The esophagus is a tube that connects the throat and the stomach. At the bottom of the esophagus, there is a valve that usually prevents acid from washing up from the stomach. A muscle keeps usually the valve tightly closed.
Some foods cause the muscle at the bottom of the esophagus to relax. Other foods cause the stomach to create more acid. This diet is designed to avoid these foods. Choose your foods according to the
Food Guide Pyramid to meet your needs.
Treatment may include medications, but the following guidelines should be followed:
GERD Diet – General Guidelines
- Stop smoking and chewing tobacco.
- Discuss your weight with your doctor. Lose weight if you are overweight.
- Do not overeat. Eat small portions at meals and snacks.
- Avoid tight clothing, tight-fitting belts. Do not lie down or bend over within the first 15-30 minutes after eating.
- Do not chew gum or suck on hard candy. Swallowing air with chewing gum and sucking on hard candy can cause belching and reflux.
- Use bricks or wood blocks to raise the head of your bed 6-8 inches.
- Do not eat/drink: Chocolate, tomatoes, tomato sauces, oranges, pineapple and grapefruit, mint, coffee, alcohol, carbonated beverages, and black pepper.
- Eat a low-fat diet. Fatty, greasy foods cause your stomach to produce more acid.
GERD-Friendly Diet Recommendations
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Choose these foods /
beverages
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Do not eat these foods /
beverages
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Fruits/juices
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Most fruits and fruit juices
such as apple, grape, cranberry, banana, pears,
etc.
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Citrus fruits: oranges,
grapefruit
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Soups
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Low-fat and fat-free soups
such as clear broth based soups*.
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Regular cream soups, other
high fat soups*.
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Beverages
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Decaffeinated tea, herbal tea
(not mint), Kool-Aid, soda, water, juices (except
orange, grapefruit and pineapple).
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Coffee (regular and
decaffeinated), alcohol, carbonated beverages.
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Sweets and deserts
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Fruit ices, gelatin,
popsicles, ice milks and frozen low-fat yogurt,
low fat cookies and cakes (less than 3 g fat per
serving).
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Chocolate and high fat
deserts.
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Vegetables
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All steamed, roasted,
stir-fried (with little oil) vegetables.
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Fried, creamed vegetables.
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Milk and dairy products
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Skim or 1% milk, lowfat
yogurt, or cheeses (<3 g fat per oz).
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Whole and 2% milk, whole milk
yogurt and cheeses. Chocolate milk and hot
chocolate.
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Bread, cereals and grain
products
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Low-fat
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Made with whole milk or
cream.
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Meat, Chicken, Fish, and
meat substitutes (nuts, tofu, etc)
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Low-fat meats with the fat
trimmed before cooking, skinless poultry. Baked,
broiled, poached roasted, without added fat.
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Sausage, bacon, fried meats
and chicken, salami, bologna and other high fat
meats (> 3 g per ounce). Chicken skin and meats
with visible fat left on.
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Oils, butter, margarine
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None, or small amounts.
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Animal or vegetable fats.
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* Fat can be skimmed from the top of soups and stews when they are hot or cold.
Credits for this dietary information go to Maureen Murtaugh, PhD.
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