Diet for Migraines & GERD

GERD, or GastroEsophagial Reflux Disease, is a form of acid reflux that can be brought on by stress, insomnia or the stomach creating more acid than it needs. The end result could be holes in the stomach and esophagus, stomach pains and migraine headaches. A diet for GERD involves eating foods that will not produce extra acid to make for a better stomach and GI tract.

Foods to Avoid and What to Eat

There are not very many guidelines to follow on a GERD diet as the limitations are foods that are already considered "bad." Carbonated drinks, excessive red meat and fatty foods will aggravate the stomach and cause the excess acid to build up, but if you are able to stay on the diet and follow directions, then you will have less problems. Other foods considered bad and big causes for reflux are chocolate, fast food restaurants, whole milk, creamed soups, coffee and acidic juices. Other people have found spicy foods to also cause issues within their stomach and stimulate the acid to reflux or build up into the esophagus.

Foods that you can consume and will help are a steady diet of light meats (turkey, chicken, tuna) along with fruits and vegetables (avoid acidic foods such as tomatoes and oranges) and any foods that are low in fat such as low-fat breads, milks and pastas. Putting all of these into your diet will help fight GERD while also keeping the body itself healthy as less "junk" will be there.

However, this is not too hard of a diet to follow. If you are a person who has a relatively clean diet to begin with, eliminating a few foods to clean it up will greatly help reduce acid reflux, but if your diet is not very good, then eliminating snacks could be very hard. Trying is very much the key to this and diet is the biggest part of eliminating GERD.

Staying on Track

A few key guidelines to a GERD diet is to eat smaller portioned meals throughout the day rather than a few big helpings. The less food in your stomach at a time, then the less acid that will need to be produced to dissolve the food. Laying down and bending after meals should also be avoided as the key is to burn off the food quicker so that it can be dissolved quicker without extra acid produced if the food sits in the stomach.

Experts from the gicare.com website also say that losing weight will help the condition, but if you stray away from eating the foods that need to be avoided and incorporate a bit of exercise, the diet itself should help you lose weight. Following these guidelines will lead to a better you, which is the key for any diet and soon your migraines will disappear along with the heartburn, indigestion and other sicknesses that come along with GERD.