Re: Hiatal Hernia
small meals 5x a day would be great. Massage, especially by using a tennis ball, of the entire abdomen area is great.
The stomach will lose its shape and positioning when the colon and small intestine get out of place. Prolapsed colon is one of the main factors in certain kinds of hernias. Constipation will cause prolapsed colon. It helps to read the material by Dr. Jensen on this site - see the Bowel Management post in the FAQ, then use the links within that post to get to the prolapsed colon post and dr. Jensen's book online.
Definitely keep to a very safe diet. Like was already said, things like tomato sauce or chili are a huge no-no. You need mostly cooked, warm, bland, altho the Kichadi is probably okay and a bit of salad is fine. You should also have at least one day a week where you accent fruit of all kinds (limit bananas however), as most fruit is VERY easy to digest and moves very quickly, thus giving our digestive systems and intestines a break almost as good as a fast. Sometimes I'll just have a huge mango for dinner. :) Yum! Don't ever mix tropical fruits or melons with other types of foods, however. Fruit should be a meal by itself. Apples, pears and berries tend to mix okay, but the rest, nope.
hope that helps! :)