Diets for acid reflux are not all that difficult to create. The problem lies in keeping the diet which, of course, is a common problem with almost all diets. To borrow a popular phrase from business, “It is what it is.” If you really want to get rid of acid reflux and lose weight then forget the magic bullet. It’s going to take some good old fashioned will-power and discipline.
To be sure, benefiting from a high consumption of raw foods will require a radical change. In most cases the cause of severe acid reflux is an out of control diet. That diet is high on bread, pasta, meat, sugar, grease, and fat and low on enzyme producing raw vegetables. And…enzymes are necessary for good digestion and putting an end to the fire in your belly.
Before addressing the issue of raw food and enzymes I want to offer a little motivation to help you changes your ways by looking at how acid reflux damages your body.
Acid reflux irritates and swells the lining in your throat, esophagus and stomach. It also can produce ulcers. Meanwhile, the walls of your intestines are eroded leaving you with little or no protection from powerful stomach acid which results in more pain. Since the intestinal walls serve to facilitate the absorption of vitamins and minerals into the bloodstream your body is unable to process these nutrients as needed.
As the intestinal walls are inflamed the acid/alkaline balance of your digestive tract is disrupted. Friendly bacteria, necessary for digestion are destroyed. Furthermore, this intestinal inflammation slows down contraction of the colon which inhibits the flow of food along the intestinal tract. Undigested food particles become putrefied resulting in the buildup of even more destructive acid.
What’s more; even the liver and gallbladder take a beating. When the liver experiences overload with acidic waste it crystallizes bile and acid waste into painful gallstones. The gallbladder has difficulty releasing bile which further complicates digestion. Acid levels continue to elevate, the liver is damaged, and all other body organs become susceptible to deterioration. What follows is degenerative disease.
Are you motivated yet to get acid reflux under control? It’s better to take care of the problem before it has had a chance to affect your vital organs.
The first thing you need to do is to eliminate foods that cause acid reflux and then get committed to a diet of foods that are friendly to restoring your health and helping you to lose weight. The good news is that with the right diet you can indeed heal your digestive tract lining and dramatically improve the quality of your health.
To accomplish this your diet must include a high percentage of raw fruits and vegetables. To hasten the healing process you will need 80% of your diet devoted to raw produce. Once you have conquered the problem then you can settle in at 60% raw fruits and vegetables.
Most people come nowhere close to even the 60% level…much less the 80% necessary for healing. But it is doable and there are some easy things that you can do to make these raw food percentages a reality.
In addition to the obvious, fresh salads and snacks, there are two appliances that will make your task easier. One is a blender and there is a strong likelihood that you have one. And the second is a juicing machine. No, juicers and blenders are not the same.
By juicing twice per day and using the blender for fresh fruit based smoothies you can accomplish your percentage goals easily.
The consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables exposes your body to mega-doses of powerful nutrients that your body has been missing. As far as the acid reflux problem, fresh produce introduces vital enzymes into your system which are necessary for good digestion. Enzymes and nutrients are, for the most part, destroyed during the cooking process. That’s why raw consumption is necessary.
You will want your diet to lean heavily on alkaline foods that bring your body back into a proper alkaline/acid pH balance. This includes foods like: most raw vegetables, raw and unsalted almonds, most seeds, as well as beans and legumes. This by no means is an exhaustive list but there as an idea for what needs to be on your diet.
These ideas on diets for acid reflux work. You will need to do considerable research on the subject but a diet high in raw produce is the answer to putting an end to your acid reflux problem and getting you on the road to good wellness and good health.
Richard Weirich co-hosts the internationally popular Health at Last Radio and has written numerous publications on heartburn, acid reflux, weight loss, health, and wellness. For more articles on diets for acid reflux click here and you can also visit the author’s website here.