Hiatus Hernia Foods To Avoid

What is hiatus hernia? It happens when the top part of your stomach pushes past your diaphragm opening into your food pipe or oesophagus. This causes the food to go back up from the stomach into the food pipe or oesophagus and it means discomfort, a burning sensation and maybe even nausea. This condition needs to be managed and you need to follow a strict diet and be very strict about which hiatus hernia foods to avoid. You will need to avoid all foods that are known to aggravate heartburn or acid reflux and you will also need to make some lifestyle changes. Changes like stopping smoking if you do and cutting out alcohol. 

Hiatus hernia symptoms

How do you know if the discomfort you feel in your stomach is hiatus hernia? While it would be a good thing to go to the doctor and get yourself checked out, here are a few hiatus hernia symptoms. You could feel very uncomfortable in your chest region and have a bad case of hiccups or belching. Lying down immediately after eating a meal aggravates the symptoms a great deal. Even bending down could bring on the discomfort. Most doctors will prescribe antacids as hiatus hernia treatment and ask you to follow a special diet for hiatus hernia.

There are two kinds of hiatus hernia – the sliding kind and the rolling kind. Most people have the sliding kind where the top portion of the stomach slides into the oesophagus. The more unusual kind is the rolling hiatus hernia where the stomach bulges through the diaphragm opening. Sometimes, hiatus hernia problems could lead to complications in which case the doctor will probably prescribe surgery to relieve the discomfort and pain.

Hiatus hernia diet

The hiatus hernia diet is actually quite simple but it could be tough to follow if you aren’t disciplined. Hiatus hernia symptoms can be quite uncomfortable and the main thing to keep it in check is to manage your diet well. That’s what the hiatus hernia home remedies are all about. The hiatus hernia foods to avoid would be red meat and whole cream dairy products, all fried or oily food, beverages that contain caffeine as well as alcohol, all citrus fruits, all oil based foods like salad dressing, mayonnaise, etc and all desserts. Anything that is a bit difficult to digest or is acidic can cause problems so it’s better to be safe than sorry by simply avoiding them.

Do remember to eat small meals rather than one large meal at each sitting. It would be better to eat six very small meals rather than two or three large meals. You also need to make sure that you eat your night meal very early, preferably leaving a three hour gap between the meal and going to bed. Try not to bend soon after you’ve eaten and when you do get into bed, keep your head raised higher than usual with a few extra pillows. Wear clothes that are not tight at the waist and try and exercise – not too strenuous but a 20-minute walk maybe or a leisurely swim. If you have any extra weight on you, it would be a good idea to get rid of it.