Acid Reflux

kricket2112
kricket2112 Posts: 1 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Anyone with acid reflux on here? I just got diagnosed and was wondering what kind of meals/foods/recipes I could use

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,421 Member
    Best thing for reflux is weight loss.

    As far as foods that will minimize it? https://www.healthline.com/health/gerd/diet-nutrition
  • Analog_Kid
    Analog_Kid Posts: 976 Member
    cmriverside wrote: »
    Best thing for reflux is weight loss.

    As far as foods that will minimize it? https://www.healthline.com/health/gerd/diet-nutrition

    Yes! Lose the weight, the acid reflux will disappear. In the meantime, avoid carbonated drinks and foods high in sugar (candy, junk food, baked goods, etc.)
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,130 Member
    It all depends on what your triggers are, for me dairy and some products containing yeast are my triggers, so I try to avoid eating too much of them. I also get exercise-induced reflux.

    Weight loss will help most but not all people (I still suffered at my slimmest weight from the food triggered reflux, just not the exercise triggered reflux).

    Keeping a log of when you experience symptoms in your MFP diary can help you identify if you have any particular food triggers.

  • TanayaLanning
    TanayaLanning Posts: 2 Member
    My acid reflux got so bad that I thought I was having a heart attack a year ago and ended up spending a whole day in the ER to find out that I have GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). It got so bad over this past year where I was even having great difficulty swallowing food. I've finally gotten serious about this and have started eating whole foods. I've cut out coffee, all sodas, and processed foods and the improvement has been dramatic! I'm sleeping well with no extra pillows and I've been able to completely stop taking any antacids (OTC and prescription). I can swallow food without complications again.

    I found a great recipe on My Fitness Pal for avocado toast with poached egg, and it's quickly become one of my favorite lunches to have. I substitute the prosciutto with a slice of turkey and I use Dave's Killer Green bread as my bread. It's SOOOOOO YUMMY!

    Acid reflux is no joke. I wish you good luck finding what works well for you.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    I also have bad reflux (I have gastroparesis and Crohn's) and am underweight at BMI 16 so I don't think losing more will help
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    My mom swears by Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet Cookbook & Cure but I believe she is not using the cookbook part, just the info part, which includes what to eat and what to avoid.
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
    I'd also recommend figuring out your triggers.

    And in that vein, getting tested for celiac disease, for food allergies, and doing a food elimination diet (in that order, because celiac testing accuracy can be impacted by elimination diets, sometimes. And elimination diets can help find foods that aren't allergies but might cause problems), to see if these are impacting your acid reflux.

    While there can be a physical cause, like something going on with where your throat meets your stomach, honestly? Most people I know with acid reflux figured out a food or disease that was actually the cause. Almost all of them had to push for doctors to test and/or help them investigate rather than 'you have acid reflux, take antacids and good luck'.

    But as many of us have acid reflux for different reasons, it actually can make any 'acid reflux' diets not universally applicable.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,965 Member
    Triggers can indeed vary. My husband has acid reflux and figured out his triggers are braesicas, fatty meats and shellfish. He has no problems with some other common triggers such as spicy food or alliums.
  • Darren225g
    Darren225g Posts: 214 Member
    I use to have really bad Acid Reflux about 10 years ago, soo bad to the point where i couldn't lay down flat for a few minutes without having my throat burning and closing up. I had to sleep on a wedge pillow to avoid it, so i feel for you guys who have it.

    There's really no one thing that triggers it. You're gonna have to go through different foods and see what works and what doesn't, because it varies from person to person. Sometimes the trigger doesn't even have to do with food at all. It can be different things like running low on certain vitamins,H pylori, being overweight, hernia, etc. I had really bad acid reflux for almost 2 years until i started going through my diet and realized that i was running low on lots of vitamins, especially calcium. When i started getting my vitamins it just went away completely.

    Give this book a try, it's got a lot of great info that helped me out a lot.

    ihd1f6e9p2e0.jpg

  • nighthawk584
    nighthawk584 Posts: 2,023 Member
    edited January 2020
    I had real bad acid reflux for 15 years, lost weight (a lot of weight)...no acid reflux AT ALL. Not saying that is going to work for everyone, but it does work for a good majority.
  • stancyparsons
    stancyparsons Posts: 1 Member
    edited January 2020
    I had really bad reflux coupled with abdominal pain for decades. I gave up gluten and it went away in a week. I started with an elimination diet. When I added back gluten the pain and reflux came back so I found my culprit.
  • Luke_rabbit
    Luke_rabbit Posts: 1,031 Member
    If you are overweight, losing weight has a good chance of helping. For those not overweight (including me), obviously that won't help.

    Here are some other ideas that have helped me and others.

    Sleeping with your head elevated.

    Eating only sitting at a table (not on the sofa or reclining in any way). Not reclining for about an hour after eating.

    Not eating for at least 3 hours before bed.

    Trying different PPIs if the first isn't helpful and following instructions for taking them. For example, most need to be taken on an empty stomach at least one hour before eating. Even though the one I now take doesn't say this, I still find it works better that way.

    Eating a small volume of food rather than large meals.

    Foods that are frequently triggers:

    Coffee/tea/caffeine
    Carbonated beverages
    Alcohol
    Chocolate
    Spicy foods
    Onions/garlic
    Saturated fats
    Tomatoes
    Citrus
    Raw vegetables
    Deep fried foods

    Mine was so bad that a regular elimination diet (removing normal triggers) didn't work. I did a full elimination diet, eating just one food (brown rice) and adding one food every few days. I wouldn't recommend this unless you are truly miserable and unable to control symptoms with normal changes.

    Good luck.
  • robertwroach1250
    robertwroach1250 Posts: 12 Member
    Try sleeping only on your left side --- Honest this works for me.

  • Luke_rabbit
    Luke_rabbit Posts: 1,031 Member
    robertwroach1250 wrote: »
    Try sleeping only on your left side --- Honest this works for me.

    Interesting. I find the right side (and back) to be better.
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    bold_rabbit wrote: »
    If you are overweight, losing weight has a good chance of helping. For those not overweight (including me), obviously that won't help.

    Here are some other ideas that have helped me and others.

    Sleeping with your head elevated.

    Eating only sitting at a table (not on the sofa or reclining in any way). Not reclining for about an hour after eating.

    Not eating for at least 3 hours before bed.

    Trying different PPIs if the first isn't helpful and following instructions for taking them. For example, most need to be taken on an empty stomach at least one hour before eating. Even though the one I now take doesn't say this, I still find it works better that way.

    Eating a small volume of food rather than large meals.

    Foods that are frequently triggers:

    Coffee/tea/caffeine
    Carbonated beverages
    Alcohol
    Chocolate
    Spicy foods
    Onions/garlic
    Saturated fats
    Tomatoes
    Citrus
    Raw vegetables
    Deep fried foods

    Mine was so bad that a regular elimination diet (removing normal triggers) didn't work. I did a full elimination diet, eating just one food (brown rice) and adding one food every few days. I wouldn't recommend this unless you are truly miserable and unable to control symptoms with normal changes.

    Good luck.


    Co-sign everything.
  • RetiredAndLovingIt
    RetiredAndLovingIt Posts: 1,395 Member
    I seem to have it because PPIs help. It never gives me pain, just bothers my breathing. I agree for me, it helps if I sleep on my right side, even tho everything tells you left.
  • dujennifer
    dujennifer Posts: 162 Member
    Acid reflux is a catch 22 for me. I am trying to cut back my calories, but an empty stomach makes me burn. I am working on mastering staying full with low calorie items so I can stay away from the burn without amping up the calories.
  • DyneSalcar
    DyneSalcar Posts: 45 Member
    My dad has pretty bad acid reflux. He refused to change his diet because his favorite food is green chile. After years of sleeping poorly, trying extra pillows, tipping the bed up, anything he could think of, he discovered that eating a small apple before bed works wonders to calm it down enough for sleep. He's been doing that every night for probably four years now and he swears by it.

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