There are a lot of known facts about GERD, but there are also a lot of misconceptions and opinions. The most important fact is that all patients are different. The treatment of GERD and Advanced GERD varies according to the individual.
You Can Never Eat Certain Foods That Cause GERD
If you have had issues with certain foods in the past, and have not eaten them to avoid gastric distress, you may be able to resume eating them with proper medication with typical GERD or with surgical help for Advanced GERD. Swearing off of all foods that may cause problems should not be a lifetime choice. Proper medication and/or surgery may alleviate the distress and allow you to resume some or all of the foods that you’d avoided.
Losing Weight Helps Avoid GERD
Losing weight is a health benefit for anyone who is overweight. However, if your GERD has advanced due to a hiatal hernia, this may be a non-issue. There are links to GERD and obesity, but results vary for everyone. If your genetics are such that GERD is inevitable, weight loss may or may not help.
Eating Spicy Foods and Drinking Alcohol Causes GERD
The “cause” of GERD is linked, most often, to genetics. If your family is prone to GERD and its symptoms, you have a better chance of GERD than those whose families are GERD-free. A healthy lifestyle, with plenty of exercise and a sensible diet, is always a good choice, but it doesn’t eliminate the possiblilty of GERD. A terrible lifestyle consisting of eating poorly and drinking to excess is also not proven to cause GERD, but the consequences of such a lifestyle may be other health problems.
Plenty of Drugs Cure GERD
Many drugs today help relieve the symptoms of GERD, but its not truly a cure. Your body and stomach are designed to contain acid. These drugs dilute the effectiveness of that acid. This can lead to other problems if drugs are used as a long-term solution. If you’ve been taking drugs for GERD symptoms for quite a while, ask your doctor for more information.