Managing GERD with diet

I have suffered from GERD my whole life. I have early memories of acid coming up in my throat after eating spaghetti when I was about 6 years old. In 2008 I had an endoscope done and was put on PPIs. They helped and the ulcers on my oesophageal sphincter healed, but even on PPIs I could still feel food trying to push it's way back up my throat.

about a year ago I started the Paleo diet as described by Loren Cordain. It is pretty easy to follow and in the beginning he recommends eliminating nuts, eggs and nightshade veggies on top of permanently eliminating all grains, dairy and legumes.

After about two months on the diet I no longer had the feeling of food trying to push back up my throat and I suspected I would be able to get off the PPIs. I gave it a shot, but I was very nervous because I had already tried to stop them in the past and experienced vicious "rebound". I tapered off the PPI and there was no rebound what so ever. My GERD was gone.

I was completely amazed with the paleo diet. I have suffered with GERD and also ulcerative colitis for many years and tried many diets, drugs and treatments and never had something work so well.

I read every diet book remotely related to paleo that I could find from authors, Loren Cordain, Robb Wolfe and Mark Sisson. Other related titles include the Perfect Health Diet, and most recently Fast Track Digestion, Wheat Belly, Why Stomach Acid is Good for You etc. I couldn't get enough.

After reading so many books and hearing so many opinions on the right macro nutrient levels and foods that might be bad for GERD I decided to try some alterations to the Paleo diet as described by Cordain. I experimented with lower carb and higher fat versions of paleo. I also tested rice and other foods like nuts. I felt so good I even had the odd glass of wine or a NorCal margarita. I made too many change in a short time to really be able to tell if foods were going to bother me.

Things went down hill for me. I started having more GERD. I got a vicious flu in November and took copious amounts of Tylenol. My GERD became worse and I began to have issues related to UC and IBS. I knew I had to go back to the basics of the paleo diet, but I really couldn't connect my issues to nuts because I had been eating them for months and really didn't feel bad when I first introduced them.

Finally I eliminated nuts from my diets. The changes were drastic. In a couple of days the GERD was gone again and I am feeling so much better.

I know every one is different and the Paleo diet is not going to be the answer for everyone, but I am hoping that my experience can help some GERD sufferers. If you do try the Paleo diet read the books by Loren Cordain and Robb Wolfe and avoid the highly allergenic items in addition to the standard grains, dairy and legumes.

Good luck!

Sure. In general my meals are all very similar in that the food I eat for dinner could be eaten at breakfast or lunch. It takes a bit of planning. When I cook dinner I make extra for breakfast and lunch. I also have a communal fridge at work that I store fruit and veggies in so I don't have to drag it all to work everyday.

This morning I ate stir fried cabbage and pork belly with mixed hamburger and pork burger patties (with cilantro, ginger and egg). The patties are awesome. They remind me of a sausage. I polished it off with a very large apple.

For lunch I ate left over t-bone steak, chinese cabbage and mashed cauliflower and carrots. I had a mango for desert.

Afternoon snack will probably be strawberries and a mandarin orange.

For dinner tonight I am planning to have steamed ling cod, cole slaw, bok chow and maybe some grapes for dessert.

I am debating whether or not to experiment with gluten free soya sauce. It is not paleo, but I want to eat it in a sauce that goes with the fish. We shall see.

I will probably eat kale chips (kale, olive oil and salt) after dinner too.

I don't eat vegetables oils, with the exception of olive oil that I use in salad. I cook with beef lard, coconut oil (both bought online) and occasionally butter (not paleo). I use salt and pepper liberally.

Post Edited (robray) : 3/6/2013 2:34:23 PM (GMT-7)

It seems that there are many causes to GERD out there. I wonder if they will ever have different classifications for GERD. I know another guy who can take a PPI every three days and be fine, where I could never miss a day or even eat food with in 30 mins of taking the PPI.

Bananas are one fruit that has always caused me GERD and this is something that works for you. Everyone is so different.

I don't really know what is going on in my guts, but I imagine my small intestine and maybe stomach are inflamed by foods that bother me, like nuts for example. When I eat nuts or something that causes my guts to be inflamed long enough then everything I eat will cause GERD. If my guts are not inflamed then a handful of nuts will probably pass through and the limited exposure will not cause any issues.

I can't really tell you what to do, but if my symptoms were similar to yours then you might want to try what I found works for me. It doesn't seem like our conditions are that similar so I wouldn't expect what works for me to work for you, but you never know.

Robray, I follow the Fast Tract diet, and have had very good results. Bananas have high fermentation potential, based on the slow to digest fiber they contain. Nuts can also be eaten only in limited quantity also due to their fiber. I have had great results with this diet, can now control my symptoms with just a couple of daily TUMS. My stomach irritation (gastritis) is better than it has been in the two years since I was diagnosed with GERD.

Post Edited (sunbeam48) : 3/8/2013 5:11:29 AM (GMT-7)

Re: Dangers of paleo: I have severe GERD and my experience with meat might be a warning to others. I manage my symptoms eating fish and chicken for protein foods and then quinoa, oatmeal, and lots of vegetbles and non-acid fruits. The last time I ate beef, I had acid for days. Could not sleep.

I am amazed that anyone with an acid problem would do well with the paleo diet, which is meat based. It also eliminates eggs and nightshade vegetables, which, as far as I know, most people with acid problems do well on.

I do not dispute that robray did well with it, but I would call it an idiosyncratic (personal) experience that would not apply to many people. (No criticism intended.) jip1234