Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease & Diet

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, or GERD, is a condition caused by failure of the LES muscle, which connects the stomach to the esophagus, to close tightly after letting food enter the stomach. If the LES relaxes or doesn't close, stomach acid that helps digest food washes back into the esophagus, irritating and damaging it. According to the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases, food doesn't cause the disease, but it can exacerbate it. Some common foods can cause flare-ups of GERD symptoms, but the same foods don't cause symptoms in everyone.

Functions of Protein in GERD Symptoms

• The LES muscle is more toned, less relaxed, and closes tighter when you eat plant proteins instead of animal proteins. All animal protein contains some fat, and fats stay in your stomach longer, taking a long time to digest. This can cause your stomach to make more acid and delays the emptying of your stomach, making the backwash of acid into your esophagus more likely. According to authors of "Superfoods RX," soybeans are the only complete plant protein. Other plant foods are incomplete proteins which must be eaten in combination with another food to make them complete. These include brown rice with beans, whole grain bread with peanut butter, beans with lentils, and whole grain macaroni with cheese.

Foods that Trigger Symptoms

• A successful GERD diet eliminates food that triggers acid reflux symptoms. The foods that make your stomach produce more acid or relax pressure in the stomach to allow the LES to open differs from person to person, but can include citrus fruit, tomatoes, spicy food, onions, garlic, fried or fatty food, chocolate, coffee, carbonated drinks with caffeine, alcohol, and peppermint. Eliminate all possible trigger foods and reintroduce them one at a time to figure out what foods you should avoid.

Portion Sizes

• Eating smaller portions of food more often can help ease and prevent GERD attacks. Spreading your meals throughout the day causes your stomach to produce less acid for digestion and makes it less likely to reflux into your esophagus.

Prevention/Solution

• Most vegetables are recommended by the National Institutes of Health for a GERD diet as long as they're not tomato based, cream-style, or fried. Vegetables that are safe for people with acid reflux include broccoli, cabbage, carrots, peas, green beans, and baked potatoes. While citrus fruits can trigger symptoms, there are many other fruits that are not likely to cause acid reflux symptoms. These include apples, bananas, peaches, melons, pears, and berries.

  Foods high in complex carbohydrates work well in a GERD diet. These foods, which include long grain rice, oatmeal, whole grain bread, and whole grain pasta tie up excess stomach acid during digestion, making it less likely to back into the esophagus

  Also, drink a lot of water. Drinking a glass of water a half hour before meals is recommended. You can also drink any juice except citrus juices, and decaffeinated herbal teas that don't contain any kind of mint.

Significance of GERD

• .Gastroesophageal reflux disease is not only annoying, it can lead to many dangerous health conditions. Chronic reflux changes cells in the esophagus, and they can become malignant. According to the American Cancer Society, 30 percent of esophageal cancers are related to GERD. Esophagus walls are thin and not coated with protective mucus like the stomach is. Stomach acid irritates it and damages tissue. As a protective measure, your body may replace esophageal tissue with tissue like that in the intestines, causing a condition called Barrett's esophagus. Barrett's esophagus can cause a rare esophageal cancer that is deadly. Other studies link chronic studies with laryngeal cancer and hypopharyngeal cancer. If you have GERD symptoms, you should see a doctor.