About one in five people have gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD. This chronic condition causes heartburn.
At all three locations of Apex Medical Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, our experts treat patients with gastrointestinal issues such as GERD. We recommend that they carefully evaluate their diet and make changes that often help decrease symptoms quickly.
You have a thick muscle at the bottom of your esophagus called the esophageal sphincter that closes tight and keeps food and stomach acid in and out of your esophagus. When you have GERD, that muscle doesn't close tight enough.
When the esophageal sphincter is too loose, the contents of your stomach push up into your esophagus, leading to symptoms like heartburn and pain. GERD is a medical condition, meaning a doctor diagnoses it.
For most people with chronic, severe cases of GERD, it's important to work with an expert and follow an elimination diet. This diet involves systematically eliminating certain foods or categories of food from your diet for a specified period of time and slowly adding them back to see which causes your symptoms.
Because elimination diets can be difficult, we recommend discussing them with your provider and working closely with an expert. In the meantime, though, you may benefit from understanding what foods are generally helpful in limiting the symptoms of GERD and which often aggravate the condition. Your trigger foods are those that make it worse.
We’ll start with some of the most common foods that are triggers for people with GERD:
It seems like a long list, but don’t worry—the list of foods you should eat more of is longer. You’ll have plenty of options as you seek to limit your symptoms and live more comfortably.
The following foods won't cure GERD, but eating them instead of those above can help you feel better and have less pain and heartburn. Every person is different, which is why we suggest working with an expert, but this list is a good place to begin:
Planning your meals around vegetables, fruits, lean protein, healthy fats, and whole grains can limit heartburn and have the added benefits of being excellent for cardiovascular health, weight loss if that's a goal for you, and overall health.
Another change that may help is to consume smaller meals. Rather than three big meals each day, you may find six small meals more helpful in limiting your symptoms without feeling hungry.
Other treatments, such as medication, meal timing, and even surgery to repair your esophageal sphincter, are available. Getting a correct diagnosis is the first important step, though. If you frequently have heartburn or pain in your upper abdomen after eating, schedule an appointment at Apex Medical Center's most convenient location.
