Acid Reflux & Food|| Health & Wellness Series #6

“So ya know how ev’rybody and dem grandmodda have sinusitis?” *spoken in my best Bajan accent lol*

Acid reflux, also known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is another medical illness that is so common!

GERD is a medical condition where the amount of gastric juice/acid is produced in excess and refluxes back into the oesophagus.

Before we get into it, let’s have a basic anatomy lesson…

The food we eat is swallowed via the throat which leads into the oesophagus then passes via a sphincter into the stomach.

 

The acid from the stomach should not be coming back into the oesophagus because it leads to irritation and injury to it. This is what happens in GERD.

The symptoms and signs include:

• “Heartburn”
• Chest pain
• Coughing
• Sore throat
• Difficulty swallowing
• Burping up acidic content
• Metallic taste to the back of the tongue
• And sometimes even shortness of breath

Acid reflux has been known to mimic heart attack and many times may be connected to anxiety.

Just this week I was talking to a patient about his experience with GERD.

He lamented about the many blood tests and heart tests he had to get done which all came back normal. He felt lots of anxiety when the chest pains got bad and thought he was having a heart attack. But then he started getting excited and sharing with me about how when he started changing his diet and lifestyle how he felt so much better and wants to tell everyone about it!

Isn’t that beautiful?

I’ve had my own struggles with acid reflux and just this week I had a flare up because I fell into the bad habit of missing meals again since I started a new job. I realized and accepted (again) the reality that, in order for me to take care of my patients I need to take care of me first! I’m that person that likes to go hard and give of my best and I feel guilty many times to stop and eat if there is a high patient load. However, in the long run, don’t I still miss out on being productive if I am sick? Selah…

 

So I’m here to remind you and I today to take care of you first. Take care of your mind, body, soul and spirit so that you can really fulfill your purpose and destiny and truly impact others lives who are depending on you!

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In the medical community we usually treat acid reflux with:

• Dietary and lifestyle changes (most important)
• Medications such as proton pump inhibitors and H2 receptor antagonists
• Surgery for severe, persistent cases

A few investigations may need to be done if you have persistent symptoms of GERD for example, H.pylori, which is a bacterium that needs to be treated specifically. Or an upper endoscopy may be done.

Alright, so let’s get into the meat of the matter. Here are a few practical lifestyle changes that you can implement into your daily life:

1. Foods to avoid/limit: citric/acidic foods (e.g. oranges, lemons, pineapples, grapefruit), spicy foods, wheat/gluten, coffee, peppermint, uncooked onions, alcohol and even chocolate (BUT natural dark chocolate has many health benefits).
2. Foods to eat: More anti-inflammatory foods like turmeric, ginger, berries, fatty fish like tuna and salmon, green tea/matcha tea, fruits like cantelope, grapes, apples, vegetables like broccoli, avocados, spinach and kale, beets and carrots
3. Eat smaller meals regularly and eat slower
4. Eat food at least 3 hrs before lying down or sleeping
5. Avoid missing meals: Walk with healthy snacks (e.g fruit salads, fruit and nuts, vegan energy balls, quinoa chips) to work if you are busy
6. Aim to lose weight if overweight, exercise and eat clean!
7. Lastly, create a healthy relationship with food. Food is a necessity of life, however it can be wholesome and nourishing OR it can be toxic and damaging to your body. The same way you wouldn’t want anything or anyone toxic in your space, is the same way you shouldn’t want to put anything toxic into your body. Your health and wellness depends on it! I recently started keeping a food diary on my phone which helps to keep me in check and remind me to eat on time and eat healthy! Try it out today.

If you need an awesome nutritionist who will guide you in eating healthy in a way specifically tailored for your needs please check out Wholistic Synergy Barbados!  

These few tips have really helped me over the years and as I’ve said before for irritable bowel syndrome, lifestyle and dietary changes is key to beating this illness! I’m still learning and growing but I hope you can learn from my mistakes lol.

I hope this really helps you. Have a great day and may you walk in wholeness today!

Yours truly,

Dr. Esther J Trotman

“So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

1 Corinthians 10:31

References:

Medscape

Personal experience