4 fantastic tips to stop heartburn from an expert GERD nutritionist
I remember the first time I experienced heartburn.
For years, I had heard my friends complain about the pains of GERD and heartburn, but I’d never experienced it myself. I had no idea how terrible it could feel.
If I’m being honest, I assumed it was nothing more than a pesky condition, a little tickle or burning in the throat. Then, when I was 6 months pregnant with my first kiddo, I was suddenly struck with terrible pressure and burning that spread from my stomach and up into my chest.
“Am I having a heart attack?” I thought while I reached for my phone in a panic.
Symptoms of reflux
Heartburn can take many different shapes for different people and even be “silent” at times. At it’s worst it may send shooting pains down into your arms or chest and make you think you are having a heart attack. At other times you may experience any of the following:
gross or sour taste in the mouth
regurgitation
chronic coughing or clearing of the throat, often at night, but sometimes during the day
nausea
burping
sore throat and/or horse voice
What’s the real cause of GERD?
Heartburn happens when the lower esophageal sphincter (the muscle that separates the stomach from the esophagus) doesn’t constrict properly, allowing acidic stomach contents to flow backward out of the stomach and up into the esophagus.
Digestive acid is serious stuff. While the stomach is perfectly designed to handle the extremely low-pH acid, the esophagus doesn’t have the same type of acid-proof cells. When stomach acid hits the delicate esophageal tissue, it can be extremely uncomfortable, painful, and even detrimental to health if left untreated.
Heartburn may happen occasionally, but when it becomes more frequent and turns into a chronic condition, it’s referred to as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
Luckily, since my first painful experience, I’ve learned that there are many natural solutions for heartburn and GERD.
In this blog, I’ll tell you all about the GERD diet plan that has helped so many of my clients. And although food does play a big part in GERD (yes, we’ll discuss common dietary triggers!), there is much more than diet that can soothe your GERD symptoms.
#1: Chew and breathe
This is the most simple action step you can take if you’re a frequent GERD sufferer.
It’s so simple, in fact, that you may think it will do little to relieve GERD and indigestion.
But this deceptively easy step has been a lifesaver for many of my clients. I’ve seen it stop GERD time and time again.
The next time you eat, I want you to pay attention to how many times you chew each bite. Most people tend to only chew once or twice before swallowing (I used to be one of those people!).
However, if you want to improve your digestion with fewer symptoms like indigestion, reflux, gas, and bloating, you’ll need to start by chewing each bite 20-30 times. If that seems like overkill, simply chew until your food becomes the consistency of applesauce.
Swallowing big chunks of food makes the digestive process a lot more strenuous, which may contribute to the symptoms listed above.
What about the breathing part? What does that do for GERD?
Taking a few deep breaths before you eat a meal helps your body relax. This triggers your parasympathetic nervous system (aka rest and digest mode), encouraging your gastrointestinal system to provide the acids and enzymes it needs to digest food properly.
When you eat in a rush or while stressed (fight or flight mode), the digestive process is hindered. Consider that, from an evolutionary perspective, your body isn’t concerned with digestion when it needs to run from a wooly mammoth (or, in the modern era, chasing kids or answering a triggering work email).
If you need some guidance to get started with some pre and post meal breathing exercises, check out these scientifically proven breathing exercises by physiotherapist, Michelle Kenway, on YouTube.
Chewing well while eating in a relaxed state is the most powerful and underrated way to resolve GERD.
#2: Find your trigger foods
Many of my clients already know the specific foods that seem to trigger their GERD. But some common foods are hidden heartburn triggers. I typically don’t recommend that my clients cut all of these out of their diet— but to try using this list to help pinpoint your personal triggers.
Coffee
Chocolate
Fried food and very fatty foods (even ones that are healthfully cooked)
Onions and garlic
Carbonated drinks
Spicy foods
Citrus fruits
Tomatoes or high-acidity foods
Alcohol (the most potent heartburn-triggering food of all)
Why do certain foods make acid reflux worse?
It all has to do with how they affect digestion and the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). Some foods, like fried and fatty foods, take longer to digest, and the increased time spent in the stomach means it's more likely that acid will backflow into the esophagus.
Other foods, like alcohol and chocolate, relax the LES, allowing acidic stomach contents to leave the stomach.
#3: Take care of your lower gut
Even though GERD generally impacts only the stomach and esophagus, it's important not to overlook the digestive tract as a whole.
Your lower gut, particularly your large intestine or colon, is home to trillions of microbes (the microbiome) that influence not only the health of your upper GI tract but the health of your entire body.
A 2024 study supports the idea that gut bacteria is directly linked to GERD, and it's possible that having gut dysbiosis (imbalanced gut bacteria) may increase the risk of reflux (1).
Taking steps to support your microbiome and lower gut health may reduce the likelihood of experiencing reflux. Here are 3 easy but powerful ways to support your microbiome:
Hydrate.
Drinking water helps support motility and prevent constipation, both of which are essential when it comes to GERD and reflux. This may be why a 2020 study found that women who replaced two servings a day of coffee or tea with plain water had a reduction in reflux symptoms (2).
Include a rainbow of color in your daily diet.
The plant compounds that give fruits and veggies their beautiful colors are called polyphenols, and they also happen to be a favorite food for your gut microbes. This allows your good microbes to thrive! Click here if you want to learn more about increasing polyphenols in your diet.
Enjoy probiotic-rich foods and consider taking a probiotic supplement.
Consuming probiotics is another great way to support the beneficial microbes in your gut. Foods like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, and kimchi can be an easy and delicious way to get probiotics into your diet. If you’re new to fermented foods, like sauerkraut and kimchi, it may be a good idea to start slow, adding 1 tablespoon as a side condiment and increasing from there. And beware that kimchi contains garlic, onions, and spices, so if those are triggers for you, it's best to avoid it.
Probiotic supplements are perfect for targeted probiotic support. Although probiotic foods may contain a wide variety of probiotic organisms, it's difficult to know exactly which ones and how much each food contains. With a probiotic supplement, you know you are getting a therapeutic dose of beneficial microbes to support your gut health.
A 2020 systematic review, a carefully complied review of multiple research papers, concluded that probiotics are helpful for GERD, reducing heartburn and regurgitation (3). Unfortunately, the strains highlighted for GERD in these studies, Lactobacillus gasseri LG21 and Bifidobacterium bifidum YIT 10347 are not commercially available.
However, the good news is that many other strains of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus seem to help, too, such as ones that you find in high-quality yogurt.
The best way to choose the right probiotic for you is to find one specific to your needs. For example, if you struggle with slow gut motility and constipation (yes, these can be related to heartburn!), the strain Bifidobacterium lactis HN019 can be a real game changer!
You can find this specific strain in many formulas, including Metagenics UltraFlora Acute Care and NOW Foods Clinical GI Probiotic.
#4: Support with herbs and gut-healing foods
Beyond probiotics, many more supplements and healing foods are helpful for heartburn and GERD. These functional foods are vital for the GERD diet plan because they contain a synergistic supply of nutrients that do more than just mask symptoms—they actually help promote tissue healing. Here are a few of my favorites.
Slippery elm
Slippery elm is an herbal remedy made from the bark of the slippery elm tree. It is categorized as a mucilaginous herb because its gel-like consistency helps coat and soothe the lining of the digestive tract.
The protective coating that slippery elm provides helps protect your esophagus from stomach acid. The best way to take it is to open the capsules and mix the powder with a little water to form a slurry. In addition to creating a protective barrier, slippery elm contains antioxidants that help cool inflammation in your digestive tract. You may find it most helpful to take this before bedtime or whenever your GERD symptoms are most likely to flare.
Psyllium
Psyllium is another plant with a gel-like consistency that can help GERD by improving motility and the health of your lower gut.
A 2018 randomized clinical trial found that consuming 5 grams of psyllium dissolved in water before meals for two months was effective at reducing heartburn and preventing GERD from recurring in those struggling with GERD and constipation.
In fact, compared to omeprazole (Prilosec), psyllium was more effective at prevention!
After two months of treatment, GERD returned in just 24% of the psyllium group compared to 70% of the omeprazole group (4)!
Okra
Similar to slippery elm and psyllium, okra contains mucilage, the complex carbohydrate that coats the digestive tract and supports gut health.
Okra is also a fantastic source of easy-to-digest fiber and antioxidants like vitamin C. Although its slimy texture may be off-putting to some, there are many ways to prepare it that may be more appealing.
One of my favorite ways to enjoy okra is by roasting it whole with olive oil and sea salt. Luckily, by August, our farm stand is overflowing with okra, and I love working this gut-healthy veggie into my daily rotation.
To learn more about GERD-fighting foods and herbs (like radicchio, dandelion greens, tarragon, mint, anise hyssop, and chervil!) and gut healing tips, check out my Gut Health Cooking Series.