Food for acid reflux?

Does anyone here suffer from acid reflux, and if so, what do you eat? I'm a very picky eater as it is, and this is limiting my food options even more, so I'm at a loss as to what I can actually eat without making it worse.
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Replies

  • Cbean08
    Cbean08 Posts: 1,092 Member
    What foods aggravate a reaction? Everyone is different and foods that make my acid reflux kick in might not do the same for you. I try to avoid dairy, spicy/peppery foods, heavy tomato based sauces, bbq sauce, ketchup, raw vegetables, ripe bananas, citrus, some sweeteners, coffee, heavily salted foods.

    Figure out what you like, and them see if you can just remove the reaction causing food.
  • serindipte
    serindipte Posts: 1,557 Member
    I avoid dairy before bed and know to take a Nexium if I eat tomato based foods for dinner.
  • ap1972
    ap1972 Posts: 214 Member
    Fatty foods are what kick mine off
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    I rarely get it, but it's always after I've been asleep for 10-15 minutes. I get up and eat a cracker and go back to bed. Carbonated drinks (diet soda for me) work, too.
  • WholeFoods4Lyfe
    WholeFoods4Lyfe Posts: 1,518 Member
    I have GERD and was also recently diagnosed with a Hiatal Hernia and Erosive Esophagitis. The things that have worked for me -- I eliminated gluten and dairy, chiropractic adjustments, increased water intake, supplemental HCL.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    serindipte wrote: »
    I avoid dairy before bed and know to take a Nexium if I eat tomato based foods for dinner.

    Nexium is supposedly bad for us now.

    To the OP: I eat a heavier lunch and a lighter dinner. I avoid dairy, fatty foods, high fiber, and beef at night. I shoot for easy to digest small dinners and it keeps me from reaching for the pill bottle most of the time.
  • hippiesaur
    hippiesaur Posts: 137 Member
    What really helped for my boyfriend who suffer from reflux was eating way more slowly and avoiding fatty foods.
  • Cutemesoon
    Cutemesoon Posts: 2,646 Member
    I would suggest you look into alkaline foods. Google foods that cause indigestion & exclude them from your diet.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    Cutemesoon wrote: »
    I would suggest you look into alkaline foods. Google foods that cause indigestion & exclude them from your diet.

    Except that for many people alkaline foods are what aggravates their reflux :)
  • HestiaMoon1
    HestiaMoon1 Posts: 278 Member
    PLEASE please please Anyone who suffers from chronic GERD Please get your PANCREAS checked for cancer.
    It is a deadly cancer because it’s rarely noticed before it has spread to other organs. It most often presents as acid reflux first. Please. Insist on testing.
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
    Avoid high protein foods, especially before bed. You can also put something under the legs at the head of your bed, giving it a slight angle, to keep the acid from creeping up the esophagus while sleeping.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    keep a food diary. find your trigger foods
    i'm good with dairy but others can't. i can't do tomatos or bell peppers but others can

    this is an all encompassing list

    i can do many of these foods but it is a good place to start
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Avoid eating 2 hours before bedtime, and sleep elevated (they make special 'wedge' pillows for that - I slept with one for years). Avoid acidic foods - tomato, broccoli... Seriously, just google 'foods to avoid with acid reflux'.
  • FL_Hiker
    FL_Hiker Posts: 919 Member
    PLEASE please please Anyone who suffers from chronic GERD Please get your PANCREAS checked for cancer.
    It is a deadly cancer because it’s rarely noticed before it has spread to other organs. It most often presents as acid reflux first. Please. Insist on testing.

    Curious what the link is? What if you've had GERD your entire life as does your mom... uncle.. etc.?
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    in rare cases, it is a symptom
    that was just one article. i'm not speaking to the validity of the source but there were many similar articles claiming the same thing
    like a toothache can be a sign of heart disease (Frasier)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    For me it was a symptom of being too fat. Lost even 40 lbs and it was gone.
  • HestiaMoon1
    HestiaMoon1 Posts: 278 Member
    mbaker566 wrote: »
    in rare cases, it is a symptom
    that was just one article. i'm not speaking to the validity of the source but there were many similar articles claiming the same thing
    like a toothache can be a sign of heart disease (Frasier)

    Are you an oncologist?
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    PLEASE please please Anyone who suffers from chronic GERD Please get your PANCREAS checked for cancer.
    It is a deadly cancer because it’s rarely noticed before it has spread to other organs. It most often presents as acid reflux first. Please. Insist on testing.

    Unicorns, zebras or horses?
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    mbaker566 wrote: »
    in rare cases, it is a symptom
    that was just one article. i'm not speaking to the validity of the source but there were many similar articles claiming the same thing
    like a toothache can be a sign of heart disease (Frasier)

    Are you an oncologist?

    Are you?
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    mbaker566 wrote: »
    in rare cases, it is a symptom
    that was just one article. i'm not speaking to the validity of the source but there were many similar articles claiming the same thing
    like a toothache can be a sign of heart disease (Frasier)

    Are you an oncologist?

    no but i can read articles from scientific journals.
  • WilmaValley
    WilmaValley Posts: 1,092 Member
    Dairy gets me every time.
  • Cutemesoon
    Cutemesoon Posts: 2,646 Member
    edited June 2018
    PLEASE please please Anyone who suffers from chronic GERD Please get your PANCREAS checked for cancer.
    It is a deadly cancer because it’s rarely noticed before it has spread to other organs. It most often presents as acid reflux first. Please. Insist on testing.

    This is very true. This happened to someone I know.
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
    While I don't know about cancer, acid reflux can be a sign of a lot of different issues. Celiac disease can present that way, for example. Food intolerances can sometimes present that way. Low level food allergies can present that way sometimes. And...sometimes pregnancy can show up like this, too.

    Definitely, you'll need to figure out what your trigger foods are for this (often an elimination diet and food journal is required). If, however, you are planning on eliminating gluten at all for this part of things, I'd highly recommend getting a quick blood test for celiac disease first. Celiac disease is the disease that is triggered by eating gluten. Sadly, though, our testing is still pretty crude, and it can only detect celiac disease by looking for weeks of accumulated markers of a reaction TO gluten, and damage from it. Once a person stops eating gluten, the markers slowly go down and eventually a celiac will test negative for the disease.

    But for many celiacs, if they go gluten free and start feeling better, they can't physically tolerate what would be required to get tested (which is, currently, to go back ON gluten until you damage yourself so much that the tests can detect it). So it's usually better to get tested before you go gluten free, especially if you have gut issues at all.

    Just general acid reflux thought - staying upright as much as possible after eating, while digesting, can help keep the reflux lower. So not before-bed snacks for example.
  • HestiaMoon1
    HestiaMoon1 Posts: 278 Member
    mbaker566 wrote: »
    in rare cases, it is a symptom
    that was just one article. i'm not speaking to the validity of the source but there were many similar articles claiming the same thing
    like a toothache can be a sign of heart disease (Frasier)

    Are you an oncologist?

    Are you?

    Just because you give smart a** comments doesn’t mean everyone does.
    I was sicerely asking because it is not one of those cancers that’s covered as much. Steve Jobs’ death brought some light on it, but it’s not like googling breast cancer. My mother died of it. That’s why I’m interested in it. Alerting someone to be an advocate for their health is not hunting unicorns. I hope whatever has made you so cynical gets better.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    For me it was a symptom of being too fat. Lost even 40 lbs and it was gone.

    Ditto. I used to buy Gaviscon at Costco every second week. Now it's rare that I have heartburn and can track it to eating too much. I'm not set off by any particular food (that I can tell).
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    For me it was a symptom of being too fat. Lost even 40 lbs and it was gone.

    Ditto. I used to buy Gaviscon at Costco every second week. Now it's rare that I have heartburn and can track it to eating too much. I'm not set off by any particular food (that I can tell).

    Mine definitely trends based on my weight and Visceral fat level.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    edited June 2018
    mbaker566 wrote: »
    in rare cases, it is a symptom
    that was just one article. i'm not speaking to the validity of the source but there were many similar articles claiming the same thing
    like a toothache can be a sign of heart disease (Frasier)

    Are you an oncologist?

    Are you?

    Just because you give smart a** comments doesn’t mean everyone does.
    I was sicerely asking because it is not one of those cancers that’s covered as much. Steve Jobs’ death brought some light on it, but it’s not like googling breast cancer. My mother died of it. That’s why I’m interested in it. Alerting someone to be an advocate for their health is not hunting unicorns. I hope whatever has made you so cynical gets better.

    Hunting unicorns is hunting unicorns.

    I'm sorry about for your loss, but that doesn't change the fact that pancreatic cancer is a unicorn. Especially when compared with breast cancer.

    Hunting unicorns makes great TV(Thanks House), but it's not advisable as a lifestyle choice.

  • HestiaMoon1
    HestiaMoon1 Posts: 278 Member
    mbaker566 wrote: »
    in rare cases, it is a symptom
    that was just one article. i'm not speaking to the validity of the source but there were many similar articles claiming the same thing
    like a toothache can be a sign of heart disease (Frasier)

    Are you an oncologist?

    Are you?

    Just because you give smart a** comments doesn’t mean everyone does.
    I was sicerely asking because it is not one of those cancers that’s covered as much. Steve Jobs’ death brought some light on it, but it’s not like googling breast cancer. My mother died of it. That’s why I’m interested in it. Alerting someone to be an advocate for their health is not hunting unicorns. I hope whatever has made you so cynical gets better.

    Hunting unicorns is hunting unicorns.

    I'm sorry about for your loss, but that doesn't change the fact that pancreatic cancer is a unicorn. Especially when compared with breast cancer.

    Hunting unicorns makes great TV(Thanks House), but it's not advisable as a lifestyle choice.

    I’ve never seen House.
    I’m not going to stop encouraging people to be strong advocates for their health.
    Again I’m sorry for whatever is troubling you.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    mbaker566 wrote: »
    in rare cases, it is a symptom
    that was just one article. i'm not speaking to the validity of the source but there were many similar articles claiming the same thing
    like a toothache can be a sign of heart disease (Frasier)

    Are you an oncologist?

    Are you?

    Just because you give smart a** comments doesn’t mean everyone does.
    I was sicerely asking because it is not one of those cancers that’s covered as much. Steve Jobs’ death brought some light on it, but it’s not like googling breast cancer. My mother died of it. That’s why I’m interested in it. Alerting someone to be an advocate for their health is not hunting unicorns. I hope whatever has made you so cynical gets better.

    Hunting unicorns is hunting unicorns.

    I'm sorry about for your loss, but that doesn't change the fact that pancreatic cancer is a unicorn. Especially when compared with breast cancer.

    Hunting unicorns makes great TV(Thanks House), but it's not advisable as a lifestyle choice.

    I’ve never seen House.
    I’m not going to stop encouraging people to be strong advocates for their health.
    Again I’m sorry for whatever is troubling you.

    I thought I was pretty clear. It's troubling that you're fearmongering. It's troubling that you're clouding the issue of reflux with a highly improbable distraction by bringing unicorns(pancreatic cancer) into the discussion.

    Fearmongering is not advocating for health it's advocating for fear and paranoia.