Feeling hopeless about acid reflux. What next?

Violet as I feel better, I am starting to have more energy.

At first I was hungry all the time but I got used to the diet now, and it is not so bad now.

If you can't buy the book, I can help you with what to eat.

You can also look at the first pages for free on amazon (in the sample), most of the information you need with the Ph levels is there.

Let me know what you usually eat, and how you prepare it, and I can help you based on the book.

Below is what I eat:

Breakfast: oatmeal with one banana (when I got better, I added a little bit of walnuts or almonds but not at the beginning.

Lunch:

One protein: chicken breast with salt, no black pepper or spices, or lean fish (like cod) or low-fat seafood like shrimps, baked tofu or tempeh, beans, lentils, chickpeas.

One starch: plain rice, potatoes, yam (I am on a gluten free diet for other reasons so I don't eat wheat but might be fine for you, beware of all additives and vitamins included), most cereals are fine.

Vegetables: broccoli, lettuce, butternut squash, zucchini squash, mushrooms, ... most vegetables are fine except onion, garlic, cucumber (trigger food for some), Bell peppers, tomatoes.

I love to make stew with potatoes, carrots, parsnip and turnips: first sauteed with salt and a tiny bit of olive oil, then cooked slowly with some water in a pot with a lid for 40 minutes. I add roasted chicken breast at the last minute.

At first I cooked everything either steamed, sauteed in a non-stick pan (I put olive oil then wipe it with a towel paper to remove most of it), grilled in the oven with salt only.

Now that I feel a little bitter, I use one teaspoon of olive oil with my meal and sometimes some herbs but still no spices.

Afternoon snack: melon, fresh coconut water, watermelon, whole grain spelt bread.

Dinner: same as lunch.

Sometimes I make carrot juice with celeri and fennel if I don't feel like cooking vegetables.

I try to have dinner early, at least 3 hours before bed time.

In between meals: alkaline water, it feels good, but what helped me most is the diet. I am sure it would work without the water as well.

My daily diet looks nothing like that! lol I usually have porridge or toast and redbush tea for breakfast, soup (non tomato based), scrambled eggs or beans on toast for lunch and usually a toasted muffin with cheese spread, fruit and yoghurt later on after work. I drink loads of water too.

By porridge you mean oatmeal?

I would replace redbush tea with camomille, which is the only known safe herbal tea for stomach problems.

Eggs are at the limit because of their content of fat, might not be recommended at first, but might be ok (some people do egg white omelets).

I would avoid the cheese spread because of the fat, and the yoghourt because of the acidity (Ph around 4, might be ok after you get a little better), maybe you can replace the cheese on your muffin with sliced turkey breast or sliced chicken breast (is the muffin non-fat? just bread?).

Milk (Ph around 7 I think) is more alkaline than yoghourt and cheese, but some people don't do well with it.

The only safe fruits are melon, watermelon and bananas.

Is there any fat, onion, garlic or spices in your soup? Is it homemade? Soups are excellent if you make them yourself with only vegetables, potatoes, and salt.

I think it is important to check everything you eat in order to avoid additives (vitamins, citric acid, ... can be very acidic), spices and fat.

I know it is not easy but it is worth it.

Yes, oatmeal. Camomile tea actually gives me heartburn. I can't afford fresh meat very often and I don't have a blender either. Sadly, there are very few fat free options in the UK. I've looked, believe me. I don't do onions and garlic anyway as they irritate my stomach.

i have oatmeal for breakfast as well, you can add banana which helps with the acid and is filling and should give you energy. i myself cannot eat too many bananas.

i agree with ines6375 that you should stay away from cheese as it can be very acidic. what you spend on cheese you can spend on some chicken breast or a small piece of fish. i find pumpkin and winter squash very helpful and soothing for the stomach. if you dont have a blender to make it into a soup then you can eat it as a vegetable or mash it with some carrots or plain to eat instead of potatoes. i find them more soothing than potatoes. making it into a soup makes it easier to have it throughout the day. i have a plate of pumpkin soup upon rising (i know it sounds weird) but i am desperate by then to put something alkaline into my stomach. i have a bowl at lunch. a bowl in the afternoon with some bread as a snack and a bowl at night.

also i had a lot of bloating and gas and if i could get rid of the gas or burped i felt some relief from the rising acid. if you have the same experience, rubbing your stomach in a clockwise direction (as that is the direction your intestines travel thru the digestive system) you will either be able to burp or let out some gas and it should bring some relief. do that often whenever you feel some burning sensation under your rib cage or on your chest especially if the heartburn wakes you up at night.i often feel that if i have a lot of gas the pressure in my stomach from the gas pushes the acid up my esophagus. if you have a problem with gas aside from rubbing your stomach do some walking. exercise even moderate alkalizes your body and helps you get rid of gas.

do give it a try. i was desperate since medication didnt help me but consciously staying away from acid foods and eating an alkaline diet really helped.

Oh, I'd heart that Goat's Cheese is ok for acid reflux and wanted to try it.

Personally goat cheese triggers my symptoms: probably too acid and/or too fatty.

DGL licorice is working very well for me though, it helped me get off the dexilant cold turkey.

i would encourage you to try any alkaline diet and if possible eating all kinds of veg with just a little animal protein. i felt much better after 3 days. you will be encouraged by the results which might encourage you to continue. it took only 3 weeks when i felt so much better that i started reintroducing more of my favourite foods. so yu will not have to stay on a very strict diet forever, only initially. yu will have to do some trial and error of your own to see which alkaline foods suit you the most.

give it a try.

Hi I haven't been here in a while so I am not sure if this has been mentioned but I had some good results with it so thought I would post about it.

Has anyone tried Redmond Clay? Google it with acid reflux. It is used for many things and sold in a few different forms. People say it helps with AR and the reason is it has a natural high PR...among other things. Look into it. It's cheap and has lot's of other health benefits.

I started taking it for a cleanse and noticed people talking about how it works for them in that way too. ONe thing I have also noticed is that what works for some doesn't work for everyone so you never know.

I have acid reflux for sometime and I have to say that having a strict diet of alkaline food has helped me a great deal.

I changed the way I eat, how I eat and what I eat. All food is boiled, steamed, baked. I make compote from fruit I can not eat raw, I boil chopped apples, pears, no sugar until the fruits become soft and eat them and drink the juice. It can keep in the fridge a day or two. Also peaches and apricots go well together and they are quite good.

I also bake apples, pears, quinces with a few sultanas wrapped in baking paper, thy are very good, no yogurt or cream though

Raw I can only eat melon, watermelon, bananas and grapes, only a few grapes when I feel good.

I have almost daily homemade soups with chicken stock, sometimes with noodles or just boiled vegetables. 

It is very important to eat the right fruit and vegetables, the stomach will react instantly if you eat the wrong food.

I also tried mastic gum but unfortunately I am allergic to it. Lots of people cured themselves of ulcers with it, it is not for me though, so I am sticking with the usual medicine.

The diet has to be ongoing and when you feel better you can slowly introduce something new or may have a one off indugence.

I wish you well

 

I have tried mastic gum too and it hurt my stomach (aloe vera and manukka honey hurt my stomach too).

What worked for me was the alkaline, low-salt, low-fat, bland diet without irritating foods for a few months, pepzin GI twice a day, DGL licorice before the meals, slippery elm between meals and when it hurts, and raw cabbage juice whenever I had the courage.

I am happy to say that it cured me.