For GERD, eat more like Japanese people

After eating a fairly traditional Japanese lunch and not experiencing the usual post-meal reflux, I went searching for evidence that a Japanese diet could help with GERD. What I discovered was it's not just what you eat, but how.

I found a very interesting site- the Digestive Health Institute. There was a post on their forums by a user named Pompadur. In it I thought were some really helpful tips:

We talk about a lot of things to improve health at this forum. And here is another one suggestion.
A Japan study “Lifestyle factors affecting gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms: a cross-sectional study of healthy 19864 adults using FSSG scores”finds two important things:

1. Sleep quality is essential for GERD treating (unfortunately i can’t find exact how long one should sleep in the case of GERD)
   It is well-known that nighttime GERD symptoms are the crucial cause of sleep disorders [32,33], but recent studies also suggested that a link between sleep problems and GERD might be bidirectional, for example, due to the influence of sleep stages on esophago-upper esophageal sphincter contractile reflex [34] or due to reinforcing perception of intra-esophageal acid [35]. Therefore, improving quality of sleep might be essential for relieving GERD symptoms.
2. Eating habits – not what you eat, but how you eat!
   Accordingly, such dietary habits as the following should be avoided:
   • having dinner a few hours before going to bed
   • the habit of eating a midnight snack
   • frequently going without breakfast
   • the habit of quick eating.
   It should be noteworthy that these four diet-related factors present more significant effects than alcohol or smoking on GERD symptoms. 

Rather inteeresting, isnt’t it? Maybe it can be helpful…

I think these are very helpful tips.

But what about eating Japanese? The struggle many of us have with GERD and LPR are related to weight.  Turns out Japanese culture does in fact have something to teach us.

In her book Japanese Women Don't Get Fat or Old, Naomi Moriyama observes that her usual way of eating in Japan kept her slim, and when she moved to the US, her western diet made her gain weight almost instantly.  In Japan, the norm was to not eat out much. But when we think of Japanese cuisine, probably some very complex sushi or sashimi comes to mind. But in fact, Japanese home cooking is often uncomplicated, consisting of fish and rice and fruit, served with miso soup and green tea- all wonderful for both GERD and general health. The Japanese also eat smaller portions- the "80% full" rule comes from Japan- and exercise in the form of biking, walking and gardening are important parts of daily life in Japan.

So if you are looking for guides for better living to help with GERD, traditional Japanese culture might be a great model.