Acid Reflux Diet  

The Acid Reflux Diet is a diet that recognizes the problem areas of acid reflux disease and tailors a diet plan to work around and avoid those problem areas.  The goal of any dietary changes should be to make gradual and manageable steps that allow the user to continue to enjoy their daily life with minimal interference.  With this thought in mind, we explore what any changes to your acid reflux diet should key on: 

Establish a better acidic/alkaline ratio in your stomach. 

One of the most important things of any acid reflux diet is to recognize that people who suffer from acid reflux disease are creating too much acid.  The result of this extra acid production takes its form in acid reflux into the esophagus and throat and the other acid reflux symptoms like heartburn.  Therefore, any steps you can take to reduce the intake of acidic foods in your diet will be helpful.  One of the best ways to do this is to substitute acidic foods with other foods.  For example, drink water over a soft drink or occasionally choose a vegetable over a meat like a burger.  Beef takes a longer time to break down than most vegetables and will require more acid production to do so.  The result is that your stomach will make more acid so it wise to try to limit these type of occurrences.  

Create less of an impact on your digestive system  

·         Schedule your meals.   Aside from the actual foods that are eaten, another way to implement a good acid reflux diet is to schedule your meals better.  Ideally, you want to evenly space out your meals where your body has time to digest them.  Instead, of having your bigger meals as your last meal, choose to have them for lunch or even breakfast.  This gives your body more time to break these foods down throughout the day.   

·         More meals, smaller portions.   Also, try to reduce the overall size of the portions as bigger portions take longer to digest.  By adjusting to 5 smaller meals instead of 3 bigger ones, you will give yourself more energy throughout the day and ensure your body does a better job of digesting it.  In addition, it will also be easier to lose weight.  By losing a few pounds, you put less stress on your body. 

·         Avoid eating late night meals.   By keeping your last meal several hours before going to bed, you have much better chance of avoiding acid reflux while you sleep.  Since you will be lying horizontal at this time, you will not benefit by the use of gravity that you have during the day.  During the day, gravity helps keep the acid from spilling out into your esophagus. 

Provide additional protection to your body. 

Anything you can do to help the natural defenses of your body fight off acid reflux is a worthy goal.  Some simple methods this can be done through diet including eating gum, lozenges, or something else that stimulates the production of saliva.  Any food that allows you to create more saliva helps create extra protection for the lining of the esophagus.  This is especially important because this lining is usually harmed the worst by reoccurrence of acid reflux.  Another aspect that should not be overlooked is the value of natural food remedies and vitamins to give you better overall health. Anything that helps build up your immune system or helps heal your body will be of benefit in your fight against acid reflux disease.     

So long as your acid reflux diet adopts these three principles, you should be well on your way to improved health and prevention of acid reflux disease.