Low carb can cure reflux disease
Heartburn – caused by reflux disease – is super common, millions of people suffer from it. Many people take medication for it every single day to reduce the symptoms. What if many of these people could cure the disease with a dietary change?
An earlier small study tested a LCHF diet on a few people with this problem, and they got significantly better. Even the pH in their esophagus improved, so it was not just placebo.
Now another, slightly larger, study has tested this idea again. Not only does it find that carbohydrates, sugar and the glycemic load of the diet was associated with reflux disease. They also test what happens when the participants go on a lower carb diet. The result?
![chart]()
Big improvements
Has a low-carb diet improved your reflux symptoms? Please let me know in the comments below.
251 comments
That's great news, Amy! Thanks for sharing!
So sorry, Ellen! Sometimes dairy can also be a trigger. You may want to try eliminating one thing at a time to see if there is any improvement. And we certainly encourage you to work with your doctor regarding your medications.
I am not ‘cured’ and am still a work in progress but I realised I have Histamine Intolerance. On top of the daily/ nightly heartburn & reflux, some foods in particular would either sit in my stomach and make me nauseous & awful reflux or, at worst, cause me to vomit shortly after (mushrooms, squid, very ripe bananas, red wine, beer, tinned fish). So I follow the SIGHI Histamine Food List but, though they list them as low histamine foods, I have minimal (if any) of the higher carb foods like corn, rice, potatoes (I will test those foods in small portions at a later date to see how I get on). No aged/fermented foods, only very young, uncultured creams/cheeses. You have to make sure meat (in particular fish) is as fresh as possible and either freeze leftovers or only cook fresh (as histamine rises in leftover foods, particularly meat/fish). So far it’s made a big difference to me. I realised that every diet that suddenly backfired contained high histamine foods (even avocado, tomatoes & strawberries are histamine producing along with aged beef, salami, mature cheeses - things I ate a lot of on low carb the first time around) so I was inadvertently loading my system up with histamine until it ‘spilled over’ & worsened my symptoms.
Also being careful to not have too big portion sizes as it takes longer to digest so therefore increases the histamine load in your body (smaller portions are easier as far as reflux anyway). Google SIGHI histamine diet, their website has a lot of info and is totally compatible with a low carb diet if you want to stay eating this way.
I hope this helps, I know after so many years it can become so disheartening when you try so many things to help and no one seems to have any answers, particularly doctors, & your diet becomes so restricted. It was after my last awful reaction to mushrooms that I googled and found out about Histamine Intolerance and it all started to click into place and also why sometimes some foods were ok and other times they weren’t as histamine levels fluctuate. I don’t know yet if this has fixed all of my issues long-term but so far it has made such a huge difference and makes so much sense. I hope you find what works for you x
Hi, Diana! Sometimes it can take a little time for healing to take place. I also suffered from acid reflux before I started keto, and it was at least 6 months or so before I was able to stop taking my medication. You may want to keep a food log to see if there are any particular foods or drinks that are triggering the reflux.
Check with your pharmacist for recommendations of what to do as you come off your reflux medication. They may be able to advise you on how to alleviate the symptoms.
I am just hoping that this is the beginning of spectacular change in my symptoms.
Linda, I am so glad to hear you are seeing such dramatic improvements in such a short time!
Ian, have you introduced any new foods or dramatically increased your consumption of things like sugar alcohols, dairy, etc?
1) sleep with head of bed elevated.
2) phase out medication very gradually over several weeks; there can be a significant rebound effect from these acid-reducing meds
3) low carb diet, eliminating all types of bread, pasta, rice, etc. Whole Keto foods work well for me.
4) eliminate dairy -- My allergist recommended a blood test that identified a significant allergy to dairy, so this was the final change that pulled it all together. I get calcium from sources such as almonds, broccoli, beans, and supplements.
Thank you for sharing your experience, John. I hope you continue to see relief from GERD.
Thank you for sharing your experience!
It may be caused by something particular that you're eating. It may help to try an elimination to see if you can pinpoint the cause. Some find that eating too close to bedtime can cause issues also.
Your hiatal hernia may be the cause of your issues. I had one and it was so painful. My chiro got rid of it in 2 days. They are trained to deal with hiatal hernias.
Hi, Rachel! Pregnancy can certainly cause heartburn. You may want to evaluate the foods you're eating to see if something particular may be making it worse. Be sure to check with your doctor beforehand, but adding a small amount of baking soda to water has been known to help with reflux. Your doctor should be able to give you some tips!
I am on keto now, quit alcohol too but I drink a lot of diet soda and I never have any issues, never! Unless, I have a “cheat day” I’m up now at 1am because we had a couple slices of pizza and brownies for dinner. I woke up and had to run to the throne and then take my Prilosec. We ate around 5pm, yet here I am suffering. Didn’t even over indulge, I wasn’t full. It’s so not worth it. Back to keto tomorrow!
Hi, Carol! You certainly could! You can always omit and substitute ingredients as needed. We even have an entire collection of dairy-free recipes! https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/recipes/dairy-free
Congratulations on your success to date, that's fantastic.