Certain lifestyle modifications can be helpful in preventing or reducing the symptoms of GERD. Fatty meals slow down gastric (stomach) emptying and, therefore, predispose to distention (expansion or swelling of the abdomen) and reflux (stomach contents flowing backward into the esophagus). An increase in the fat content of meals may be an important factor in explaining the increase of reflux in the western world in recent years. (more…)

Ten years ago, when she was a teen-ager living in San Diego, Susan (not her real name) planned to go out with friends when she finished her shift at a local gift shop. On her way out, she bought a cookie at a nearby store. By the time she met her friends outside, her tongue and throat had swollen up and she could barely breathe.

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