Health habits for GERD – Japan study

[Pompadur]

#3184

We talk about a lot of things to improve health at this forum. And here is another one suggestion.
A Japan study “Lifestyle factors affecting gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms: a cross-sectional study of healthy 19864 adults using FSSG scores” finds two important things:

1) Sleep quality is essential for GERD treating (unfortunately i can’t find exact how long one should sleep in the case of GERD)
It is well-known that nighttime GERD symptoms are the crucial cause of sleep disorders [32,33], but recent studies also suggested that a link between sleep problems and GERD might be bidirectional, for example, due to the influence of sleep stages on esophago-upper esophageal sphincter contractile reflex [34] or due to reinforcing perception of intra-esophageal acid [35]. Therefore, improving quality of sleep might be essential for relieving GERD symptoms.

2) Eating habits – not what you eat, but how you eat!
Accordingly, such dietary habits as the following should be avoided:
1) having dinner a few hours before going to bed,
2) the habit of eating a midnight snack,
3) frequently going without breakfast, and
4) the habit of quick eating.
It should be noteworthy that these four diet-related factors present more significant effects than alcohol or smoking on GERD symptoms

Rather inteeresting, isnt’t it? Maybe it can be helpful…

[Jaeme]

#3186

I quit doing all four of the habits in point #2, and it helped a lot. Due to my job, the most difficult is #4, and I can tell it when I have to eat quickly and not chew food to the almost liquid stage.

[Pompadur]

#3187

Thank you for sharing your experience Jaeme!
My only “bad habbit” from the list is eating close to bed time. But i will do my best to quit it.

[Jaeme]

#3189

I originally tried no eating for up to 5 hours before bed, then gradually decreased the time to about 3.5 hours to find the threshold. Any less than that and I reflux at night. Also no drinking even water for 2-3 hours before bed (except a few sips with the Mag Citrate I take at bedtime). Was told a lors of water in the stomach will cause reflux because of the pressure on the LES.

[Pompadur]

#3191

Yes, my doctor also tells that even water is better to avoid before bedtime.

[Pompadur]

#3193

By the way, i found another one very fresh study that is usefull for this topic:
Recurrence of gastroesophageal reflux disease correlated with a short dinner-to-bedtime interval.
Conclusion of the study:

Both ERD and NERD patients who sleep within 3 h after eating have a higher risk of GERD recurrence. Our findings highlight the impact of a short dinner-to-bedtime interval on the recurrence of GERD (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: KCT0000134).

Here we are: it is needed 3 hours before bedtime.

[Norm Robillard]

#3220

Great post Pompadur. Wise behaviors for sure. I do most of them, but frequently go without breakfast, or perhaps a handful of nuts, which seems helpful for me.

[Pompadur]

#3227

Thank you Norm!
I try to have dinner before 18-19:00 last few days (since i found the article). And i can say that it is somewhat helpful for my night GERD. I will go on with early dinners so.

[Pompadur]

#5856

One more interesting article
Dietary habits and esophageal cancer (Diseases of the Esophagus
Volume 28, Issue 1, pages 59–67, January 2015)

Highlights:
– Retinol and β-carotene – probably protective;
– Vitamins C and E – mixed results;
– Vitamin D – mixed results, but can be harmfull (so i decided to stop taking it for now);
– Zinc and selenium – probably protective;
– Riboflavin, folate, and B12 – probably protective;
– Coffee – (caffeine) – can be protective.

So it is worth to drink your cup of coffee in the morning 😉

[Author]

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