Most people you talk to probably have no idea what gerd means. I know I didn't. It sounded to me like a type of really bad tasting jello. I told my friend that as much as I like to eat, gerd was the one food I would turn down based solely on the name. You can't pay me enough to put my taste buds through the death that a food as awful sounding as that, would put on them. OK. Now I can humbly admit that gerd is not a food and is instead a very serious condition that millions of people are suffering with every day. It is medically called Gastroesophagel Reflux Disease. Or in the layman terms...heartburn.
People also call it acid reflux. I will tell you that it doesn't matter what you call it. It is both unpleasant and a painful way to live ones life. If you don't know that you're a sufferer than it is easy to confuse it with a heart attack, considering that is most painful in the heart area.
There are ways to keeps these attacks at bay. The biggest way is to watch your diet. If you are overweight then you should lose some weight since overweight people are more at risk of painful episodes. One diet tip that seems to help is to eat smaller meals more times a day. Instead of three big meals a day, cut down your intake to five smaller meals a day. And of course, the biggest thing you can do while you eat is.....RELAX! Don't eat food over the sink, in front of the fridge, or, and I can't stress this enough, never while you are driving. Being rushed or moving while you are eating can trigger your condition and make for an unpleasant day. If you sit and relax while you are eating then you allow the body to do it's job without putting any unneeded stress on it. Of course, there are even better ways to keep gerd on a leash. Watch what you consume.
Foods that can cause gerd sufferers problems are called trigger foods. Some of these are citrus fruits, coffee, carbonated drinks, acidic fruit juices, any tomato based sauces, alcohol, chocolate, peppermint, spicy foods, fried foods, fatty foods, milk, butter, and other dairy products. Although there is no official prevention diet, avoiding these trigger foods is a good step in the right direction. Of course not every person will have episodes with every single one of these trigger foods, so finding out which food is a no no is always a good idea. In my opinion, even if you don't suffer from serious gerd attacks, I think everyone should try to eat better and consume less, if not any of the trigger foods would dramatically improve your health and set you on a road to feeling better.