Medical Questions » Diet Questions » Question No. 266
| Question: | Would you please provide information on the use of a sensible diet to control hiatus hernia? |
| Answer: | A hiatus hernia occurs when part of the stomach slips up into the chest cavity. Most patients experience heartburn, indigestion, burping and a bitter taste in the mouth.
No specific foods are absolutely forbidden, as each patient will learn by experience if any particular food worsens their symptoms, and these should obviously be avoided. On the other hand, when it comes to drink, alcohol almost always worsens the symptoms of a hiatus hernia, and it should be drunk only in moderation and with a meal, if at all.
The most important part of a diet for hiatus hernia is not what you eat but how you eat it. Small frequent meals are better than large infrequent ones. You should eat slowly, chew food thoroughly, and sip a drink (non-alcoholic is of course best) after every few mouthfuls. Overfilling the stomach with rapid eating of large meals is almost guaranteed to make any hiatus hernia worse.
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