So many pro football players have had to contend with gastrointestinal reflux disorder (GERD) that you could call their playing field a GERD-iron.

But both the Denver Broncos' John Elway and the Green Bay Packers' Brett Favre, who suffered mightily during their quarterbacking days, now know how lifestyle changes can help keep GERD under control.

A research letter in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine agrees. The researchers found that people who had GERD at least once a week (even those taking medication for it) and adhered to an anti-reflux lifestyle enjoyed a 40% reduction in symptoms.

The study identified lifestyle factors that can provide relief from GERD-related nausea, burning pain, sore throat, hoarseness, burping, chest pain, and more:

• Not smoking

• Getting more than 30 minutes a day of brisk walking 

• Having less than two cups of coffee, tea and/or soda daily

• Maintaining a healthy weight (body mass index of 18.4-24.9)

• Eating a diet low in saturated fats, with fat calories even from healthy fats limited to 15%-30% of daily calories, with no junk or ultraprocessed foods, a moderate intake of alcohol and salt, and lots of high-fiber veggies and fruit.

If you're one of the up to 99 million Americans with GERD, get back in the game by talking to your doctor about the symptoms, asking about the benefits of short-term use of medication (it’s not for extended use), and adopting a lifestyle that'll let you score big points against GERD.