Let your healthcare provider know if your heartburn seems out of the ordinary. Treatment for GERD may include medications advised by your physician and certain diet changes. While no proven GERD diet exists, the following food tips may help you ease or avoid symptoms.
What to eat
- Fruit and vegetables Choose from a variety of non-citrus fruits, such as bananas, melons, apples and pears, among others. And select from the wide variety of vegetables while avoiding or reducing sauces or toppings that are high in fat or irritants like tomatoes or onions.
- Lean protein Choose eggs (or egg whites) and lean meats that are grilled, poached, broiled or baked. Avoid fried and high fat foods.
- Complex carbohydrates Good sources of complex carbs and fiber include oatmeal, whole grain bread, brown rice and potatoes and other root vegetables. Avoid dressing them up with too many saturated fats, like butter or irritants, such as onion and garlic.
- Healthier fats Fat is a type of nutrient, a necessary part of your diet—in moderation. But not all fats are created equal. Try consuming more unsaturated fats from plants or fish and fewer saturated fats from meat and dairy.
Eating right for GERD does not have to mean cutting out all of your favorite foods. Making just a few, simple modifications to your current diet is often enough to help reduce the discomforts of GERD.
The goal is to create a diet based on a healthy variety of foods that include fruits and vegetables, lean sources of protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats.
Tegan Gaetano, MS, Program Director, International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders, [email protected]