When you have heartburn, you need to stay away from certain heartburn foods. This will ensure that your body will stay healthy and keep the acid in your stomach at a safe level. If you eat a lot of citrus fruits and tomato, you might experience heartburn during the day. Most of these foods can be avoided if you know what causes your acid reflux. Some of these are:
– Citrus fruits cause a burning sensation in the throat and the esophagus. Try not to lie down immediately after taking citrus fruits. It is best to keep your neck and your head elevated when eating citrus fruits.
– Eating tomatoes or tomato paste will trigger heartburn as well. Tomatoes contain acid and can upset the stomach. As a result, your esophagus will become irritated and you will feel pain in your chest as well. If this happens often, you should avoid tomatoes and tomato products. You will probably end up with heartburn even if you only eat small amounts of it.
– Milk, yogurt, and cottage cheese can also trigger heartburn. The fat content in these dairy items relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter, which results to an increased acid level. When the LES is not working properly, stomach acid will go up and into the esophagus instead. This will make you prone to having heartburn frequently. If you have this problem, make sure you drink plenty of fluids every time to help keep your esophagus from being damaged.
– Spicy food can also trigger heartburn. If you love spicy food, avoid having it more than three times per week. Many people say that spicy dishes can help with digestion. However, it may damage the esophagus lining or may not even be healthy for you to have at all. Try to avoid having it as much as possible.
These heartburn foods that you can eat are limited to three times a week. However, there are other foods that can also trigger heartburn such as garlic and onions. If you have these types of foods regularly, you should limit your consumption to two or three times a week at the most. This should help you with your condition.
Another thing that you can do to lower the risk of having this condition is to increase the amount of fluids that you consume. The best way to do this is to add lemon water to your diet. Lemon has a lot of acid in it and can help to neutralize the acid in your stomach. Although it can’t stop heartburn from happening, it can help to relieve symptoms and to prevent them from happening.
Peppermint is another great remedy. It contains menthol which a chemical that can relax the LES, the muscle at the bottom of the stomach. As the muscle relaxes, it lowers the stomach acid to an acceptable level and decreases the pain that you feel. This is very effective when it comes to heartburn and keeping it under control.