A hot burning in the chest, a bitter taste in the throat, gassy bloating in the stomach
– heartburn is no picnic.
Getting heartburn once in a while isn't unusual, but some people suffer from burning discomfort,
bloating and belching almost every time they eat.
Did you know that about 20% of Americans experience heartburn symptoms at least once every week
while 10% feel it everyday?
Hi viewers and welcome back to Bestie!
Acid reflux occurs when acids from your stomach enter the throat.
Common causes of heartburn include being overweight, being pregnant, or having gastroesophageal
reflux disease known as GERD.
But the main culprit for this problem is food.
A number of different foods and beverages can trigger heartburn.
And in today’s video, we will tell you what they are.
From caffeine, mint, chocolate, fatty meats to milk and more, watch till the end to learn
about all of them.
Onions: Ah yes, we know that painful, stinky onion burp from hell all too well.
Onions, while nutritious, contain a fermentable fiber , which has been known to increase reflux.
One study compared people’s symptoms after eating a burger with raw onions compared to
one without.
They found that the onion-eaters had significantly more heartburn.
Can’t imagine a burger without onions?
We hear you.
Just make sure to cook them well to break down those tough-on-the-gut fibers.
Would you ever give up onions if they caused you trouble?
What would you replace it with?
Tell us quickly down below in the comments section!
Alcohol: All forms of alcohol — including beer, wine, and spirits can have negative
effects on people with heartburn issues.
Alcohol affects all parts of your body, including your digestive system.
Drinking it can inflame and irritate the stomach.
It also impairs the functioning of your esophageal sphincter, which keeps food and secretions
from going down your windpipe and the stomach acids from coming up.
Although alcohol may not directly cause heartburn, it can definitely aggravate your symptoms.
If you do choose to drink alcohol while dealing with acid reflux, it’s best to limit yourself
to one drink at a time and to avoid drinking right before going to bed.
That’s because you are more likely to experience acid reflux during the night.
Spicy Foods: Any food that is spicy has long been considered a heartburn trigger.
The spiciness in most fiery dishes, whether it’s extra hot salsa at a Mexican restaurant
or your favorite Thai curry, comes from a compound called capsaicin.
This compound has been shown to slow the rate of digestion, causing food to sit in your
stomach longer.
This increases your chances of acid reflux.
The hotness of capsaicin can also irritate your esophagus, aggravating any heartburn
symptoms you may already be experiencing.
Contrary to this, a study found that eating spicy foods regularly may not produce the
same effects as eating it only on occasion.
It even went so far as to suggest that eating spicy foods on a regular basis can actually
improve your heartburn symptoms, rather than worsen them.
Everyone is unique and while spicy food may bother others, it may not bother you.
When deciding what foods to avoid, it’s important to pay attention to how your body
feels in response before cutting something out.
Large Meals: A big greasy burger and supersized serving of fries right before bedtime is a
good way to fuel the flame of heartburn.
Fatty foods, large portions, and late-night meals are the top three triggers that affect
many people with heartburn.
This problem is most common after eating a large meal.
A belly full of too much food stretches the stomach, causing you to feel stuffed.
Stomach stretching puts pressure on the ring of the muscle that keeps stomach acids from
moving in the wrong direction.
So juices from your last meal may come back to haunt you.
This can happen when eating large amounts of any food, not just foods known to trigger
your heartburn symptoms.
Volume of food is not the only problem that can increase the risk of developing heartburn.
Eating on the run like grabbing fast food, eating it quickly, then going on to work or
other activities increases its risk as well.
To decrease the risk, slow down and eat casually.
Mint: Mints like peppermint and spearmint are often thought to soothe digestive conditions.
However, there is some evidence that these may cause heartburn.
One study found that high doses of spearmint were linked with acid reflux symptoms.
Surprisingly, spearmint did not relax the lower esophageal sphincter.
Instead, researchers believe that it may cause heartburn by irritating the lining of the
esophagus.
Another study found that those who drank peppermint tea daily had twice the risk of heartburn.
If you feel that mint makes your heartburn worse, then it’s best to avoid it.
Chocolate: Chocolate may taste heavenly, but it could prove to be quite a culprit when
it comes to your tummy.
In fact, there are three reasons that make chocolate a bad choice for people with heartburn.
First, it contains caffeine and other stimulants like theobromine that cause reflux.
Second, it is high in fat content, which also causes acidity and third is its excess cocoa
content which is also responsible for promoting reflux.
We aren't asking you to stop eating chocolates, but limit the quantity in order to avoid complications.
Jam and Jelly: Peanut butter jelly time is no longer a time of utter enjoyment for those
who battle with acid reflux.
Jelly, along with jam, ranks at the top of extremely acid-forming foods, weighing in
with a pH of 5.5.
In place of spreading that sugar-laden jelly across your peanut butter, throw in some slices
of an alkalizing fruit such as bananas and/or strawberries.
This will make sure that the pH of the sandwich is less acidic with an alkaline fruit.
Strawberries, too, can be quite acid-producing.
So skipping the strawberries—in jam or berry form—can keep heartburn at bay.
Tomatoes: Tomatoes and tomato products are packed with malic and citric acid, both which
can make the stomach produce too much gastric acid.
They can make your gastric acid levels rise high enough to make it force back up the esophagus.
Cooking tomatoes won’t reduce the acidity enough to prevent acid reflux either.
So next time you are making pizza sauce, try whipping up some fresh pesto instead, and
try to limit or eliminate tomatoes from your diet.
Citrus Fruits: Eliminating or cutting back on citrus fruits are a must if you want relief
from heartburn.
This is because oranges, grapefruit, lemons, and other citrus fruits are acidic and can
aggravate acid reflux symptoms due to their low PH content.
If you are really craving something juicy and sweet, reach for pineapple instead.
It contains the digestive enzyme bromelain, which can help digestion.
However, start off small at first with pineapple, as it does contain some potentially reflux-inducing
citric acid.
Caffeine: If you get heartburn from drinking coffee, it's probably from the caffeine.
Caffeine relaxes the lower part of the throat which makes it easier for stomach acids to
travel back up.
Usually, a cup is fine but several of them in a day can trigger heartburn.
The amount of caffeine in coffee varies by brand.
It's usually 100 milligrams to 160 milligrams in 12 ounces of brewed coffee.
Eight ounces of black tea can have up to 80 milligrams.
Soft drinks, energy drinks, snack foods, and ice cream also contain caffeine.
Additionally coffee, which is highly acidic, stimulates your stomach to produce digestive
acids.
This can worsen symptoms of heartburn.
Coffee does much more than just wake you up in the morning.
It has a wide range of health benefits.
Learn what they are by watching this video titled “Drinking Coffee Every Day Does This
To Your Body”
Now back to foods to avoid if you have heartburn.
Salty Snacks: The research on salt and reflux is not really working in our favor.
One study found that people who ate salted foods three times or more each week increased
their risk of heartburn by up to 50 percent.
Risk of acid reflux can increase by as much as 70 percent in people who add salt to their
food, suggesting that we could really stand to take the salt shaker off the table.
Our suggestion?
Skip the sodium and flavor your meals liberally with fresh herbs and spices instead.
Fatty Meats: Keto dieters, take note.
Fat stimulates the release of a particular hormone, which has been shown to relax the
lower throat area and cause reflux.
It can also delay gastric emptying as fat is digested and absorbed slower than other
foods.
This increases the likelihood that stomach acids get up in your business.
One study looked at a wide range of dietary considerations and found that cholesterol,
saturated animal fats, as well as fat, in general, were some of the most likely perceived
culprits of heartburn.
Try working in a few extra meatless meals each week and choosing leaner cuts of meat,
whenever possible.
Bubbly Beverages: Carbonated sodas are not only a common source of caffeine, but they
also play a role in reflux by reducing lower throat pressure.
The result?
Lots of heartburn.
Classy, we know.
One study found that drinking carbonated soda was one of the worst culprits of heartburn
during sleep.
And no one likes to be woken up by acid reflux.
Try cutting back on your soda habit for more reasons than one and choose flat water instead
of bubbly beverages.
Milk: People commonly drink milk to treat heartburn.
However, drinking whole milk may actually cause symptoms, not relieve them.
In fact, research suggests that whole milk may increase stomach acid production, which
is a risk factor for heartburn.
In a study, approximately 38% of the people reported heartburn symptoms after drinking
whole milk.
Researchers from the study suggested that the link between whole milk and heartburn
was related to the fat content of whole milk.
While eating the wrong food is one of the major reasons for heartburn, a bad gut can
also cause this problem.
You can make sure you have a healthy gut by watching:
11 Ways To Clean Gut Bacteria
Or
14 Clear Signs You Have An Unhealthy Gut
These 2 videos will definitely help you get a healthy gut and avoid any digestion issues.
So go ahead and watch one or both for maximum benefits.
What foods tend to give you heartburn?
Are they on our list?
Let us know in the comments section below!