Diet to Reduce Bile Reflux

Bile reflux is a condition that causes bile to back up into the esophagus. Acid reflux causes a backup of stomach acids into the esophagus and is much more common. Bile is a digestive fluid that the liver produces and the gallbladder stores. The condition usually requires medication and treatment from a doctor, but following a few diet tips might help reduce the incidence of the condition.

Keep a Food Journal

A specific diet will not help bile reflux, but some foods cause symptoms to appear more frequently. The foods that cause problems are different for everyone with some common triggers that are noticed more often than other foods.

Keep a food journal that documents every morsel of food you consume to determine which foods cause you problems. It may take a while to find your trigger foods, but it is the best way to learn how to plan your diet.

Pay attention to your symptoms after consuming chocolate, caffeine, spicy foods and citrus. These tend to cause more problems for folks suffering with bile reflux and acid reflux.

Cut Fat

Fatty foods can reduce the amount of time that food is processed through the stomach. Eating high fat foods contributes a great deal to many health problems including digestive disorders like bile reflux. Limit these foods to reduce your chance of having bile reflux symptoms.

A well balanced diet must include some healthy fat. Make sure that you include healthy fats like olive and canola oil. Fats from nuts and oily fish are also very healthy for your well balanced diet. Stay away from trans fats which are found in many processed foods. Read the ingredients labels for hydrogenated oil or partially hydrogenated oil. These are trans fats and may produce bile reflux symptoms.

Eat Smaller Meals

Smaller meals may reduce the symptoms of bile reflux as well. Split your meals up into six small meals instead of three larger ones. Large meals put pressure on the pyloric valve that is between the stomach and the small intestine. The valve does not close properly in many cases of bile reflux allowing stomach bile back into the stomach. When a larger meal is eaten, the pyloric valve and the sphincter between the stomach and the esophagus are under pressure and some of the fluid may be washed back into the esophagus.

Don't eat your meals too close to bed time. It is best to remain in an upright position for a couple of hours after eating a meal.