Acid Reflux Syndrome Article

Acid Reflux-Foods to Avoid

If you find yourself suffering from heartburn more than one or two times a week, then you very likely have acid reflux. Your doctor will be able to give you a definite diagnosis, after some diagnostic tests and further study of any other symptoms that you may also be experiencing. You may think that you can just take antacids to rid you of your acid reflux symptoms, and you can do that, but that should only be used as a method of quick symptom relief, not treatment. To better control your acid reflux, change your eating habits, which should make a big difference for you.

Acid reflux is caused by a number of factors, including stress, poor nutrition, and lack of physical activity. So, in theory, if poor nutrition helped create your acid reflux problem, then good nutrition should help eliminate it.

You first will need to find out what foods make your symptoms worsen. The easy way to do this is by keeping a food journal, list each day and the foods you eat, and then circle or highlight that day if you experience symptoms. After you do this for about a month, you should be able to use the journal as a good starting point for what foods you need to eliminate from your diet, or maybe eat less frequently. You don’t have to stop eating everything that you like; maybe you could try preparing it a different way, or just eat it less often.

There are some foods that are known to be troublesome for the majority of acid reflux sufferers, so you might want to start by eliminating them first, and then see what kind of results you get. You should stay away from foods that contain a lot of fat, or are prepared in fat, as well as foods that contain a lot of natural acid, such as citrus fruits, tomatoes, lemons, and the juice of those foods as well.

You may also want to try staying away from buttery foods, ice cream, pasta, sour cream, drinks containing caffeine, and alcohol. Unfortunately, this means mostly drinking milk and water, as you should stay away from coffee, tea, wine, and other alcoholic beverages. You can still have them occasionally, but you should include them in your elimination diet at first, and then slowly add them in one at a time until you gauge what effect they will have on your acid reflux symptoms.

If you add these foods back into your diet slowly, and take time to see if it affects your acid reflux, you will be able to accurately gauge what you can eat and can’t eat, and how much you can tolerate. This way, you don’t have to stop eating the foods you love, just cutback to help make things easier for you.

Being diagnosed with acid reflux does not mean that you have to completely change the way you live your life, you just need to make some minor modifications, and pay more attention to what you eat, and how it has been prepared.