Acid Reflux Foods To Avoid

Having to live with frequent acid reflux is debilitating. It can disrupt your activities of daily living and causes significant pain and much discomfort. Thus, taking steps to prevent this condition is a must.

Acid reflux is most often caused by too little or too much acid in the stomach, and the presence or type of food can influence its onset. Therefore, knowing which kinds of food should be avoided is a definite must for your relief.

Foods that can aggravate your Acid Reflux Symptoms

Hard foods. You’ll need to stop eating any crunchy foods such as nuts, crackers, toast, cookies, breakfast cereals, etc. Crunchy foods make your situation with heartburn worse by scratching your LES. You can help heal this part of your body by eating only solid foods for a couple of days, allowing your LES to rest.

Lower fat and cholesterol intake. Fried or fatty foods are thought to weaken the lower esophageal muscle, which encourages heartburn. Consuming too much bad fats of the bad kind, such those which are used for deep-frying in most fast food establishments, can cause chronic diseases such as cancer, stroke, digestive diseases, or heart disease. As far as GERD is concerned, too much fat can make the gallbladder work harder and weaken the LES, allowing acid to reflux to the esophagus.

As for the bad fats, these are the hydrogenated fats and refined oils such as margarines, most desserts, refined soybean oil, refined sunflower oil, and refined corn oil. You should limit saturated fats such as cheese, lard, meat fat, butter, cream, and mayonnaise.

There are also those which you need, such as Omega 3 fatty-acids, which you can find from fish oils, olive or canola oils. There are also olive oil, flaxseed oil, borage oil, avocadoes, almonds, fish oil, and walnuts.

Reduce intake of spicy food. Most acid-aggregating spices are garlic, chili, curry, black pepper, cloves, and mustard seeds. Some of the least aggravating spices are paprika, cinnamon, sage, and thyme.

Reduce dairy consumption, lactose, and fructose. Dairy products are loaded with hormones and antibiotics which have been injected to the animals. These products can cause allergies, create heavy mucus, and clog your digestive tracts as they become like glue once they enter your bowels. This allergic reaction and mucus build-up can result to digestion problems which promote Candida overgrowth. If you are a great fan of butter, you can have sesame seed butter instead.

Some great alternatives to dairy and milk products are nut milks (sesame, almond) and nut creams (cashew, macadamia). Soy can also be great, but it should be consumed sparingly as it has been linked to the development of thyroid problems. The most important thing to note however, is that milk is very acidic. It increases the production of stomach acid, which can aggravate reflux and lead to many ailments. Alternatives to cow’s milk are goat’s and sheep’s milk. Although this is generally tolerated well by most people, an allergy and elimination test can be done before switching to these products.

Limit chocolate intake. These are big aggravators of heartburn. Although you should eliminate them in your diet, you can still opt for dark chocolate over the regular milk chocolate types if you simply must cave in to your craving. Reduce or eliminate high-sugared or carbonated drinks as well.

Reduce gas-forming foods. The problem with gas, a natural part of the digestion process, is that people with GI disorders may negatively react to even the smallest amounts of gas formation, which can lead to irritable bowel syndrome, and spasm in the esophagus, thus aggravating GERD. Most beans and legumes are known to be highly gas-forming, along with cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli or cabbage. If you plan on eating beans, soak them overnight and cook them slowly to release gas.

Reduce sugar intake. One of Candida’s most favorable foods is sugar. When sugar is consumed, the body also produces other androgenic hormones to metabolize the glucose. These extra androgenic hormones stress the liver and create a hormonal imbalance that can lead to heartburn. Furthermore, the liver converts sugar into long-chain fats that pollute your blood and may encourage Candida overgrowth.

Another damaging effect of sugar is that is promotes a more acidic environment in the body, making it an ideal place for Candida to thrive. It can also put more stress on the gastrointestinal organs. The more stress it gets, the more Candida and more heartburn.

Since you need to eliminate sugary products, you have to stay away from white sugar, sodas, and sweetened fruit drinks. Replace these with molasses or pure raw honey instead.

Refrain from white flour, white and refined rice, as well as puffed or extruded grains. Once grains are stripped off their pulp, they are left with their glue-like stretchy substance that clogs the digestive tract, resulting in toxic build-up, and polluting your blood. This can further aggravate the growth of Candida. As substitutes, you can have brown rice, preferably the organic and long version types, as well as non-gluten whole grains.

Red meat. All meats are acidic, but red meat tops the bill. Which can either be beef or pork, contains very harmful toxins such as uric acid or steroids. These are very hard to digest and can cause lots of digestion problems and allergies, leading to Candida growth and GERD aggravation. Sometimes, red meat can also contain antibiotics or hormones, both of which contribute to the toxicity of the body.

Since you need to eliminate red meat, you can opt for slow-cooked organic meat instead. Make sure you consume them only in small portions at a time. You can also choose organic chicken meat or fish instead.

Avoid processed, preserved, or fermented foods. The more food undergoes processing, preserving, or fermenting, the more acid-forming and toxic it is for the body. Make it a habit to look at the ingredients of the products you buy. This will help you make the right decisions in choosing the kind of food you should eat. Avoid pickles, corn, ready-packed meals, preserved or fermented canned food, and TV dinners.

Alcohol can aggravate acid reflux symptoms by damaging the stomach lining, leading to gastritis, liver problems, diarrhea, Candida overgrowth, malnutrition, irritable bowel syndrome, and reflux esophagitis.

Keep To An Acid Reflux Diet Plan

Now that you know which foods aggravate acid reflux, you are now ready to eliminate them in your diet. Stay true to these rules, and you’ll be eating your way to an acid reflux free life!