GERD and fructooligosaccharides

Another consideration for GERD via Whole Health Source: fermentable carbs, specifically fructooligosaccharides (FOS) might make it worse. It makes sense- colonic fermentation seems to play a huge role in digestive disorders. A low fermentative diet, the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, has long been used for inflammatory bowl disease. It's funny because fiber-rich vegetables and grains are often suggested for GERD patients, but this study shows they just make everything worse. Foods high in FOS include bananas, onions, chicory root, garlic, asparagus, barley, wheat, jícama, tomatoes, and leeks. Most of those foods I never eat- it's interesting that most weren't encountered by humans until the neolithic, except the alliums, but wild alliums are very small. Others, like garlic, I find are OK as long as they are cooked very well. FOS is sometimes added to foods like kefir to make them "prebiotic," which is unforunate because it's clear they can feed both good and bad bacteria. This article sums up the concerns:

6. Since Inulin/FOS is found in natural foods it must be okay, right?

Wrong. Sucrose (table sugar) is naturally found in beets, sugar cane, oranges, and other plants. Humans have perverted this naturally occurring substance into a refined chemical. Sucrose is arguably one of the most unhealthy food additives in human history. We should learn from our experiences with sucrose and apply them to Inulin/FOS. Instead of adding refined, super concentrated Inulin/FOS to your food, eat the foods that naturally contain Inulin/FOS.

The body is genetically adapted to certain foods and if we continue to mess with our food chain then our health will suffer the consequences. Of the nutritional fibers, cellulose was the most likely to be included in a traditional hunter-gatherer diet. Cellulose is an insoluble fiber that is slowly fermented by the microbial population in the human colon. Inulin/FOS is a soluble fiber that is quickly and easily fermented. The difference between cellulose (a food we are adapted to) and Inulin/FOS (a food we are not adapted to) is like the difference between a slow burning ember and a raging fire. Who likes playing with fire?

To help clear my GERD, I followed a very low carb diet. I wonder if that diet stopped feeding the bad bacteria and allowed my bacteria to normalize. There is really no way of knowing, but it's clear the fiber isn't a great solution for GERD.

Foods that are already fermented, like kimchi and pickles, may be less of a problem because most what can be fermented has probably already been consumed by bacteria. Furthermore, they provide beneficial bacteria. You shouldn't have to risk feeling baddies to heal your gut.