Super Charge Your Heartburn Treatment with Lifestyle Changes

Did you know that one out of every two people taking a daily proton pump inhibitor like Pantoloc or Nexium have persistent GERD symptoms such as heartburn and/or regurgitation? 

If you are still having persistent GERD symptoms despite taking a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) once daily, you should speak with your healthcare provider.

AHS recommends that patients being treated for GERD initiate lifestyle and dietary changes before (or in conjunction with) starting a PPI. However, lifestyle changes for GERD are often spoken about casually, with most of the emphasis given to medications, like PPIs. This is unfortunate because when PPIs are combined with lifestyle or non-pharmacological therapies there may be a greater chance of symptoms improving. 

This has been observed in clinical trials. Patients treated for GERD with a PPI plus lifestyle interventions had a greater rate of symptom remission compared to treatment with PPI alone. Additionally, “adherence to an antireflux lifestyle, even among regular users of PPIs …, was associated with a decreased risk of GERD symptoms and may prevent nearly 40% of GERD symptoms that occur at least weekly.” 

Though these two studies are different, they highlight how pairing lifestyle changes with proton pump inhibitors can have a greater impact on GERD symptoms than just a proton pump inhibitors alone.

In short, lifestyle and dietary interventions can improve treatment efficacy for the management of GERD.

If you have questions about using lifestyle and dietary interventions to improve your current treatment for GERD make a free 15 minute appointment to learn more.