GERD and Acid Reflux Foods - My So-Called Healthy Diet Before. WHAT WENT WRONG???

So it's official. I'm not pregnant but I do have GERD. Its symptoms started exhibiting in October when we were in Misibis Bay. Just so you know, you would have GERD if you have the following symptoms:

• You feel like you want to burp but you can't.
• It feels like there's something stuck in your throat.
• It's hard to swallow. Worse, it's painful to swallow.
• You're experiencing heartburn more than usual.
• You hear a regurgitating sound in your throat like there's air twirling in there.
• You throw up your food (this has never happened to me but it happened to Peter and it was painful watching him).
• The food you've already swallowed backs up to your mouth (this always happen s to me).

Early signs and possible causes of GERD:

• You're always stressed.
• Your voice is hoarse for no reason at all (and I thought it was just because I'm always by myself with no one to talk to).
• You burp even when you haven't eaten anything yet.
• You skip meals then eat a mountain of food when you get really hungry.
• You like eating fatty and acidic foods.
• You drink coffee/tea/carbonated drinks like it's water.
• You sleep within 0-3 hours after eating.
• You seldom rest.

So anyway, I didn't know I had GERD then. I thought I was just unhealthy because of my non-sleeping habits. So I started to take care of myself a little bit more. I slept more than 4 hours a day and I started paying attention to Reader's Digest October issue saying that adding fat and more lean meat to your diet can actually help you lose weight rather than skipping meat altogether and eating more high calorie foods (It's true by the way! More meat less carbs can make you lose weight). So the following became my diet the whole month of October:

My breakfast: Sustagen, a table spoon of apple cider vinegar mixed in my mineral water, oatmeal with honey and cinnamon, banana, and vitamin C, iron and calcium tablets. ***I later on found out that iron and calcium shouldn't be taken together and that there are studies saying that iron is related to reducing life span rather than lengthening it. Vitamin C shouldn't be taken especially if you already take it with the foods you eat like vegetables and fruits. Calcium is the only vitamin according to health studies that can actually help lengthen life.

steak, brown or red rice, and veggie salad for lunch or dinner plus a glass of white wine

green leafy vegetables with apple cider vinegar, onions and tomatoes as my in between snacks

Yakult for my tummy, tuna, olives, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and wheat bread for dinner.

AND... I always drink Vita Plus, tomato and cranberry juice.

So what went wrong?

Apparently, LOTS of stuff in my previous so-called healthy diet were wrong for me! Here's what my doctor recommended after my check up yesterday:

Foods that must be avoided if you have GERD:

• spicy foods and condiments
• caffeine-containing beverages, even decaf ones
• tomatoes (OH NO!)
• citric juices like orange, calamansi, grapefruit, cranberry (yikes!)
• alcoholic drinks (goodbye cocktails and wines, huhuhu)
• dairy products - whole milk (good bye cakes, chocolates, cheese)
• high fat salad dressings like sour cream and cream cheese (waaaah!)
• gas-forming vegetables like broccoli, brussels, sprouts, cabbage, garlic (and I eat them whole most of the time!), onion (which I eat raw ALL the time), cauliflower, cucumber, green pepper (one of my faves!) and turnips.
• Further research also showed that oily foods would be a no-no too.

Foods to include in your diet when you have GERD:

• caffeine-free tonics
• all lean, tender meats, skinless poultry (thank God!)
• fish and shellfish (hallelujah!)
• eggs (yay!)
• soy beans including tofu
• low-fat skim milk products
• whole grain crackers, Graham crackers
• white or brown rice
• noodles/spaghetti
• all vegetables except tomatoes
• limited amount of butter

So at least, my world hasn't ended yet. Peter made me an awesome dinner last night which is a start. I didn't experience any of the GERD symptoms and I slept very soundly. It made me feel like I can be happy with eating again. I'll share that with you next so stay tuned. (^_^)