Low carb diet - miracle cure for acid reflux!
Posted , 11 users are following.
Hi all, glad I found this forum as I'm a huge health enthusiast after suffering for many years from so many things. Everywhere I go it seems that more and more people are suffering as I was from acid reflux. Mine was so bad that before I even knew I had GERD I had already developed Barrets oesophagis and eosinophilic oesophagitis, which are both caused by prolonged damage done by acid. My surgeon said never in his 30 years of practicing had he seen someone in their mid 20's develop both conditions so rapidly. So yeah needless to say it was an aggressive case of acid reflux.
I went on Nexium (osameprazole) which only helped in varying amounts. I still had to cut out a lot of food from my diet to avoid aggravating it. Then one after my usual search for 'natural reflux remedies' I found an article explaiming how the primary cause of acid reflux is intra-abdominal pressure which is caused by undigested carbohydrates in the gut or intestines. Basically the carbs don't get digested well enough and form with the bacteria inside to cause a gas, which is what causes the reflux. The solution is remarkably simple: eat less carbs! (It also mentions ways in dealing with the h.plyori bacteria which may be present but I think this is less of an issue that gets resolved on its own anyway).
I adopted a low-carbs diet (like ketogenic or Aitkins diet) and I swear within a day I was already feeling the difference. I could now eat all my favourite foods like meat and eggs and I would get no reaction at all (previously alll of these things would give me instant reflux). I kept my carbohydrate intake down to 30-50 grams a day, which is considered close to the lowest possible. That means eating only eggs, meat, and vegetables. Bread, pasta, grains, nuts, legumes, beans, and sweet stuff (including fruit) etc are very carb heavy so cut them out. Within a couple of days you should notice much less burping and discomfort. It would also be wise to take a digestive supplement (especially if you do indulge in something high in carbs one in a while) as this helps your body digest the food more quickly which reduces the chance of the acid getting sent back up.
I would advise everyone suffering from reflux try this simple remedy. There's no danger in it since your body does not actually need carbohydrates to function. Focus your diet on healthy fats instead. After a while you can reintroduce carbs slowly at your own pace until you find a sustainable threshold. The trick is to save your carb limit for actual useful stuff like an occasional serving of pasta or rice. Don't eat lollies or sweetened biscuits as these are just full of empty carbs which won't even satisfy you for long. Also be careful as a few vegetables like potatoes and beetroot contain a lot of carbs so best avoid them.
Hopefully this helps everyone the same way it helped me. Please let me know if you try this and how it goes. I'm now off Nexium completely and almost never get reflux, although I've been eating healthy for about a year now so it could've healed naturally. I would also try to limit your meat intake as much as possible and focus more on vegerables. Slippery elm powder also works wonders after meals at keeping any loose food or acid down into your gut.
Best
3 likes, 16 replies
stacey49011 DMP1391
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papote53 DMP1391
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Congrats and thank you for this great information. ;-) I was wondering if you got off completely from PPI's? What about barrets? I have barrets as well (mild) and I do not have any normal reflux symptom so I tild me GI i saw no reason to take PPI's, but he insisted that I take them for life even if my barrets might be from Bile and not acid. I plan to take them for a few months and once I see barrets is under control drop them. I also take Sucarafate which appear to be a better option because it could be bile in my case.
DMP1391 papote53
Posted
My doc told me the same thing: make peace with taking Nexium for the rest of your life. Needless to say doctors are trained to prescribe medication and make a lot of money from it, so take it with a grain of salt.
I weaned myself off PPI's over the course of a few months. You need to cut your intake slowly otherwise you will get withdrawal symptoms. I had an endoscopy a few weeks ago and the report says that there is little evidence of Barrets (might be that it cleared up or the initial diagnosis a year ago was incorrect) so I decided to wean off the meds. Although it's impossible to tell you whether it's bile or acid, guess you have to see your doc and see what works for you. Best
Guest DMP1391
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DMP1391 Guest
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karen77710 DMP1391
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Thanks for sharing this with everybody. I have stomach reflux it's that bad at the moment I carnt really eat anything. My stomach is so tender and I feel sick with it. So think I will give this ago x
DMP1391 karen77710
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Remember to use slippery elm and digestive enzymes as they really work wonders too.
robin52577 DMP1391
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I also appreciate your information. I have had horrible reactions to omeprazole. I took it for a while and started waking up in the night with my hands numb, then it progressed to my feet and legs, then it went on to make my joints painful, I thought at the time it was arthritis, but when my muscles started hurting also, I knew the only thing I was doing was taking the omeprazole. I stopped taking it and within a few days, most of the aches and pains were gone, within a month or so, everything was gone. The problem is that the GERD came back so I have been searching for a natural way to alleviate this. Then I came across a few good articles about "very low carb diet" actually curing GERD. So I have been on VLC diet for about a week, and just stopped the omeprazole this morning. I will post on results after some time to see how this works. I also, am drinking tons of water. Wondering what exactly are digestive enzymes, are they in a capsule or chewables. Is slippery elm an herb? Thanks for your post.
kevin87783 DMP1391
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Thanks for sharing this and well done on the results you have achieved. Im really interested in giving this a try. Im fairly new to Reflux and I am currently trying to get my GP to refer me for an accurate diagnosis. I don't want to take PPI's until I get one.
Since starting with this Ive read a lot of studies plus other sources such as Forums. Its so tempting to try everything you read about. In my first week I ordered all sorts of hebal remedies, anything to give some hope to get well.
However, I do believe diet can be the key and a low carb diet mirrors our ancient past way of eating so Im very keen to hear from anyone else with similar results. Have you got links to any studies? Thanks
DMP1391 kevin87783
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Diet is definitely the key. Half the diseases killing us today didn't even exist a few hundred years back. That's mainly because of poor diet (as well as poor quality processed food) and a culture that over-indulges on food. We need to learn to eat better and in more moderate amounts. That goes for everyone with any disease or not.
I can't recall any specific studies but there is plenty of info on this on Google. Seems like it helps a lot of people. A lot of the info comes from doctors.
The great thing is that it's really not hard to implement. Just add more meat and veggies to your place instead of using bread or other fillers. Here is my acid reflux remedy for every meal;
Take digestive enzymes shortly before eating.
Eat food (chew thoroughly and slowly, avoid carbs)
Slippery elm powder mixed with water 10-30 minutes after eating (depending on when you feel reflux is most likely to occur, everyone is different ),
papote53 DMP1391
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Right, it can even be GRAINS. Yes, gains are inflammatory and even if you are not gluten sensitive it can harm you. If you have pains and Doctors can't find the problem then maybe you should consider eliminating grains. Maybe start with just glutens. You can be sensitive to anything which could be the reason for reflux and most of our pains. Consult with a functional medicine, but be careful because some are not good and do not give you the time and attention you deserve. We are all different so they can't have the same diet for all of us.
Guest papote53
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It's not so simple with chronic GERD patients, I don't say you should try it, you should try everything but still will experience some kind of GERD after the diet (most of us). A chronic condition is a chronic condition and can be reduced but stays chronic...
Mesirm DMP1391
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kevin87783 DMP1391
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dave71940 DMP1391
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Thanks for this very informative correspondence. I have been definitely guilty of eating too much of the harmful foods and do suffer from stomach issues way too often.