GERD Can Be Cured by Reducing Risk Factors

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — GERD can indeed be cured. Professor of Internal Medicine, Consultant gastroenterology–hepatology at FK UI RSCM, Prof. Dr. Dr. Ari Fahrial Syam SpPD-KGEH says recovery is possible if the causal risk factors are reduced and treatment is completed.

‘The treatment should relieve symptoms and complications; lifestyle changes: if you smoke, quit smoking; if you drink alcohol, quit; weight loss is important; then a low-fat diet. So this must be reduced,’ Ari said at a health discussion on GERD with Primaya Hospital, Thursday (5/3/2026).

Ari said that adopting a healthy lifestyle through proper diet can reduce the severity of GERD. Regular exercise, losing weight to avoid obesity, getting enough sleep, and managing stress also help.

Ari noted that based on his research, the average GERD patient is male with smoking habits, obesity, and age over 40.

However, many children are currently experiencing GERD due to an unhealthy diet, exposure to cheese-containing and chocolate-containing foods since infancy, and the habit of sleeping after meals, which can trigger GERD in children.

‘Overeating chocolate and cheese from a young age, and also the habit of going to sleep immediately after eating. And now children tend to be less active due to gadgets; reduce gadgets, so they need to play in playground often,’ he said.

To assess GERD, typically a gastroenterologist will perform an endoscopy to see how severe the mucosal damage is and to view the gap of the lower esophageal sphincter that prevents stomach acid from rising into the oesophagus.

He said that if patients often experience chest pain and heartburn, a burning sensation in the chest, and repeated vomiting, then endoscopy should be performed to check for possible GERD. Endoscopy is also performed to anticipate the possible appearance of cancer in the intestines due to untreated lesions.

Besides that, treatment with acid-suppressing medication is given but must be taken until GERD is resolved, including new drugs in the P-CAB class Vonoprazan, Tegoprazan and Fexuprazan which give hope to GERD sufferers because of Helicobacter pylori bacteria.

‘Now we are in the era of P-CABs… because around 20 percent of patients treated with the previous drugs fail, so this is hopeful for GERD patients as there are new drugs,’ he said.

Ari noted that GERD can be reduced by intermittent fasting, and by maintaining protein intake.