admin | February 1, 2015 | Health |
Gastro esophageal reflux – an illness that affects many people when they eat. The esophagus is a complex muscle because it has muscle around it that is always closed and allows food to enter the esophagus when it opens. It prevents stomach acid from “rising” or in other words, reflux. In this article, we’ll give you the proper diet for people with reflux.
What you should know about reflux?
When the muscle covering the muscle weakens, the symptoms start because the acid starts to stick to the esophagus walls. The first signs of reflux are: acidity, a bitter or acidic taste in your mouth, or chest pain. The disorder is called gastro esophageal reflux disease, or GERD for short. Various factors can be behind reflux, the most common being food.
There are a lot of diets specially designed for preventing reflux. Patients can eat all the food groups with some exceptions. They need to eat higher amounts of vitamin C (in supplements if the person cannot tolerate tomatoes, oranges, or peppers).
There are many reasons, why the esophagus muscle can weaken. You can beat the symptoms, by following these tips:
- Avoid the use of tobacco. Nicotine weakens the muscle;
- Avoid chewing gum (or sweets that are very hard).They increase the amount of air you swallow, which causes reflux to happen;
- Don’t sleep immediately after eating at night. Avoid eating very heavy food at dinner as much as possible. We suggest you wait for three hours;
- Avoid tight clothing, bending down, or working out after meals;
- Eat smaller portions, but more often;
- If you are overweight, try slimming down or at least lose a few pounds because obesity increases the possibilities of having reflux;
- Raise your bed’s headboard 15 centimeters;
- Avoid eating a lot of French fries, whole dairy products (especially milk), chocolates, oils, pepper, creams, and fast food;
- Citrus juices, coffee, tea, and caffeinated beverages irritate the esophagus (we recommend avoiding them);
- Cut down on acidic or spicy foods;
- Do light exercise one or two hours after eating;
- Moderate the amount of alcohol that you drink. Don’t drink more than 2 glasses a day for women or 3 for men. Try not to drink as much as possible;
- Try to sleep on your left side because that is where your stomach is located. Avoid the right side, face up, or face down.