How to adjust your evening mealtime and make smarter food choices:

THE TIMING OF YOUR EVENING MEAL should be set consciously and carefully. Have a "transition time" of 3-4 hours before going to bed, during which you won't eat anything — no meals, no snacks, nothing at all! The intention is to get any remaining food from your last meal moving down through the stomach and into the lower digestive tract prior to your lying down to sleep, thereby reducing the amount of stomach acid present at bedtime. With less fluid in the stomach, there is less to be refluxed. You will not necessarily see immediate results. But as the days go by, your new evening mealtime is likely bring about a noticeable decrease in symptoms. If possible, have 5-7 small meals during the day instead of 3 large meals. Avoid lying down right after eating. Don't have late nights. And, by the way, avoid tight-fitting clothes and belts.

You may find it beneficial to consume two varieties of apples:
Red Delicious & Golden Delicious. These two varieties are highly valued for their anti-oxidant properties. They contain tartaric and malic acids which, even though they are acids, have calming effects on the digestion. Apples have long held an important place within our healing folklore. Hence the familiar saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." There is indeed a grain of truth here. Once again, remember to get the two aforementioned varieties when you're shopping. Other varieties are less effective.

"Let food be your medicine, and medicine be your food," is the advice handed down through the ages from Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine who lived in the 4th Century B.C. Hippocrates catalogued the healing effects of 400 fruits, vegetables, leaves, stems and roots. He is widely respected to this day. The Hippocratic Oath taken by physicians is named after him. Even in the age of synthetically produced medications like Prilosec and Zantac, we cannot afford to underestimate the healing powers of carefully selected foods.

Up to 51 esophageal reflux episodes per day is considered normal, according to a clinical study by J.A. Koufman, MD at the Center for Voice and Swallowing Disorders at Wake Forest University. What we laypeople call "burping" is a normal bodily function. But for anyone seeking to reduce burping and intestinal gas in connection with reflux, it is generally recommended that an individual should limit his or her intake of "trigger foods" such as:

• Caffeine
• Carbonated Drinks
• Chocolate
• Citrus fruits and juices
• Corn chips, potato chips
• Doughnuts
• Fatty or spicy foods
• French Fries
• Fried chicken
• Garlic
• Mint products (e.g., peppermint, spearmint)
• Onions
• Spaghetti with sauce
• Tomatoes and their byproducts

These are just a few of the trigger foods which researchers have identified. They can cause aggravation by virtue of their spiciness or acidity — tomato sauce in particular has been called the "kiss of death" to reflux sufferers — or by relaxing the lower esophageal sphincter thus opening the door again to the backflow of fluids. As you have gathered by now, a large part of the battle is keeping the gastric juices down. Therefore, if you develop excessive gas, burping, bloating or indigestion, you should take notice of everything you are eating. What is meant by "excessive" gas? Anything that interferes with ordinary day-to-day living. To track the foods that have a trigger effect on your own body, keep a food diary. Write down what you're eating from day to day. Look for patterns in your eating habits. Try to find cause and effect relationships between what you eat, when you eat, and the timing of your acid reflux episodes.

Next, read about food supplements that lessen the severity of reflux symptoms...