GERD or GORD, is gastro-esophageal reflux disease, a disease of the upper digestive system. I fell ill with GERD a few years ago and this, along with a hiatus hernia, is the reason I am a vegetarian today.
Years ago, as a result of various public health campaigns in Australia, I’d begun reducing my intake of red meat. Reduce the meat in your diet and you’re forced to eat more vegetables and that’s a good thing to do for your body. It’s also good for your budget because it’s a lot cheaper being a vegetarian than being a meat eater.
Most of my life I’ve been eating low-fat diets, primarily for healthy living reasons, but also because I don’t like the taste of fatty foods.
About a decade ago I cut out most dairy foods in my diet. It began as an experiment and I felt so much healthier for it that I remain pretty much dairy free today. I do eat cheese and yogurt, but the yogurt is home made and unsweetened, and all cheeses I eat are reduced-fat varieties of cheddar, tasty, fetta and occasionally mozzarella.
Most websites and health professionals dealing with GERD won’t tell you to cut out meat. For me, I found that eating meat resulted in so much pain and discomfort for days that it just isn’t worth it for me. By eating a vegetarian diet I can keep my “bad” GERD days to a minimum. And a low-fat vegetarian diet is good for your heart.
Other dietary notes
Apart from low-fat vegetarian, I do tend to eat a high-protein diet. At the very least I will ensure all my main meals of the day contain a large chunk of protein. I do this because it does seem to keep my GERD on a more comfortable level.
As bloating is one of my major symptoms of GERD, I avoid foods that cause gas. That presents a challenge for a vegetarian as protein is necessary and one of the major non-meat sources of protein are beans. But beans mean farts, or severe upper abdominal bloating for me. So, where to source my protein?
- chickpeas
- soy beans (tinned, not GM varieties)
- Sanitarium’s varieties of meat-substitutes – Casserole Mince, TVP, Nutmeat etc
Tinned soy beans don’t cause much, if any gas for me. I’d use them more often but here in Alice Springs I have difficulties finding them. And I don’t fancy playing with the dry beans. Chickpeas are just great. I even make a (very mild) chilli con carne using chickpeas and soy beans. And Sanitarium’s meat-substitutes are packed full of protein, usually from a soy bean source.
