Hi
I suffer from severe GORD(GERD if you’re American) and take a high dose of PPI every day. I would like to get off the PPI’s and still live a normal eating life. Does anyone have any experience of this and use of the clever gut diet to cure it. I dont have helicobacter, hiatus hernia or Barretts Oesophogus or any other obivous cause of my GORD but I suspect Lower esophogial Sphincter Dismotility. Unfortunately my GP has not been able to help me with this, continuously fobbing me off with PPI’s so I am now looking at diet and lifestyle to try and get me off the tablets but was wondering if anyone has any knowledge about the connection to gut bacteria.
Dr Mosley? Any thoughts?

I suffer from this, linked with hiatus hernia. I’ve found it seems to improve if I’m eating low carb e.g. The BS diet. Things like bread, rice and potatoes set it off again. At the mo I’ve been winning by keeping the carbs low to about 30-50 grams per day.
I found this recently which interested me. It set out my experience very clearly.

https://proteinpower.com/drmike/2013/09/23/gerd-treat-low-high-carb-diet/#comment-997743

Now I’ve read the Clever Guts book I think I’m nearer a longer term solution as the two lots of info seem to work in the same direction.

Hi all, I also have GERD: symptoms are sore/hoarse throat and trouble breathing. I’ve been on PPIS for 4 months, which haven’t helped in the slightest. I’m also suffering from gastritis and diagnosed with H Pylori – but neither are supposedly linked to reflux.

Diet-wise, it might be following this acid reduction diet: Ihttps://books.google.co.th/books/about/Dr_Koufman_s_Acid_Reflux_Diet.html?id=S2BBCwAAQBAJ&source=kp_cover&redir_esc=y

Not worked for me so far, but maybe worth a try.

I’ve also eliminated alcohol, reduced or cut out usual triggers (spicy food, fatty food, chocolate, onions, garlic) and cut down to 1 small coffee per day. I also eat smaller plates of food and have stopped eating 4 hours before bed.

The low-carb (Fast Tract diet) is my next step, and after that really not sure what the solution is. Perhaps the Clever Guts diet might help.

It’d be good to share any potential successes with any diets/supplements we try.

Hi…I was suffering exactly the same things that you describe. 3 years ago I went to the Centre for Digestive Diseases in Sydney and had lots of tests etc and after a short course of 2 types of antibiotics to eliminate a huge overgrowth of Candida both my constipation and GERD ended.!!! After taking PPI’s for 15 years I have not needed them since. I have started to drink Apple Cider vinegar if I get a slight burn which happens occasionally. PPI’s gave me Osteoporosis but since coming off them my Dexa scans are showing improvement in bone density instead of depletion.

Hi my symptoms don’t sound as bad as GERD or GORD but I had frequent indigestion that stopped me sleeping unless I drank Gaviscon and had to avoid several foods including onions, garlic, coleslaw, beans and pulses.
I started drinking kefir every day about 2 months ago & to my huge surprise and delight I find that I can now eat any of these foods even last thing at night and my digestion has hugely improved. My husband has hemorrhoids which were often debilitating and has found that since drinking kefir every day they are much less troublesome.
I thoroughly recommend trying this as it seems to be such a natural and cheap thing to try. I bought my kefir grains from e bay for about £3 and find it very easy to ferment them daily. They are so valued by us that we even bring them on holiday in a 100ml bottle as the thought of returning to bad digestion would make it not worth going without them!
The only cost to make your own is the milk. Best health thing we’ve ever tried. I really hope they can help you.
I enjoy my kefir liquidised with a banana & squirt of lemon juice.

Hi I had GERD symptoms and was diagnosed with it after an endoscopy; I was precsribed PPI’s but after researching them I decided to look for an alternative and came across Deglycyrrhised (DGL) licorice tablets. After taking them for a few days my GERD symptoms of burning, indigestion and slight breathlessness became less and then disappeared. If I don’t take the licorice for a while, I might get a slight burn but they have been amazing and I am happy to have so far dodged the PPI’s.

Hi, I’ve dropped in from the 5:2 diet after reading the Clever guts book, I’ve suffered from excess stomach acid form 20 years but don’t have GERD. I have been on PPIs for that length of time, in increasing, finally ridiculous strength. I’ve lost some weight on the 5:2, mostly around the waist, and am now on a mission to cut my meds. I’ve currently halved my Nexium and Ranitidine, which I’m doing gradually because I understand if you cut it out too quickly it can make the problem worse. As far as diet is concerned, I only drink decaf tea and coffee and limit alcohol (should stop it altogether!) The biggest boost I think, has come from drinking daily kefir like Sue C – I use the water type mainly because I don’t like the taste of the milk variety, – and have increased my water intake considerably. At the beginning, I found fasting made my acid worse, but it soon settled and now I only eat two meals a day, brunch and dinner in a window of about 8 hours. My glob is to cut my tabs to one a day. I’m getting there. Good luck

Hi everyone, thanks for those responses – it sounds like its all very much interlinked and am keen to try the kefir. I have also tried various natural products like DGL but it seems my problem is very severe as I have not had any real positive results from it. I wonder if the PPI’s actually prevent the gut bacteria from doing their job? I am also keen to not develop osteoporosis as i get older.
Good luck Debster, i am going to give the clever guts a go to try and improve my gut health but i have a sneaking suspicion that i will have to go cold turkey on the mess so that the good bacteria get a chance to work.

Suffered reflux many years and been on long term lansoprazole. Previously tried low fat diet and acid reduction diet but neither helped. Am now on low carb low processed food diet and this is helping. Have now managed to slowly wean off lansoprazole which I have now stopped. I am now taking 75mg Ranitidine twice a day having stepped down from 150mg twice a day. So far so good. Aim to gradually stop Ranitidine and just have Gaviscon as standby.

I also find exercise and stress reduction help symptoms.

I would like to see more research into the role of diet and the microbiome in gastro oesophageal reflux. Unfortunately funding for this will not come from the drug companies! Scope for large savings for the NHS if it can be shown that lifestyle changes and diet better than drugs in treating gastro-oesophageal reflux.

Completely agree with you Francis37 the GP’s are so willing to hand out the drugs but never want to discuss dietary changes other than telling you not to eat curry and tomatoes – duh! I could have sussed that one out myself. The more i read on the internet the more i am becoming convinced that the PPI’S are actually a massive contributor to the problem. I think they contribute to leaky gut and death to bacteria and also having low stomach acid being a major factor. The problem is i am kind of dependent on the PPI’s at the moment but aiming to wean off once I get stuck into the clever guts but I am worries its a little bit of a chicken and egg situation.

Your progress is impressive Francis37. How long have you been working on your reduction of meds?
I totally agree about your comments, Mrs Bear. Over the years, as my stomach played up and I increased the meds, my acid levels seemed to ‘rise to the challenge of the extra meds” and increase again. About 5 years ago, I was at my heaviest, carrying most of my weight around my middle. I discussed this with my doctor and not once did she say that I needed to lose weight (than is until I brought it up) Also, I saw my consultant last year and had a scope, which showed my stomach was quite healthy. I spoke to the doctor (who is under the consultant) at the hospital about reducing meds and she check and said no.
I retired two years ago, and now my stress levels have gone down significantly. So too, I might add, has my weight and I am at my lowest for about 20 years. I decided at Christmas to reduce my Nexium and as I said above, have halved it from 80mg a day split morning and evening to 40 mg – one tab morning and evening. I hope to slowly halve that again to one tablet in the evening.
I found the link below useful.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/09/05/Why-You-Should-Get-Off-Prescription-Acid-Reducing-Drugs-ASAP.aspx
Good luck on your journey. I’d be interested to see how you get on.

In the UK the average patient wants one of three things from their GP: reassurance all is well, a prescription or a referral to a specialist. Many are affronted or offended, feel they are being blamed or fobbed off, if their lifestyle/ diet/ weight is unexpectedly raised.

Advice on targeted lifestyle modification requires the GP to have plenty of time, be fully up to date on the research in numerous fields AND the patient to be willing to make (often major) changes.

Consider the current rates of clinical overweight and obesity, smoking, alcohol use, sedentary behaviour and poor diet … even amongst NHS staff! Unfortunately, those of us who have made it here to Clever Guts are the exception not the rule.

I would encourage anyone to focus on *evidence-based* healthy eating/ diet websites and books written by medical or research professionals: ‘Clever Guts Diet’, ‘The Diet Myth’, the UK National Health Service, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), British Nutrition Foundation, US government, PubMed, Google Scholar, charities for specific medical conditions, professional bodies of dieticians/ specialists/ doctors.

In ‘real life’ consult a young-ish pharmacist about Rx drugs/ supplements; ask your GP for a referral to a registered dietician, other lifestyle health professional, hospital specialist.

Provide them with a detailed food and symptom diary, every mouthful with quantities, *completed as you go not later.*

HTH someone!

My intention wasn’t to criticise the NHS, i am fully aware of the constraints that are placed on GP’s, unfortunately i suffered at the hands of a GP surgery where incompetence and lack of time in appointment led to me being misdiagnosed and left untreated for very painful gall stones. Even the gastroenterologist I consulted was slow on the uptake despite me paying for half an hour of his time at £180! It wasn’t until I took it upon myself to seek a private diagnosis and treatment in Poland that i got those issues sorted out. I have lost faith in the GP because of this and that is why i am seeking alternative ideas and ways to treat it myself without having to involve my GP. My first steps are to try and repair my system trough the cleverguts but then to try weaning myself off the drugs. It’s not going to be easy as I have tried going off the meds before. At the time I did discuss it with the GP who did not offer any kind of support other than to drink gaviscon. 🙁

MrsBear go for it, make your own kefir, don’t worry about cold turkey symptoms, make sure you have everything in place and that you can tolerate a reasonable amount of kefir daily prior to stopping your medication. Prepare yourself to be amazed. Problems are frequently caused through lack of acid causing digestion difficulties, not the reverse, so suppressing it may well be part of the problem, even though this seems counter intuitive. Good luck. Worst case scenario, you can always go back on the drugs! I have every confidence in your chances of success.

My reflux is due to a large hiatus hernia, which should have been operated on 15 years ago, but that’s another story … Does anyone here have experience of reflux due to HH, and has s/he had any success with kefir or other dietary cures?

OUCH MrsBear, that sounds painful and frustrating. 🙁

Criticize away! I have worked alongside (or was a patient of) some patronising incompetents. :/

Locum pharmacist with x-ray vision (‘checked’ dispensing without touching pile of Rx). Replacement panicked whenever remotely busy. Boss’ and junior’s faces always a picture after my day off!

GP that believed mental health diagnosis = attention span of a toddler (NO I don’t need a baby dose one week at a time, just in case I suddenly forgot how to take meds like a big girl).

Worse I don’t care to remember. Been out of healthcare a good few years now thankfully!

Very similar story to mine. Am currently on ritididine and a low fodmap food routine. Things are improving. Hope to get off the tablets and manage with nutrition solution!

So, I couldn’t decide whether i needed to do the clever guts diet or the 8 week blood sugar diet. I have two goals – one to lose 10kg and 2 to sort out my GORD and get off the omeprazole. After a lot of research and reading I came to the conclusion that a combination of the two diets would be an idea – going for low carb diet would help me lose the weight but also starve the bad gut bacteria and combine it with the addition of fermented foods to increase my good gut bacteria. Any thoughts?
Today is day 3 of the combined approach, i am coping very well with cutting out the sugar and alcohol and starchy carbs – I have always been quite good about those anyway (alcohol being the one of those not so good at avoiding) and now i have started on the yoghurt, kefir and sauerkraut and apple cider vinegar. Does anyone know how long I should add these foods to the diet before I can attempt to cut out the PPI’s? I am on 40mg so plan to reduce it gradually rather than just cold turkey.
Any experiences much appreciated.

Good morning,
MrsBear I like your strategy. I make my own yoghurt and water kefir and take daily. I didn’t get on so well with thmy apple cider vinegar, but might give it another go. As far as PPIs are concerned, was taking 80mg split between am and pm. I started cutting one of my tabs in half in the morning (the evening is my problem) . I managed well on this for a month and then did the same in the evening. My reduction was totally based on how well my stomach felt. I now take 1 tablet morning and evening. Occasionally I take an extra half in the evening if I feel the need. I am aiming to cut the morning’s dose to a half in July. My problem is alcohol. I enjoy a gin and tonic or a glass or two of wine at the weekends, but this is inclined to inflame my stomach, so I’m working hard to cut out the booze altogether! Good luck on your journey MrsB!

Thanks Debster, once I feel i am into the zone and have hopefully built up a good amount of bacteria then I will cut back 20mg and see how that goes. As you say, its judging it by how your tummy feels I guess. And yes, the gin and tonics are inflammatory but oh so nice! Try some turmeric and ginger tea to help calm this down. I have discovered that diluted enough the apple cider vinegar tastes just like actual cider. Am thinking of trying it with fizzy water and maybe I can fool myself I am having a nice cold pint of cider!
Excellent progress for you with the cutting dosage. WHat does your doctor think?

I am convinced that my acid reflux disease was brought on by stress and anxiety as these feelings always go to my gut so to speak! The first symptom, (after six months of panicking about my son’s health) was that I lost my voice for a few weeks then had burning in my throat and up to my ears; at least that was how it felt. I’ve been on Omeprazole 20mg od for almost three years and occasionally take weeks off if I feel OK but the symptoms always come back. I also had pain at the top of my stomach and under my lower ribs.
I try and finish eating by 7pm and keep portions under control and now only drink red wine with meals if at all though I do like half a pint of a good ale when it is on offer.
I would love to come off the meds and will start with the cider vinegar; does anyone know a good product?

Hi Kitty cholesterol, I believe the CG book refers to Bragg organic raw unfiltered cider vinegar though I’ve not tried it yet. Aspalls Organic is one I’ve previously tried though not specifically for acid reflux. Aspalls vinegar works okay in recipes I’ve tried. Hope this helps.

Thank you for the info Paintrocks48; I will search them out.

Hi Kitty Cholesterol: PPIs (omeprazole) are a god send to people who suffer reflux (me too!). But there’s no doubt that they affect your micro biome. How is your weight? What is your BMI and waste circumference ? What is your diet like? Do you exercise? I have found that if I keep my weight under control and eat sensibly then I can get away with only occasional PPIs. (Incidentally lanzoprazole is probably more effective than omeprazole if you are taking it on an as-and-when basis – your GP should be happy to swap your prescription) BW Graham

am pleased to learn that the cause of your problems were helico- ..not diet as my friend found in 1994.regards

I was on PPI’s. Gave me diarrhea and made my hair fall out. I don’t think I was absorbing any nutrients. I stopped it after thee months and cut out suspected causes of my reflux ie. coffee, chocolate and bread. Starting taking digestive enzymes before my meals and half a teaspoon of baking soda and a splash of Braggs apple cider vinegar in a glass of water first thing in the morning an at night. Three weeks later, my reflux has gone. My hair has stopped falling out and my tummy has settled. I know some people have to take PPI’s as their reflux is severe but I won’t touch them again.

@ Nicole8
Great News…I am so pleased .
Did you test for helicobacter pylori ? .In the U.K. it is now easy thanks to Michael’s pioneering work in the 1990’s.
Kindest Regards

@annelizabeth,
So glad you are now better.
I notice that you were cured by a course of 2 antibiotics in Australia.
This sounds very similar to the Australian winners of the 2011 Nobel Prize , the knowledge which Michael so ably promoted in the 1990’s.
Kindest Regards

If you should like to e-mail , I might be able to help you more easily.
kindest regards
g.wanless2014@btinternet.com

I have been diagnosed with H Pylori and am now on my second coarse of antibiotic Tripp,e treatment in three months as it returned.
I am looking for help in treating this including dietary solutions .
Thanks

Well the best thing you can probably do is get some fermented foods into your system. My favourite is homemade kefir as recommended by Michael Mosley, buy the culture kit to get you started and then make kefir forever! Keep recycling the kefir. It takes a bit of getting used to but is a great source of probiotics.

Thx, have gone out today and purchased a kit from the local Kobushi brewer which I found out is also a great fermented drink full of probiotics.

Key to reducing reflux? Lose any excess weight. A combination of Mosely’s 5:2 diet together with Clever Guts is perfect. I suffer too and all it takes is 2-3 kg around my waste and the reflux returns.

Thx Graham, although fit, I cycle over 300ks a week I dos carry weight around the waist.
Have changed diet since this all started, medetaranian, cut the alcohol intake down, especially red wine and started taking fermented foods.
So lost about 7kgs so far and another 4 to go and I should be about the right weight for height.
Fingers crossed.
Cheers

Cut the carbs and you’ll cut the central obesity it really is that simple.

PS: cycling is really good for cardio but so important to do some resistance / strength too

just wondering what the current thoughts in the profession are about fats in the diet being linked to gastric reflux? i do suffer with some symptoms, mainly the cough and hoarse throat but never took any medication. was told once that dietary fats cause the stomach to produce more acid and then this comes back up through the esophagus. just starting on the CG diet and its fairly high fat. i have a low BMI and take regular exercise.
many thanks

It’s complex. I ‘d need to know your weight, BMI, lifestyle, any ongoing medication etc. Fats in themselves should not lead directly to reflux, but its very individual. Have you seen your GP? If not you should. Given your symptoms you MAY be at increased risk of oesophogeal cancer. The GP will likely want to order some investigations. I strongly advise you speak to your GP

9 stone, 5’8” , aged 36. I’m a dental hygienist and walk at least an hour a week and swim twice a week. I’ve always had reflux symptoms although mild, since being a teen and various gps have given range of advice from eat smaller portions at a time to get more exercise. Had investigations with a camera down as far as the larynx which was NAD but they were misinterpreting my symptoms as complaining of a lump in the throat so this was never going to show anything anyway, it wasn’t a lump in the throat I was getting,it was having to always clear my throat. Then they thought It may have been an asthma cough so put me on montelukast. I’ve not been taking this for a while though. Only medication I take is symbocort inhaler. Sorry for the long post!

How long since you had investigations? I would have anticipated the GP would order an endoscopy to check for inflammation of the oesophagus. The standard treatment is PPIs but they are not without side-effects (messes with your microbiome). What is your diet like? alcohol etc? Do particular foods cause problems for you? I doubt the montelukast is doing anything. You can of course buy PPIs from the pharmacy.. but again, I’d see your GP.

Hi I’ve just found this and might be too late for the party but I’ll post anyway as I’ll be reading and following some of the advice from earlier posts
I posted a thread recently about being a returner who’s slid off the wagon for various reasons, one big one is that we’ve been up to our eyes in building work on our house and not having a working kitchen for months, so we’ve relied on ready meals pubs meals and takeaways. also stress with my mum whos in a nursing home with end stage Alzheimer’s

Although I’ve not had a medical diagnosis as I hate going to the doctors and often think pills are ineffective and counter productive, I’ve suffered with these digestive symptoms for quite a while – a year or more with acid reflux or GERD or GORD, difficulty swallowing food at times, indigestion, IBS, grumbling, windy, aching abdomen. It seems to have flared up recently – probably stress and a bad diet with the building work in the house and I can’t seem to ease it even though I’ve started this week doing a combination of cleverguts and Tim Spector Diet Myth.

I’m on jury service this week and I suppose a combination of the worry and upheaval about it has made it my symptoms worse. This afternoon I’m sat in court listening to to the defendent being questioned and I’ve got nausea and awful cramping in my stomach up to my midriff and down to my abdomen and I’m doing my best to try to keep things together. I can’t go off sick because the whole trial collapses as there has to be 12 jurors so a new jury would have to be put together and a new trail date set. So tonight I’m lying on the settee trying soothe things so I ll be ok tomorrow.
Today has hit home to me that I need to do something about all these digestive symptoms and I can’t keep putting up with it and trying to manage them them myself – it affects my sleep too as I can’t lie comfortably without wind and feeling bloated and a bit of reflux too. I’m going to try to keep to full fat live yogurt and kefir and avoid anything that I know triggers it until my jury service is over and then go to the doctor – even thought as I said I try to avoid them and try to manage my own health.
Any advice and support – if anyone’s still visiting this thread – is very welcome