An elimination diet is used to learn whether or not certain foods may be causing your symptoms or making them worse. If they are, the diet also can become a way to treat these symptoms.  There are many foods, drinks, and other substances that may increase your GERD symptoms. The following table lists some of the common offenders.

Plan:

1. Seek assistance from your clinician in identifying what may be causing your symptoms.
2. Keep a 7-day “diet diary” listing all the foods you eat and drink and their amounts.  Especially note any foods, drinks, and dietary supplements in the above table.  (See the last page of this handout for a chart you can use.  Make copies as needed.)
3. Make a plan for how to avoid, as much as possible, any items on this list for at least 2 weeks.
4. At the same time, keep a GERD symptom diary.  List:
   1. the length of time (in minutes) that your symptoms last and
   2. how bad they are on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the worst.
5. Reassess how you feel after two weeks.
   1. If there has been no change in symptoms, consider continuing the elimination diet for another two weeks, if it is not causing you undue hardship.
   2. If you have had some improvement, consider continuing the elimination diet for another two weeks, hoping for more improvement.
   3. If you no longer have symptoms, you can either
      1. continue to avoid the offending foods, or
      2. try to eat the offending foods again.  See #7 for how to do this.
6. Continue to reassess how you feel every two weeks until your symptoms are gone.
7. Consider trying the foods again.  Try just one of the troublesome foods each week.  Carefully keep track of the foods you eat and any symptoms you feel in the diet diary.
   1. If your symptoms get worse, you will learn what foods to avoid.