If you need some relief from acid reflux, you should focus on Foods to Avoid for Acid Reflux as it plays a vital role. Although heartburn cause could vary from individual to individual, there are certain types of food and drinks which are likely to allow stomach acid to release into esophagus. The stomach acids which is released into esophagus spoils the lining and could even cause a long lasting damage.
Tight and painful feeling in the chest is one of the common symptom of heartburn. If heartburn lasts long it may be a condition called acid reflux or GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). Losing weight, quitting smoking, and sleeping on time can help to decrease the risk of acid reflux.
Eat smaller portions of meals a day, suppose if you eat three times meals a day divide then into 4 to 6 parts. Eating till your stomach gets full can cause acid to leak into your esophagus. Keep a diet chart and also a list of foods to avoid for acid reflux. Certain types of foods can cause heartburn symptoms which are connected with acid reflux. Below are some list of bad foods for acid reflux which you should eliminate completely in your daily diet.
List of Foods to Avoid for Acid Reflux/ Foods Bad for Acid Reflux
- Fried Foods: Fried Fatty Foods can be harmful for person suffering from Acid Reflux. As the fried food contains high amount of oil i.e. fat which takes long time to get digested which puts a load on your stomach and esophagus. This increases the risk of causing acid reflux as the stomach stays full for long time. Instead of eating fried food you can grill or poach your meals, this will save calories as well as it will protect you from heartburn.
- Tomatoes: Tomato is a very healthy vegetable but it is one of the bad food for acid reflux. As Tomatoes are high in acid it might lead to upset stomach, and acid reflux. It will be better you avoid Tomatoes in your diet as well as foods which contains tomatoes like pizzas, salsa, and pasta sauce.
- Spicy Food: Spicy Food might affect heartburn from person to person, most of the people suffer from massive heartburn after consuming spicy food. But in some cases some people find spicy food helps in calming their chronic heartburn. Consuming Spicy food affects the acid levels in the stomach which creates hostile environment, thus promotes acid reflux. If after consuming spicy food you trigger heartburn then you should avoid or reduce the heat in your food.
- Mint: Food items containing mint like mind candies and mint tea can cause upset stomach and can make heartburn even worse. The numbing effect present in mint calm down your esophageal sphincter which can release stomach acid attack esophagus. You can replace mint with ginger as it is one of the natural remedy to treat heartburn. Instead of having Mint Tea you can have Ginger Tea to reduce the risk of heartburn overnight.
- Cheese: Cheese contains high fat level which can calm down the stomach and thus delays the digestion. Thus puts pressure on esophageal sphincter and lets the acid release. Avoid fatty cheeses like cream cheese, cheddar, Gouda, stilton, parmesan and cheese sauces.
- Orange: Oranges and other Citrus Fruits are bad for acid reflux due to high acid content which can lead to cause acid reflux. Instead of consuming citrus fruits you can consume apples, berries, bananas, pears and melon.
- Soda: As Soda is high in acids it could cause a severe damage who is suffering from acid reflux. Also the carbon dioxide present in the soda could harm by forcefully opening your esophagus which will release acid. So if you are suffering from acid reflux always avoid carbonated drinks like Soda, colas and fruit flavored beverages which are high in acids.
- Garlic and Onion: Garlic and Onion are main cause for heartburn. For normal person garlic is good for health as well as when their stomach is upset. But for person suffering from acid reflux Garlic and Onion is bad food. So avoid Garlic and Onion.
- Beef: Beef is not harmful in causing heartburn, but Beef is high in fat which can cause acid reflux. Costly cuts like New York strip, porterhouse, filet mignon, T-bone steaks are all high fat cuts of beef. Instead of consuming these expensive cuts which are high in fat you can consume lean cut beef which includes top round, sirloin tip, top sirloin, and eye of round.
- Chocolate: As Chocolate is high in fat it takes long time to digest by our stomach, as well as Chocolate contains caffeine which calms down the esophageal sphincter and releases the acid into stomach. So avoid Chocolate as it is bad food for acid reflux.
- Pepper and Salt: After consuming spicy food it is normal to suffer from heartburn, as spicy food is bad for heartburn and acid reflux. Pepper also comes under spice and you should not consider Pepper as normal spice as it could promote acid reflux. On the other hand salt is another biggest trigger for heartburn. People consuming high amount of salt are on high risk to get heartburn. So it is recommended to eat low sodium salt.
- Coffee: Drinking Coffee can cause heartburn as Coffee is high in acid which can cause acid reflux. Any drinks which contains caffeine can cause heartburn and such drinks should be avoided. Caffeine slows down the esophageal sphincter and releases stomach acid which leads to damage your body.
- Butter: As fatty food are bad for heartburn, Butter is also a fatty food which you should avoid for Acid Reflux. Instead of using butter for frying food you can steam or grill the food. In this way you will avoid butter.
- Candy: Candy is very bad food for acid reflux as candies contains sugar. Avoid food which contains high level of sugar but you can consume natural fruit sugars. On the other hand cadies also contains added vitamin c and other preservative which makes the candies very acidic.