giving that a try though for sure.
  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,190 Member
    I have a small hiatal hernia and also diverticulosis so I understand your problem.

    I can't eat garlic in anyway or form, and raw onions either, I and I have to be very careful with alcohol too. I love wine but it doesn't love me back so I drink very little and not too frequently. But I have no problems with fruit or tomatoes or seasoning, except garlic (probably due to a sensitivity). Red meat is OK in moderation. Bubbles (champagne and sodas) also affect me, so I drink mostly water since I don't like juices or ice tea.

    I noticed that I can't eat meals with sauces or gravy but that is not a problem because I prefer light seasoning anyway. Rather than pain, certain foods give me GERD and garlic gives me bad GI problems.

    It seems to me that the garlic in the shrimp caused you the problem. This article may explain some of your problems that may not be related to the hernia but to your sensitivity to garlic, maybe onions too, and other Fructan rich foods. https://www.livestrong.com/article/493019-why-does-garlic-make-my-stomach-hurt/

    Due to the diverticulosis, I can't eat popcorn, seeds or even too many nuts, and not too much fiber either. I keep my daily fiber intake at about 25mg. Pain due to bloating and trapped gas is not easy to deal with.

    My doctor told me that having a hiatal hernia doesn't affect people the same way, my husband has a small one and he can eat everything without a problem. Me, not so much, so it's is game of trial and error.

    The best thing to do is cook and eat things in a simple way and stay away from garlic powder, salt or the real thing. Do not eat scampi, clams or tomatoes sauce with garlic, no garlic mashed potatoes and no spinach saute with garlic; read the menus very carefully. Italian restaurants are not my friend, unless they can remove the garlic from their dishes.

    Best of luck to you!


  • jean_rennolds
    jean_rennolds Posts: 27 Member
    Thanks for the info. I don't eat much popcorn and I don't eat seeds or nuts of any kind cause I can't chew them. I will check out the article and see if it helps. Thank you
  • jean_rennolds
    jean_rennolds Posts: 27 Member
    well I'm finding it hard to find something I can eat with out buying a large package of something. Too many forbidden foods such as garlic this or that or even onion this or that and not to mention tomato this or that. I'm at a loss here. I guess I need to take a trip to the store and bring a magnifying glass with me so I can read the ingrediants. No citric acid, garlic, onion or tomato products of any kind. No red meats. This is hard work. We have a freezer full of stuff I can't eat. I want to throw it all away but that would make some people in the house very upset with me. LOL
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,563 Member
    jean_rennolds wrote: »
    well I'm finding it hard to find something I can eat with out buying a large package of something. Too many forbidden foods such as garlic this or that or even onion this or that and not to mention tomato this or that. I'm at a loss here. I guess I need to take a trip to the store and bring a magnifying glass with me so I can read the ingrediants. No citric acid, garlic, onion or tomato products of any kind. No red meats. This is hard work. We have a freezer full of stuff I can't eat. I want to throw it all away but that would make some people in the house very upset with me. LOL

    If you're going off an internet list of forbidden foods, it may be that you actually tolerate some that are on the list. I would eliminate the known triggers (like garlic) for a few days and then experiment by introducing one food at a time from the list to see if it actually causes you a problem. That may give you a little more variety in your diet.
  • kam26001
    kam26001 Posts: 2,794 Member
    edited April 2018
    Yeah, a bland diet might be best. It's easier if you cook everything yourself. I had chronic gastritis and ate a bland diet for almost a year. Rice, beans, boiled or baked chicken/fish, bananas, bread, well cooked veggies, etc. The simplicity of it was nice and you do get used to it. With a hiatal hernia though you also have to keep meals small and keep your body in the proper position. Lifting something heavy, lying down too soon after meals or even after a glass of water, stress, stooping, twisting, bending... all can aggravate a hiatal hernia and bring on symptoms. For awhile I thought I had this until I finally got an endoscopy which only revealed chronic gastritis. I started taking a PPI though and now I can eat anything I want. Are you taking any acid reducers?
  • Tq43
    Tq43 Posts: 85 Member
    I was diagnosed with a hiatus hernia back in Feb.
    I know a lot of articles say that tomato and tomato based foods are bad for this. However, I can tolerate them no bother.
    I found giving up white bread, caffeine, crisps and minimizing processed foods have made a huge difference to me .
    Everyone is different . I can't tolerate peppers or sugarsnap peas either.
    It's a matter of trial and error. Keep a food diary and write down your symptoms ....then eliminate foods that aggregate your symptoms.
    It's not easy....I miss a lot of those foods but I feel so much better without them in my diet.... so hopefully I can keep it up.
    Best of luck!

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