We
are trying to find out the food items that are
good for GERD patients.
Acid
reflux or more specifically, Gastroesophageal
Reflux Disease is caused due to several reasons,
the major ones among them being (a) eating acidic
food that stimulate copious secretion of stomach
acids like spicy food items or deep fried food and
(b) weakened lower esophageal sphincter (LES) that
leak acidic stomach contents into the esophagus,
causing heartburn and related discomfort. Since
repairing the LES involves complex laparoscopic
surgery which is performed only at a few
sophisticated medical facilities and is beyond the
reach of most people, restricting or restructuring
the diet may prove more
practical.
Here
is a list of foods to treat acid reflux
symptoms that may prove helpful to people
suffering from this distressing disease. To begin
with, fruits that are beneficial to acid reflux
patients include banana, fresh or dried apple as
well as apple juice while vegetables that also
fall into this category comprise carrots, cabbage,
broccoli, green beans and baked potato. Those who
are keen on including meat and eggs in their daily
diet may do well to have chicken breast, ground
beef (extra-lean), steak (London broil), egg
whites and fish, sans the
fat.
As
for the cereals that may be taken safely by acid
reflux people, one may have multi-grain bread,
bran or oatmeal, pretzels, corn bread, graham
crackers, rice cakes or plain rice (brown or
white). Among the dairy products, one may safely
go for feta or goat cheese, soy cheese (low fat),
cream cheese (fat free) and sour cream, also fat
free. Coming down to sweets and desserts where the
restriction is more severe, only jelly beans and
red licorice will pass the test. Last but not of
least importance are the fats or oils that are
only allowed as salad dressing, low fat. Certain
categories of nutrients that may be termed as
medicinal food items good for GERD patients
comprise aloe vera juice and apple cider vinegar
that may be sipped like tea anytime before or
after meals.
This
topic may remain incomplete if two significant
points in this connection are not clarified here,
one of them specifying the method of cooking the
safe food items while the other denoting the
eating habit. Safe foods may not remain safe if
they are served as fried dishes. Simple broiled
meat is always safer as compared to elaborately
cooked spicy meat done in low heat as is the
practice in most restaurants. As for the eating
habit, more number of meals (smaller quantity) is
preferable to three large meals in a
day.
Making
a list of food to treat acid reflux
symptoms is a good idea. But do keep in mind
that these foods will only provide a temporary
remedy. For a permanent cure, you need to turn to
holistic remedies, which are more effective than
conventional drugs.
GERD medications work best when the treatment is
holistic in nature. As opposed to conventional
remedies that just try to address the symptoms,
holistic remedies treat the body as a whole. This
is just the right approach for GERD because the
contributing factors of the disease are many and
the disease can be quite complicated
too.
