Knowing What Foods To Avoid With Acid Reflux Can Help You Maintain A Healthy Esophagus.

If you suffer from heartburn, you should be aware of the fact that there are foods to avoid with acid reflux. Although you may be under the impression that only fatty, greasy foods and spicy foods are the prime candidates for acid reflux, you'd be surprised to find that foods considered healthy, such as oranges and dairy products, can also dramatically increase the risk of acid reflux.

Almost 100 million American suffer from upper gastrointestinal (GI) track digestive problems involving acid reflux, heartburn, GERD and ulcers. The symptoms cause by these upper GI problems can be both debilitating and painful, which is why most sufferers take meds. However, did you know that by simply making a few adjustments to your diet by knowing what food to avoid can improve your condition?

Therefore, if you are prone to acid reflux and heartburn, or you suffer from GERD
(gastroesophageal reflux disease), you need to control your diet to avoid the recurrence of acid reflux. Although taking antacids or proton pump inhibitors helps you control your heartburn, and may prevent it from occurring, you don't want to rely on medication for the rest of you life, because this is not an ideal long term treatment. Besides, wouldn't you simply rather know what foods to avoid to prevent acid reflux, instead of constantly subjecting your body to meds that can eventually do more harm than good?

Before you find out the main foods to avoid, you need to understand that everyone's body is different, and the foods that trigger heartburn for some may not be the same for others. Thus, some of the food that will be listed may not bother you, while other foods that are not commonly considered triggers, may. Therefore, it is in your best interest to keep a food journal for two weeks to determine what foods cause acid reflux and should be limited or eliminated from your diet.

The following are common foods to avoid with acid reflux:
• Cottage cheese
• Ice cream (and related products - I.E. shakes, floats, etc.)
• Sour cream
• Creamy salad dressing
• Macaroni and cheese
• Chicken nuggets
• Ground beef
• Marbled steak
• Buffalo wings
• Raw onion
• Mashed potatoes (French fries)
• Oranges (orange juice)
• Lemonade (juices with lemon or lime)
• Grapefruit (grapefruit juice)
• Cranberry juice
• Tomato (tomato juice and all tomato-based products)
• All process, fried or fatty foods
• Spicy food
• Peppermint or spearmint
• Chocolate
• Doughnuts
• Cookies
• Brownies
• Potato and corn chips
• Alcohol
• Coffee (caffeinated and decaffeinated)
• Tea (caffeinated and decaffeinated)
• Soda and other highly sugared drinks
• Any caffeinated beverage

The reason the above foods cause problems and are considered foods to avoid with acid reflux is because many of them are hard on the digestive system and stomach, increasing acid production. Furthermore, certain products, such as chocolate, alcohol and caffeine, relax the lower esophagus sphincter (LES), which increases the chance of acid being pushed back into the esophagus from the stomach because the LES has a difficult time closing.

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Remember, the best way to determine what foods to avoid with acid reflux is to create a food journal for two weeks. When keeping your journal, record the symptoms (if any) you experience with each food product you eat. At the end of two weeks, you should schedule an appointment with your doctor to discuss your findings. With the help of your doctor, and possibly a dietitian, you can create a diet plan that will be ideal for you and healthy for your esophagus.