Dietary Changes in gerd

AKA "Taki-itis", we've all seen it, and probably felt it. Not only is it uncomfortable, it can lead to problems with growth, development, and eventually quality of life.  Aside from removing the Takis, here is a systematic review that looked at 11 articles exploring the role of dietary changes in the management of pediatric GERD. 

What did they find? There were 4 common themes that surfaced during their review:

1. Decreased fat-content can be good for weight-loss and secondarily eventually lead to improved GERD symptoms, but by itself lowering fat content does not improve GERD. Three of the studies looked at low-fat vs. full fat dairy products and came to this conclusion. 
   
2. Plant based diets showed significant improvement for adults, and elimination diets work in kids when you can identify and eliminate specific triggers. However, kids still need to consume adequate nutrients for growth and development. Then there are always the "picky eaters," which can lead to compliance problems...
   
3. Probiotics have shown strong evidence in relieving GERD symptoms. However it is unclear which strains, doses, durations of treatment are best. Given the number of studies coming out regarding probiotics, I'm sure this will be coming soon...
   
4. Comprehensive dietary changes don't only help with GERD. Several studies demonstrated improvements in obesity, asthma and metabolic syndrome. 
   
   Bottom Line(s): In patients with GERD, identifying the trigger and eliminating it is still probably your best route. Those struggling to make this change may need to make a more sweeping change and can make comprehensive changes to their diet, such as going solely plant based. These large scale changes can lead to improvement in conditions frequently associated with GERD, such as obesity, asthma and metabolic syndrome.