10K/5 A Day Diabetes Program

By Fae Aldrich

Diabetes Type II Grant Coordinator

December 10, 2004

Acid Reflux – What is it really? Are you suffering needlessly? Could it be we are forcing our digestive system to do too much? No? Yes? You decide. At the end of the day, it comes down to the balance of fat and energy. If after 24 hours you have used all of the fat you consumed, it won’t be stored and you will maintain your weight. However, if you have stuffed yourself consistently, over a period of time you will develop digestive disorders, acid-reflux being one of them, not to mention weight gain. Watch your portions. Remember? A portion of spaghetti is not a "plate full", but ½ cup. Overeating is a major part of your digestion problems. Also, important is "what" you eat including fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, small amounts of fat, and no processed sugars. Like it or not, if you are feeling down in dumps, no energy, but your stomach is full and you feel bloated and just in general, you know you aren’t functioning to your capability, most likely you need to take a good long look at your diet.

What do you do that is self-defeating? What can you realistically change? Could you put more time and effort into exercising and eating right? Frankly, the less you care about yourself, the less you take care of your health.

Find support among your friends or from community resources to help you maintain your commitment to stop a self-defeating habit.

Among the foods you need to cut out are the fast food hamburgers, fries, the chocolate bars, pop, and buttered popcorn, to name a few. And by the way, did you know that if the best you could do was just to "cut down" not "cut out" those foods you could save thousands of calories? For instance, in 1916 a bottle of pop was 6.5 fluid oz. and in 2004 it is 16 fluid oz. In the 1950’s a box of popcorn was approximately 3 cups (174 calories) and in 2004 and bucket of buttered popcorn is 21 cups (1,700 calories) In 1954 a Burger King hamburger was 2.8 oz (202 calories) and in 2004 it is 4.3 oz (310 calories) --- and that’s without the condiments! Super sized servings are often two to five times larger than when they were introduced. Jumbo portions may appeal to our pocketbooks, but they assault our waistlines. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Not only do we eat too much of these foods, but the "foods" themselves are not nutritionally sound. They are just filling up space in our stomachs, space that should be used for nutritious food for the proper functioning of our bodies.

Immediate temporary relief can be had by elevating the head end of the bed or by using a wedge under the upper body. The esophageal acid exposure time is reduced by gravity. Long term relief can be had by any number of nutritional changes in your diet that you should be able to help yourself with. Smoking increases acid reflux symptoms. If you have severe symptoms, see your doctor.

Sometimes we live with health problems, cause we think that’s just the way it is, when in actuality we could be taking control by simple changes in our eating habits. So are you suffering from acid reflux? Get some advice if need be. Take control of your health.

Best wishes to you and your families!