Acid reflux is an increasingly prevalent issue that may stem from multiple causes. Certain foods, however, have the ability to trigger or worsen your symptoms and should be avoided at all costs.
Keep track of everything you eat and drink to gain insight into what may be contributing to acid reflux, in order to identify which foods should be avoided in order to manage your condition more effectively.
1. Fatty Foods
An excessively fat-rich diet may exacerbate acid reflux symptoms. Thankfully, there are numerous foods without fat that you can incorporate into your diet to alleviate heartburn and acid reflux symptoms.
Assuring you eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables is also key for improving reflux symptoms. When selecting meals like burgers, pizza and chips with lower levels of saturated fat content. This will also reduce inflammation.
Vegetables that contain high water contents, like spinach, celery and cucumber, can help restore equilibrium to your body’s pH levels and therefore can aid in controlling GERD symptoms. Other foods to consider are high fiber complex carbohydrates and low-fat proteins like chicken, turkey, fish and egg whites.
An essential aspect of a successful GERD diet is eating regularly at regular intervals. This helps avoid food sitting in your stomach after lying down, and worsening symptoms.
An effective way to identify your triggers is keeping a food log and tracking any symptoms that appear after eating certain items. This will give you an accurate picture of how what you eat impacts your health, which can lead to healthier lifestyle decisions and choices.
Fatty foods such as fried foods, fatty cuts of meat, cheeses, cream sauces and other dairy products can all contribute to an increase in acid production, worsening reflux symptoms. To minimize your consumption of greasy foods and help ease symptoms faster, choose low-fat options like lean grilled or baked fish, poultry and low-fat meats like ground beef and pork for your meals.
If you are having difficulty managing GERD symptoms, consult with your physician on ways you can take action to improve your digestive health and return to an active life. A combination of diet, lifestyle modifications and medical treatments may be needed to alleviate and manage them effectively.
2. Spicy Foods
Spicy foods can exacerbate acid reflux by increasing the chance that food in your stomach will come up into your esophagus and backflow, due to capsaicin’s slow digestion properties and increasing your chances of acid reflux.
Spicy foods are especially problematic for people suffering from acid reflux disease (GERD), as their spicy flavors can irritate your esophagus and trigger inflammation, exacerbating symptoms associated with acid reflux.
Avoid acid reflux by eating slowly. Studies have demonstrated that eating too quickly or continuing to eat after you feel satisfied can aggravate acid reflux symptoms.
At night or after a heavy meal, it’s wise to avoid eating late as this puts unnecessary pressure on the lower esophageal sphincter muscle and can encourage acid to travel up into your esophagus.
If spicy foods are necessary, consider making them yourself with milder spices and adding coconut milk for additional flavor and reduced heat.
Chewing gum after eating spicy foods may help relieve heartburn by stimulating salivation, relaxing the esophageal sphincter and allowing more food into your stomach more quickly.
Low-fat dairy products like yogurt can also help neutralize stomach acids and ease symptoms. Calcium present in these dairy products causes the upper esophageal sphincter to close, helping prevent acid from backflowing into your esophagus. Be wary, however, when choosing full-fat versions as these may exacerbate acid reflux symptoms.
3. Caffeine
If you suffer from acid reflux, caffeine should be restricted or avoided altogether as its stimulant properties could aggravate symptoms further. Caffeine acts on the central nervous system to increase nerve activity which in turn worsens symptoms of acid reflux.
Caffeine, an alkaloid chemical compound found naturally in many plants such as coffee and tea, is also added to medicines and beverages such as energy drinks and sodas.
Too much caffeine consumption can result in symptoms including jitters, palpitations and an elevated heart rate – this could potentially be dangerous.
Small amounts of caffeine may be safe for most adults, but too much caffeine consumption may be harmful. Pregnant and breastfeeding women should particularly limit their caffeine consumption to avoid any potential risks during gestation or lactation.
Caffeine can also be harmful for children and teens. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, they should avoid caffeine and any stimulant medication.
Remember, caffeine can be highly addictive. People addicted to caffeine may become anxious and irritable, as well as more likely to binge on high-calorie food and beverages.
Overeating and weight gain can become a vicious cycle that eventually triggers symptoms of acid reflux disease.
At present, moderate coffee and tea consumption (up to two cups per day) does not typically lead to any negative side effects for those suffering from acid reflux symptoms.
If your coffee may be causing issues for you, switch to decaf. Additionally, it’s wise to drink water alongside it since dehydration can exacerbate stomach conditions.
Avoiding common causes of acid reflux is key to combatting GERD symptoms, including eating fatty and spicy foods and drinking alcohol. To do this, simply avoid these habits as much as possible.
4. Alcohol
Alcohol can pose many difficulties to those suffering from acid reflux, but its main negative impact lies in relaxing the lower oesophageal sphincter (LES), allowing food and acidic liquids to travel back up into the esophagus and cause reflux symptoms.
Alcohol can also impair your immunity and leave you more susceptible to illness as it prevents your body from producing enough white blood cells to fight infection.
Alcohol has a depressant effect on your central nervous system, leading to slurred speech, unsteady movement, disturbed perceptions and distorted judgement.
If you have problems with alcohol, it’s essential that you seek support and advice from health professionals. They can provide invaluable guidance in regards to cutting back or ceasing altogether.
Maintain a two-week food and beverage diary to help identify common triggers that might be contributing to your symptoms. This may allow you to pinpoint potential culprits more effectively.
Food diaries can also help you identify patterns and behaviors that trigger acid reflux, like eating large meals before going to sleep without snacking; this could be one of the telltale signs that acid reflux has set in.
Fatty and spicy foods may also contribute to reflux symptoms by slowing digestion and increasing stomach acid production.
Prior to bedtime, it is beneficial to consume smaller meals more frequently rather than large ones in order to prevent acid reflux and heartburn.
Consuming alcohol can pose significant health risks, including liver disease and cancer. It also has been linked to heart problems, strokes and high blood pressure; and may even contribute to serious birth defects in babies.
5. Carbonated Drinks
Carbonated beverages like sodas, energy drinks, and juices may worsen acid reflux symptoms by relaxing the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), allowing stomach acid to leak back up into the esophagus causing heartburn or regurgitation. Caffeine can further contribute to this problem by relaxing this muscle.
Alcohol can further exacerbate acid reflux symptoms by stimulating stomach acid production and relaxing the LES. Furthermore, alcohol damages mucus in the stomach lining which makes it weaker and more vulnerable to irritation from stomach acid.
Fry foods, which can be difficult to digest, can aggravate reflux symptoms and be consumed shortly after meals, making it harder for food to remain in your stomach for enough time so as to not travel back up your esophagus.
Water can help your stomach digest food more effectively, while diluting its pH for meals that may be particularly acidic.
Fruits and vegetables contain low acid levels and provide fiber, both of which may help lower stomach acid levels. Bananas are particularly good as their low acidity content moves easily through your digestive tract.
Kefir, a fermented yogurt drink containing probiotic cultures that may aid in improving digestion, is another great solution for people suffering from GERD.
Decaffeinated herbal teas can also be beneficial, helping to lower stomach acid production. Look for teas containing chamomile, ginger root or lavender as these will offer optimal benefits.
Note: Although acid reflux and certain beverages have an association, it isn’t consistent; therefore, it is wise to assess your individual response to various beverages and eliminate those which exacerbate your condition. It may take time and trial-and-error before finding beverages which suit you best; following these guidelines can help decrease reflux symptoms while effectively managing GERD.
