What lifestyle should be adopted to complement GERD treatment?

  Lifestyle adjustments: Live a regular life, eat and rest on time, avoid lying down immediately after eating, and avoid eating 3 hours before bedtime to reduce gastric acid secretion and brief LES relaxation during sleep.  Raise the head of the bed about 10-15cm during sleep, change bad sleeping posture, reduce reflux caused by body position, and ensure sufficient sleep time and sleep quality.  Avoid excessive bending, wearing tight clothes and pants, tying the belt too tightly, otherwise it will cause the abdominal pressure to increase; obese people should actively exercise to reduce weight; when symptoms such as heartburn, acid reflux and chest pain occur, drink a little warm boiled water to flush the cauterized esophageal mucosa and reduce mucosal damage; avoid eating too cold, too hard and too salty food, and chew and swallow slowly when eating.  Encourage patients to chew gum appropriately to improve esophageal clearance function through normal swallowing action, increase saliva secretion to stimulate swallowing function, and coordinate the motor function of esophagus.  Try to avoid drugs that promote reflux or mucosal damage, such as anticholinergic drugs, diazepam, narcotics and adrenergic agonists.  Diet regimen: Eat regularly, three meals should be timed, irregular diet will certainly disrupt the normal esophageal and gastrointestinal motility.  Diet should be mainly high-fiber, low-fat food, reduce fat intake, because fat can delay gastric emptying, stimulate the contraction and secretion of the gallbladder, and reduce the pressure of the esophageal sphincter.  It is advisable to eat fresh vegetables and a variety of fruits (non-acidic fruits are better) to increase the intake of multivitamins; protein intake will stimulate gastrin secretion, which can increase the pressure of esophageal sphincter, so you can increase some proteins, such as lean meat, milk, soy products, egg whites, etc.  Diet should be less stimulating, cooking with less spices, such as chili, curry, pepper, garlic, mint, etc. Avoid tobacco, alcohol, coffee, strong tea, cola, chocolate and other foods that may cause the lower esophageal sphincter to decrease in tension.  Excessive diet will increase the burden on the stomach, slow down gastric emptying, increase gastric pressure, and make it easier for food to reflux into the esophagus, causing heartburn, acid reflux, belching, gastric distention and other discomforts.  Medication compliance: GERD is a chronic disease, and symptoms can recur after curing and stopping medication, so most patients need to receive long-term medication maintenance treatment. For patients with reflux symptoms but not associated with esophagitis can take the maintenance treatment on demand, that is, take medication when symptoms occur, and stop when they improve, so as to maintain good health status, but also to reduce the use of drugs. The most common drugs used in clinical practice are gastrokinetic drugs and proton pump inhibitors, which generally require 6 to 8 weeks of regular treatment, followed by low-dose maintenance therapy. At the same time, avoid the use of beta-agonists, alpha-blockers, anticholinergics, calcium channel blockers and other drugs that can reduce the pressure of the lower esophageal sphincter.