GERD diet: Foods to avoid to reduce acid reflux

One of the most effective lifestyle changes you can make to prevent the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is to ensure your diet and eating habits do not trigger symptoms.

Foods to avoid for GERD

While people with acid reflux were once instructed to stick to bland foods, that's no longer the case. There are many healthy and delicious foods you can eat if you have GERD, as well as many interesting ways to prepare them.

Still, some foods are more likely to trigger reflux and heartburn. Reflux-triggering foods include:

• Fatty and fried foods, which linger longer in the stomach, making it more likely that stomach acid leaks back up into the esophagus, causing uncomfortable GERD symptoms.
• Spicy foods, citrus, tomato sauces, and vinegar, which may intensify heartburn.
• Chocolate, caffeine, onions, peppermint, carbonated drinks, and alcohol, which are all common heartburn triggers.

If you eat any of these foods regularly, try eliminating them to see if doing so reduces your reflux. Then you can try adding them back one by one.

Best foods for GERD

When making food choices, some foods have been found to be less reflux-triggering. The following foods may help you ease or avoid symptoms.

• Non-citrus fruits. While you should avoid citrus fruits, you can enjoy non-citrus fruits such as bananas, melons, apples, and pears, among others.
• Vegetables. Try to eat your vegetables raw. While tomato sauce may bother you, a fresh tomato may not.
• Lean meats. Lean meats that are grilled, poached, broiled, or baked are your best options. Try using fresh herbs, rather than spices, to make them flavorful.
• Oatmeal, whole-grain bread, rice, and couscous. These are all good sources of healthy complex carbs and fiber.
• Unsaturated fats from plants and fish. Replace saturated fats and trans fats with oils such as olive, sesame, canola, sunflower, and safflower; avocados; nuts and seeds; soybean; and fatty fish such as salmon and trout.

Best GERD eating habits

Besides specific types of foods, changes to eating habits can also help to prevent repeated bouts of heartburn and acid reflux.

• Eat smaller, more frequent meals.
• Do not lie down after eating. This means no naps right after lunch. When you're standing or sitting, gravity helps keeps acid in the stomach, where it belongs.
• Do not eat during the three to four hours before you go to bed. So, no late suppers or midnight snacks.
• Avoid vigorous exercise for a couple of hours after eating. A strenuous workout can send acid into your esophagus.
• If you're taking medication to help control your symptoms, it's probably okay to have a "trigger" food occasionally. But you should generally avoid foods that once caused heartburn.