Foods to avoid with acid reflux

Introduction to Acid Reflux

Acid reflux is the condition that most frequently causes heartburn due to the acid in the stomach moving back into the esophagus, throat, and sometimes even the nose.

It is usually used as a synonym for heartburn. The lower portion of the esophagus has a valve at its end and when it opens, food that a person eats goes through the esophagus and into the stomach. The valve then closes in order to keep all of the food and gastric juices contained in the stomach.

When this valve relaxes too much or does not close well enough, then the gastric juices can go back into the esophagus, causing damage to it through the acidic matter that the juices contain.

This leads to heartburn.

Symptoms of Acid Reflux

Symptoms of acid reflux are experienced differently by all people. The most common symptom, of course, is heartburn. However, there are other symptoms that are associated with acid reflux, including burning sensations in the throat, sour tastes in the mouth, sensations of rising acidic contents coming from the stomach, burning in the chest, problems breathing, asthma, dental erosion, hoarseness, problems swallowing, and losing sleep due to the heartburn.

If a person experiences any of these symptoms, they may have acid reflux and the best thing to do is to talk to a doctor as soon as these symptoms show up.

Foods to Avoid

When a person is experiencing the symptoms of acid reflux there are medications that can be taken to help remedy them. However, it is also very important to eat wisely, because there are many foods that can cause and aggravate the acid reflux. Therefore, people suffering from the condition need to know what foods they should generally avoid.

Dietary changes are needed in order to control the acid reflux while the medication is helping to cure the symptoms.

However, it is very important to consult the doctor before taking action and making any drastic changes to the diet. Once the changes are made, it is also recommended to stick to these changes for the long-term.

Some of the foods that are commonly associated with heartburn and acid reflux include dairy products such as milk, cheese and ice cream.

Spicy foods also need to be avoided, as well as garlic and onions, high-carb foods such as bread and pasta, fried foods of all kinds, chocolate, alcohol, sodas, beef, mashed potatoes and all tomato-based food products such as ketchup.