How to Eat Out With GERD

Is heartburn cramping your style? Tired of your stomach burning so much you carry a personal fire extinguisher? Here's how to eat out with GERD.

Things You'll Need

• GERD facts
• Acid/alkaline food list
• Epazote
• Ginger
• Enough time for a leisurely meal

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Instructions

• 1

  You do not have to resign yourself to a life of bland custard and mashed potatoes to control your GERD. Gastro-esophageal reflux disease affects many people, particularly as we age. Stress, excess weight, slower metabolism and more processing of foods means that we give our digestive systems a tough act to swallow.

• 2

  One of the first things to do is choose your restaurant well. The less processing your food receives from farm to table, the better it will be, both for your overall health and for avoiding excessive acids, chemicals, and stresses. Choose fresh fruit instead of sugared and processed desserts. Have your salad without heavy, vinegar based dressings. Ask if the restaurant uses MSG in any of their spice blends. Ask that spices be rinsed off your meat before cooking, if possible. Usually, if you are polite and explain your needs, your waitress will be happy to accommodate you.

• 3

  Be sure to give yourself enough time to eat slowly and enjoy your meal. There is a higher incidence of acid reflux when test subjects ate quickly as opposed to taking their time.

• 4

  Carry two essential spices with you: epazote, a Mexican spice which helps reduce acid and gas-producing enzymes in foods, and ginger, which aids digestion. Epazote can be found in Mexican specialty food shops, or you can get it from an online spice vendor such as Penzey. A pinch is enough to de-acidify a quart of spaghetti sauce.