Foods To Avoid With Acid Reflux: Heartburn’s Heavy Hitters

Heartburn triggers are different for each person, but the following is a quick list of foods to avoid with acid reflux issues. Everyone is different and what may give heartburn relief to one person may trigger acid reflux symptoms in another. As the heartburn controversy continues we are learning more and more about acid reflux and GERD and have collected many triggers that most sufferers swear by.

Taking antacids or a pill like Nexium can cause immediate relief, but it’s important to not rely on medicine for the remainder of your life.  A bad diet is a bad diet-and in some cases your heartburn medication may be hiding a larger issue.  As always, check with your doctor but keep an eye open to natural heartburn remedies.

Avoiding some of these foods could just be the natural remedy you have been looking for.

Foods To Avoid With Acid Reflux

Foods to avoid: Fatty Foods – Any food that contains a high-fat content such as fried chicken, potato chips, snack cakes and processed meats like sausage should be avoided. You don’t need to entirely eliminate them, but be aware that fatty foods can cause the lower esophageal sphincter muscle (LES) to relax, allowing more acid back up into the throat.

 

Foods to avoid: Alcohol – Alcohol has been long known to damage the lining of the esophagus over time-and contributes to a higher chance of esophageal cancer. This damage to the esophagus will only make heartburn worse, and drinks that are fermented like beer or wine stimulate acid production.

Heavy alcohol abuse damages the salivary glands and interrupts saliva secretion, which is your bodies’ best defense against heartburn. Limit your alcohol intake if severe heartburn occurs.

 

Foods to avoid: Caffeine – Coffee, soda, tea, etc. Any beverage with caffeine has also been shown to cause the relaxation of the LES, leading to more potentially more heartburn. Being carbonated, even caffeine-free sodas could potentially lead to more GERD symptoms.

Getting off caffeine may have short term side effects such as headaches, but these are generally short-lived.  Chocolate many times makes the list of bad heartburn foods but it may just be due to the high quantity of caffeine that chocolate contains.

 

Foods to avoid: Highly Acidic Foods – Foods such as tomatoes, oranges, onions, etc. can lead to an increase in heartburn in some sufferers. That’s the easy list. The ones you might not suspect which also have a high pH are corn, olives, canned fruits, squash and several types of beans.

Not all foods to avoid with acid reflux are themselves high in acidity, however.  Some may trigger more acid production or delay digestion so the food remains in the stomach for longer periods of time.  A full stomach can be a reason for heartburn flareup.

Foods to avoid: Processed wheat products – Baked goods made with processed flours are generally high in acidity and can trigger high acid levels in the gut. This includes most of your “white carbs” such as bread, biscuits, pastries and crackers.  As processed flours make the bad list on several diets, eliminating white carbs has several benefits over and above a heartburn remedy.

Foods to avoid: Dairy – Most dairy products like butter, cream, cheese, milk and yogurt have a high-acid content.  The
high fat content can also be the trigger as shown above.

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