Eating Well
Managing acid reflux disease doesn’t have to be about denying yourself. There
are ways to work around acid reflux disease and still enjoy some of the foods
you love.
Learn about trigger foods
Reintroduce favorite foods slowly
Consider meal timing and size
Learn about trigger foods
Here’s the story on some common heartburn triggers that may—or may not—affect
you. Of course, it’s best to avoid the foods that bother you.
High-fat foods tend to relax the lower esophageal
sphincter (LES) muscle, which usually stays tight to keep acid in the stomach
and out of the esophagus. Also, foods with higher fat content digest more
slowly; this leaves food and acid in the stomach much longer, increasing your
chances of experiencing heartburn.
Tomatoes, citrus fruits, and onions are acidic and
trigger heartburn in some people.
Mint, long thought to aid in digestion, tends to
stimulate reflux in people with acid reflux disease.
Alcoholic drinks can damage the lining of the
esophagus and the stomach. And fermented beverages, like wine and beer, also
can increase the production of stomach acid.
Caffeinated drinks—including coffees, teas, sodas,
and even hot chocolate—are a problem for some people with acid reflux disease.
Even decaffeinated coffee, although better than
regular coffee, is still acidic and can aggravate heartburn.
Sodas, even if caffeine-free, can trigger heartburn
because they are carbonated.
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Reintroduce favorite foods slowly
If you’ve avoided some favorite foods because they triggered heartburn—but want
to try some of them again—you may be able to welcome them back, but proceed
with caution.
Follow these 4 steps:
-
Reintroduce one trigger food at a time.
If both tomato juice and orange juice caused you problems, try just one. Hold
off on the other until you see how you respond to the first.
-
Try the trigger food in small amounts.
If you tolerate it well, you can gradually increase the amount.
-
Try that food at different times of day. A food
that triggered heartburn when eaten in the morning may have no effect if eaten
later in the day.
-
Keep a record of your results. Jot down the food,
amount, eating times, and your body’s response. See what conclusion you can
draw about the food item.
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Consider meal timing and size
-
Eat your last evening meal or snack at least 3 hours before bedtime.
Most of the food in your stomach is digested within 3 hours. Once food is
digested, it cannot back up into your esophagus when you lie down
-
Have smaller meals. Eating large meals creates
pressure in your stomach. This pressure can force acid from the stomach into
your esophagus, causing heartburn or other acid reflux disease symptoms
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Next: Weight and Acid Reflux Disease