Acid Reflux?

Question

what is best to eat when you have this condition and what should you avoid

Answer 1

I highly recomend you look at AstraZeneca R&D would probably have some tips on its site.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Foods That Stimulate Stomach Acid Production

coffee (including decaf)
alcohol
tomatoes and tomato based foods such as pasta sauces and tomato juice
citrus foods and juices
garlic and foods containing garlic
onion and foods containing onion
spicy foods
The most effective way for reducing acidity levels is consuming smaller portions per meal. Instead of having a big meal close to bed time, try eating a smaller portion and having a light snack before bed. Smaller amounts of food are less taxing on the stomach, resulting in less acidic productivity.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that liquids will flow through your system without affecting acid levels. Incredibly, most beverages actually stimulate acid secretion. The most common of those are tea, wine, pop and juice. The worst of any kind of beverage is beer. It will undoubtedly double your stomach acid within an hour. So for all those beer lovers out there, steer clear of this!

There are a lot of myths floating around about acid-reflux and quick-remedies for solving acid indigestion. To obtain a solution you must first appropriately assess the problem. A quick fix that people try is to drink milk before bed in an attempt to neutralize acidity levels. The underlying problem here is what was eaten prior to bedtime, say around supper. Drinking milk may be a short-term fix, but the end result is the secretion of more stomach acid. Some miracle diet!


Chew thoroughly and then swallow two of the DGL tablets about 20 minutes before each meal, so that the Licorice will have a chance to coat the esophagus and the stomach. Immediately before each meal, take one Acidophilus capsule. Take two of the enzyme capsules while you are eating your meal. Do this with each meal for about six weeks to two months and your Gastric Reflux will be a thing of the past and your general health will be much improved.

Remember, the basis to getting well and staying well is correcting your diet and then living by it from now on. All the supplements in the world will not get rid of the problem is you continue to abuse your body with worthless junk foods.

Safe Foods For The Acid Reflux Diet

Food Group Foods With Little Potential to Cause Heartburn
Fruit • Apple, fresh
• Apple, dried
• Apple juice
• Banana
Vegetables • Baked potato
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Green beans
• Peas
Meat • Ground beef, extra-lean
• Steak, London Broil
• Chicken breast, skinless
• Egg whites
• Egg substitute
• Fish, no added fat
Dairy • Cheese, feta or goat
• Cream cheese, fat-free
• Sour cream, fat-free
• Soy cheese, low-fat
Grains • Bread, mult-grain or white
• Cereal, bran or oatmeal
• Corn bread
• Graham crakers
• Pretzels
• Rice, brown or white
• Rice cakes
Beverages • Mineral water
Fats / Oils • Salad dressing, low-fat
Sweets / Desserts • Cookie, fat-free
• Jelly beans
• Red licorice
• Potato chips, baked

Answer 4

You should ask your doctor that and then come back and tell us because now you have us curious. I dream when I over eat (I no longer have acid reflux) so it seems reasonable to think that way.

Answer 5

Gastroesophageal reflux is an anatomic problem, not a biochemical problem. People who reflux are not hyper-secreters of stomach acid. Instead, by one of several possible mechanisms, the normal non-refluxing valve function of the esophago-gastric junction is being defeated. Acid reducing medication does not stop material from flowing backwards up into the esphagus. It just makes that material non-acidic when it goes there. Since the acid burns the esophagus and causes esophagitis and pain, medicine is used as a symptom controlling method. Medicine does not stop reflux from happening, but for some people with mild occassional reflux related symptoms, this is all they will ever need.

Although some foods are more commonly associated with heartburn symptoms than others, this is probably NOT related to their relative ability to excite acid production. In general, the pH of the stomach is low enough at all times to cause esophagus pain, and although some food types clearly excite acid production more than others, the esophagus is not likely to be able to tell the difference between "bad" and "worse". Instead, the action of food choices on the esophago-gastric valve is probably a bigger contributor to their being labled as "refluxogenic". That is, some foods tend to relax the lower esophageal high pressure zone and promote reflux. Others don't do this so much.

That being said, I'd still recommend you focus your attention not so much on "what", but on "how much" and "when" as the important questions to ask. If you find that certain foods you eat, no matter how little you eat, are associated with reflux symptoms, then fine... avoid those foods. However, using a little common sense and some physics might help even more.

Imagine the stomach as a balloon. Like a balloon, it stretches, but even more importantly, like a balloon, it has a little tubular stem that transitions into a sack shape. When one blows up a balloon, one notices that if the sack is only moderately filled, there is plenty of stem to tie into a knot. However, if one blows the balloon heroically large, there is almost no stem left to tie. This is because the base of the stem has been stretched out and incorporated into the shape of the sack.

The lower esophagus and the esophago-gastric junction are just like this balloon analogy. When the stomach is overly full, the base of the esophagus is pulled out and is contributing to the saccular shape of the stomach. This does two things. First off, it directly exposes some of the esophageal lining to gastric content, and this hurts because the esophagus lining is ill prepared to deal with acid. Secondly, and more importantly, the part that gets stretched open is the part that is supposed to act like a valve, and when the stomach squeezes to move food along, its just as likely to shoot back up the esophagus as go down into the gut.

The habit of eating large meals is responsible for a tremendous amount of reflux. Over time, gastric distention not only damages the esophagus by chronic inflammation and scarring, but it also damages the hole in the diaphragm through which the esophagus drops from the chest down into the belly. This hole is called the esophageal hiatus, and when it gets stretched wide open, it becomes a hiatal hernia. Once chronic reflux scars and shortens the esophagus, and a hiatal hernia has opened up, the reflux can become life-debilitating.

Because of the above, "portion control" is my first and best advice for people with mild reflux. Limit meal size.

Next, think about the physics of pressure. The abdomen has more internal pressure than the chest. The force of gravity helps clear out anything that burps upward into the esophagus, but only when the esophagus is above the stomach. When people lie down, this help is neutralized. Overweight people have even more pressure to deal with when they lie down, because the weight of the abdominal wall rests on the organs. In general, overweight people who reflux mostly while lying down are best helped through weight loss. In the mean time, anyone who is troubled by reflux while supine can benefit from two simple lifestyle modifications.

First, don't eat late! If bedtime is at 10, mark a cut-off at 6 pm and don't take anything by mouth after that time. Let the stomach empty fully before bed. Next, prop up the sleeping position with either cushions or bricks under the feet of the bedframe at the head end, or both. Restore some of the gravity gradient to help the esophagus clear. Between these two modifications, much of night time reflux can be reduced or avoided.

Finally, GET EVALUATED by a qualified physician. If you have reflux, you should be monitored over time for worsening symptoms. You may eventually need to be evaluated with an endoscope to see if there is damage to the esophagus. Sometimes (rarely) there are serious consequences to reflux such as esophageal cancer, but more importantly, if the damage gets bad, it can be irreversible. Cancer of the esophagus is bad, but its rare. Irreversibly damaged esophagus is common. Let's not forget that what one THINKS is reflux might also be something else. Cardiac abnormalities including ischemia, heart attacks, and arrhythmias can cause chest pain. These are things a doctor has to rule out.

Summarizing:
1) Try to eat moderate sized meals
2) Avoid eating late
3) If refluxing at night, prop the chest up
4) If you notice one food that hurts, avoid it
5) Consult a physician early
6) If over the counter meds work - hooray!

PS - As a surgeon, I would be remiss in my duty if I did not mention that for properly selected candidates, there is a HIGHLY EFFECTIVE procedure that can restore the normal function of the esophago-gastric junction. It is performed laparoscopically, using several pin-hole incisions less than a centimeter each.

Answer 6

avoid fried,greasy,foods,or ones that has a lot of sauce and spice like pizza for exampe,you can eat steam vegetables salads with dressings that are not acidic,smashed potatoes with a little butter no cheese,steamed chicken or turkey,avoid red meat alll you can and if have to eat it make sure is not fried,white rice,nothing that has sauce and take prilosec or prevacid,zantac...etc...

Answer 7

Take Prilosec OTC once a day...It works and you don't need a prescription from a doctor. Then you can eat anything you want. I do.

Answer 8

Avoid fatty or fried foods, spicy foods, very acidic foods, coffee.