Canada 
Alberta 
British Columbia 
Manitoba
New Brunswick 
Newfoundland Labrador 
Nova Scotia 
Ontario 
Prince Edward Island 
Quebec 
Saskatchewan 
United States 
Belgium
France 
Italy 
Switzerland
Elsewhere
Elsewhere
×
Elsewhere
Elsewhere
Acid Reflux / Heartburn (GERD): Tips and Information
Take best advantage of your meal plan with the information below.
With our Acid Reflux / Heartburn (GERD) Meal Plans, you stack the odds in your favour. To take maximum advantage of our meal plans, take the time to read the information below.
Important Advice and Useful Tips
What you SHOULD do
- Exercise regularly and moderately
- Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Fill up a bottle at the beginning of the day and drink it slowly during the day
- Eat and drink slowly
- Do activities after meals, but at low intensity.
- Raise the head of your bed 6 to 8 inches by securing wood blocks under the bedposts. Do not do this by propping up your upper body with pillows as this bends the body, potentially increasing abdominal pressure.
- If you are overweight, know that weight loss , even moderate, could alleviate symptoms associated with GERD. This menu is optimized to help achieve and maintain a healthy weight. To get more tips about weight management , click here. We can help you!
- Consult your Doctor if you have a medical condition. We also recommend that you consult a Registered Dietitian and tell her/him that you follow the SOSCuisine Meal Plans.
What you should watch out for
- Our meal plans contain zero or limited amounts of the main ingredients which can aggravate the GERD symptoms. Since these sensitivities vary from person to person, if you are particularly sensitive to a food: Do not eat it, even if it appears on our menus.
What you should NOT do
- Avoid foods that can worsen reflux symptoms, such as tea, coffee, chocolate, mint , etc.
- Avoid alcohol, because it often causes heartburn by irritating the lower esophageal sphincter and esophagus, and by stimulating the production of stomach acid.
- Avoid any habit (e.g. drinking with a straw, eating quickly) or any food (gum, soda, soda water, baking soda) that causes gas.
- Avoid drinking during meals, from half an hour before the meal to half an hour after.
- Avoid bending over after meals.
- Avoid lying down within three hours after a meal.
- Do not eat two to four hours before bedtime.
- Avoid wearing tight clothes that constrict the waist.
FAQ: Acid Reflux / Heartburn (GERD)
I am suffering from gastric reflux and I also wish to lose weight. Which meal plan should I choose?
You should consult your Doctor if you face a medical condition and it is recommended that you also consult a Registered Dietitian. Having said that, the 1,600-calorie Gastric Reflux meal plan would likely be a good choice, as it will help most people lose weight while alleviating symptoms and preventing recurrence of acid reflux.
It seems to me that dinners are lighter than lunches. Is there a reason for this ?
The only recommendation to reduce acid reflux that is based on strong evidence, is to lose weight if the person with reflux is overweight or obese. This condition plays a key role in the reflux symptoms, as excess weight puts pressure on the abdomen, pushing up the stomach and causing acid to back up into the oesophagus.
For this reason, these meal plans are designed on purpose with dinners that are lighter than lunches, to facilitate weight loss. This way, you can burn most of the calories that you eat during the day, before going to bed, thus avoiding to stock up these calories as body fat.
Info Nutrition: Acid Reflux / Heartburn (GERD)
The most recent recommendations (references) for GERD consist of 51 nutritional targets that must be attained day after day, so as to alleviate symptoms and prevent recurrence of GERD.
These 51 targets can be grouped as follows:
- Proper daily calorie intake, to promote the achievement and maintenance of a healthy weight. We currently offer 2 caloric levels to best meet your needs: 1,600 and 2,000 calories per day.
- Low energy density of food
- Optimal intakes of vitamins and minerals, especially sodium, calcium and vitamin C
- Optimal intakes of carbs, including fiber, fats and proteins
- Optimal composition of snacks in terms of carbohydrates and lean proteins
- Optimal intakes of good fats (monounsaturated, polyunsaturated) and the optimal omega-6 / omega-3 ratio
- No trans fat, and limited amounts of saturated fats and added/concentrated sugars
- Optimal number and size of meals and snacks
- The recommended proportions of the various food groups
- Vegetables and Fruits, including the essential dark green and orange vegetables
- Protein foods
- Whole grain foods
- Adequate intake of foods that are specifically recommended (sources of lean proteins, etc.)
- Adequate intake of foods that need to be limited (fermentable foods such as cruciferous, legumes, etc.)
- Absence of irritating foods (mint, chocolate, citrus, tomato, etc.)
The following table shows that our GERD Meal Plans have consistently met the nutritional recommendations since their launch, on October 7th, 2010.
Articles: Acid Reflux / Heartburn (GERD)
IMPORTANT: The information provided on this website does not replace a medical consultation and is not intended for self diagnosis. We recommend that you seek the advice of your doctor or healthcare professional before undertaking a change to your diet or lifestyle. See Terms & Conditions.