Diet and esophageal reflux

  1. Gastroepato
  2. Gastroenterology
  3. Diet and esophageal reflux
  4. The mediterranean diet
  5. Diet in the patient with liver disease
  6. The diet in diarrheal syndrome
dr Claudio Italiano  

Gastroesophageal reflux is a widespread disorder characterized by:


- sternal back burn
- sensation of acid in the mouth
- sign of the "shoelace of the shoe": when the patient bends forward, as if to lace up his shoes, he feels the taste of food in his mouth
- regurgitation, that is, the food that comes back into your mouth.

It is clear that in all these conditions nutrition must be adequate and be an integral part of patient care. But not always the cause of gastritis is to be found in the hypersecretory dispeptic syndrome, that is, in the excessive production of acid, but also in the abuse of alcohol is the basis of the same gastritis, called "alcoholic".

Visione endoscopica dell'esofago distale; si tratta di un esofago di Barrett, mucosa di colore "salmone" semicircolare che risale nell'esofago e rappresenta l'area di metaplasia

Endoscopic view of the distal esophagus; it is a Barrett's esophagus, a semicircular "salmon" mucosa that rises in the esophagus and represents the area of metaplasia

The reflux depends on the fact that the contents of the stomach, in acid and food, goes back through the esophageal channel because they fail the physiological mechanisms of continence of the last tract of the esophagus, called L.E.S., ie low esophageal sphincter:

a)altered clearance activity, ie the set of mechanisms that clean up the acid that goes up the esophageal tube, which therefore consist in the peristalsis of "cleaning";
b)impairment of defense systems that prevent the content from rising (eg LES, Allison snares, etc.).
c) diseases such as scleroderma, where the esophagus becomes a rigid tube;
d) slipped hernia, where the cardias goes back to the thoracic site due to the laxity of the continence systems.
e) drugs that promote reflux es. tranquilizers, calcium antagonists, morphine, adrenergic agonists
f) drugs that promote acidity and are gastro-resistant: anti-inflammatory (eg nimesulide, ibuprofen, cortisone, aspirin, etc.)

g) foods that create hyperacidity: alcohol, fat, meat broths, meat nut, pepper, spices, cigarette smoke and chocolate.

h) Stressful situations (see stress)

The diet to be implemented in the event of esophageal reflux


First it is important to implement an appropriate lifestyle. In fact, if you are obese, you need to lose weight, because this reduces the intra-abdominal pressure caused by the presence of fat between the viscera and the thrust that is exerted on the stomach and that promotes regurgitation and reflux. So it should be avoided in the most absolute way to go to bed as soon as eaten.
Never the nap after lunch or immediately to bed after dinner, maybe having sex! We dispel the habit of eating abundantly, believing that it is aphrodisiac to eat heavy before love. Sex must be done after digestion, and those with reflux oesophagitis should not do heavy activities immediately after a meal. Better to eat little if you are forced to work after a meal. It is necessary to eat, chewing well, preferring healthy and unprocessed foods, without fried and fried, spices, pepper, fats, condiments and various gravies. It should be chewed well because digestion will be faster.

Foods to be preferred in the case of oesophageal reflux

Absolutely avoid foods that take a long time to digest and, therefore, promote hyperacidity:

one must drink only far from meals, for example bicarbonate waters (cf. Venus source), never alcoholic;
the fruit is eaten preferably after digestion, away from meals

the gastric acid is not diluted with fluids during digestion (for example, never drink plenty of water or gassed in the middle of digestion, especially if cold!) avoid fats, sweets and among them the babà al rum (which will erupt for the entire afternoon, with a feeling of richness and a laborious digestion, as well as a retrosternal burning!), chocolate, fried food, chips, carbonated soft drinks, chewing gums that swallow saliva and with chewing evoke acidity, tomato juice, sour fruit juices, coffee, cocoa, grapefruit juices, oranges, mint, mint, onions and onions as a side dish (!) white wine, especially the one with the bisulfite that It gives the circle to the head, the colored aperitifs, the beer, the spirits that are irritating to the stomach! The favorite wine if red, if natural, if Sicilian doc!

 

indice delle diete