Today I begin what will likely be a few months of introducing foods that I have previously been excluding, as per the GERD Elimination diet.
I am taking reintroduction advice from the same source as the starting diet, which recommends having 2-3 servings of the food you’re introducing for two days in a row, followed by two days without that food. After these four days, if there are no issues, you can move on to the next food.
During this time, you should observe any changes in how you feel, which may include:
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Gas/bloating
- Abdominal pain
- Headache
- Muscle/joint pain
- Skin irritations/breakouts
- Nasal/chest congestion
- Major changes in kidney/bladder function
- Major changes in energy level
If you do not experience any of these during the two days eating the reintroduced food or during the two day observation period, then you can keep it in your diet. I’m going to include heartburn here too, even though it wasn’t on the original list.
If you do have a reaction of some kind, you need to wait for all symptoms to disappear before moving on to the next food. You can always try foods again later if you have a reaction the first time, but you should talk to your doctor if you fail a second time (or if you have a really bad reaction the first time).
I personally think it might be a little hard to gauge if I’m feeling some of the above. I mean, I’m always pretty anxious and my muscles are usually at least a little sore from working out! We’ll see I guess.
Food Groups to Reintroduce
Here is a table (source) which I will loosely follow to determine how much of each food I’ll eat on my reintroduction days. Not every food is included, such as pork and beef, but it’s a good place to start.
| Group | Challenge Food | Average Portion Size |
| Barley, Rye | Cooked barley, rye cereal, rye crackers | 1/3 cup, 3 oz. |
| Citrus | Oranges, orange juice | 1 medium orange, 8 oz. juice |
| Corn | Fresh or frozen corn kernels | 1/2 cup, 1 small cob |
| Dairy | Milk (skin, 1%, 2%, or whole milk), any whole milk cheese with no additives | 1 cup, 1 oz. |
| Eggs | Egg whites, scrambled; egg yolks, scrambled | 1 egg white, 1 egg yolk |
| Nightshades | Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplant, goji | 1 small or 1/2 cup |
| Peanuts | Raw or dry roasted peanuts, peanut butter made of 100% peanuts only | 1/4 cup 1 tablespoon |
| Soy | Edamame, soy milk, tofu, tempeh | 1/2 cup, 1 cup, 1/2 cup |
| Wheat/Gluten | 100% whole wheat cereal or 100% whole wheat noodles | 1 cup |
| Caffeine | Green tea, black tea, coffee | 1 cup |
| Refined Sugars | Chocolate, etc. | 1 oz. |
It is important to note that these foods should be in as pure a form as possible, without any additives–particularly if those additives are from another group you haven’t successfully reintroduced yet. I’m thinking of soy sauce which, obviously, has soy, but also wheat. Soy sauce is the only soy product I’m really interested in eating so I’m planning on reintroducing it after wheat.
Reintroduction Order
The order you reintroduce foods does not really matter, so you can go ahead and start with what you miss most. I’m sort of doing that, but also trying to be cautious with the major GERD triggers, such as acidic or spicy food, caffeine and alcohol.
As such, I’ll reintroduce all or at least most non-GERD trigger foods first. I’m pretty much dying to include onion and garlic again, but I’m also a little scared of them.
Eggs are definitely what I have missed most, as I used to eat two every day. I’m starting with them, followed by potatoes, because they will be easy to incorporate into my current diet and I love them too. I’m not counting potatoes in the same group as tomatoes or peppers though; even though they’re all nightshades the latter two are acidic and could pose problems even if the potatoes do not.
Then it will probably be wheat in the form of homemade sour dough bread, and dairy in the form of milk or cheese. I have read that some people with GERD do have problems with dairy, but it’s not always every form. Some can eat cheese but not milk for example. So I’ll try both separately.
I’m hoping for no reactions so that I can get back to a normal (or mostly normal) diet as soon as possible!
My Food Journey 