Acid Reflux Diet

Acid Reflux Diet

Have you ever been tormented right after eating by horrid pains in your chest? Or bitter tastes in your mouth accompanied by burping that just won’t go away?

Acid reflux is an ailment in which acid or partially digested food from your stomach is propelled upward to the esophagus because the lower esophageal sphincter is unable to contain the acid or food within itself. Symptoms of this disease include heartburn, sour, bitter tastes, difficulty swallowing, and often times, crippling pain in the chest. Acid reflux disease affects both men and women with the same intensity and occurs just as often in one as in the other.

When one is diagnosed with acid reflux, they learn there are several “triggers” that can aggravate and worsen the condition.  Several “triggers” include weight, smoking, stress, but most importantly, diet. Although many doctors and drug companies claim that the most effective way of preventing acid reflux is through expensive and harmful drugs, it has been proven in several studies worldwide that diet is the key to keeping the irritating pain under control.

There are two types of acid reflux diet one could choose to follow. Because reflux is caused primarily by the relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter, foods that tend to loosen the control of this body part should be avoided. Foods of this nature include those that are fried, spicy, or greasy, as well as those that are cream or oil based, such as mayonnaise, salad dressings, dairy products, and chocolate. Caffeinated beverages tend to have the same effect on this sphincter, so these types of drinks should be avoided as well.

Another type of acid reflux diet would be that in which you reduce the amount of acid producing foods consumed.  When there is more acid being held within the stomach, that means there is more acid that is readily available for the organ to eject. This being said, foods that are spicy in nature, or drinks that contain high caffeine, high carbonation, or alcohol should be nixed from ingestion.

However, the simplest way to reduce the acid reflux in your life is to follow the rules of both of these meal plans, in order to lessen the possibility this condition may flare up.

Acid reflux is also affected by meal sizes. In a study, it was shown that those who consumed larger meals tended to have a higher occurrence and severity of pain in the esophagus. This is because the larger the meal, the more food there is to be broken down by the acid in the stomach, and more gastric pressure as a byproduct.