drink wholesome makes the best meal replacement shakes for acid reflux.
Written by Jack Schrupp & endorsed by Baylee Reller, RDN
What is GERD?
You have probably heard of acid reflux, or gastroesophageal reflux (GER), which is the backward flow of stomach acid into the esophagus. What you may not have heard, however, is that severe acid reflux can lead to gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. GERD is a common disease that affects about 20% of the population, and the most common symptom is frequent heartburn. Foods known to trigger heartburn delay the digestive process, letting food sit in the stomach longer. They also cause the esophageal sphincter to relax, which allows stomach acid back up (reflux) into the esophagus.
The foods you eat affect the amount of acid your stomach produces, and eating the right kinds of food is key to controlling GERD. Eliminating certain foods from your diet is one of the best ways to mitigate GERD symptoms. An elimination diet can also be used to learn whether or not certain foods cause or aggravate your symptoms, which is important because every stomach is different; a food that causes GERD symptoms for one person may not cause them for someone else.
It follows that there is considerable controversy over which foods actually cause symptoms. There are, however, a few foods that everyone agrees are common acid reflux triggers. They include (but are not limited to) alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, citrus, tomatoes, garlic, mint, onions, spicy foods, fatty foods, fried foods, and processed foods. This last one is pertinent when it comes to meal replacements. As you will soon learn, most meal replacements are full of heavily-processed ingredients that can upset your stomach.