Acid Update

Since starting on the acid-refluc-reduction regimen, my breathing has improved. It's not back to "normal" yet, but compared to needing 2 or 3 full doses of my inhaler each day, it's pretty close. Amusing but welcome side effect: I think I'm losing some fat as well. I've followed the recommendations here for the most part, as they're based on a fairly recent study.

So I've got the head of my bed elevated and I've been taking naps in the recliner instead of on the couch. I've switched my major meal to noon and made sure to get my smaller dinner eaten by 7:00 pm (preferably by 6:30 pm), with no food between then and bedtime. I'm pretty sure I've decreased the total amount I've been eating as a result. My evening meal is roughly half the size that it was, while my noon meal isn't a whole lot bigger than it was. I'm not really doing the "frequent small meals" thing, mainly because my hunger cycles don't work that way.

Oh, I've also started adding more yoga and qigong to my daily practice sessions. So it's the ol' "decrease calories, increase activity" "miracle cure." ^/^ Now the only question is whether I can maintain some semblance of this schedule once school starts again and I'm teaching evening classes. That's what got my meal schedule out of whack in the first place. *sighs*

Random sidetrack: You'll find lots and lots of "foods to avoid" for acid reflux, but the recent study found no consistent correlation between any of those foods and acid reflux symptoms. So any triggers are particular to the individual, not ones that you can really find on a list. I have determined that ice cream does not agree with my body. My mind is fond of it. My mouth rather likes the taste. My body ... gets sluggish, and wants more food after consuming anything with ice cream in it. So that one's a no-go for me. Amusingly, it's one that's on most of the AR lists, and also something that Deng Ming Dao recommends avoiding as part of a healthy, "Taoist" diet.