If you’re concerned about what foods to avoid with acid reflux, you’re to be commended.  Too often people with this condition insist on eating what they want, when they want, and how much they want, and then simply rely on harsh medications to alleviate their symptoms.  What is unfortunate about this is that once you start to feel the pain and discomfort of acid reflux, you’ve already done quite a bit of damage to your system, and those medications introduce some harsh and unnatural elements in your body.  Thinking about the foods to avoid with acid reflux means that you’re more interested in tackling the root cause of the disease rather than stubbornly insisting that you do what you want and then ignoring the consequences.  

When considering what foods to avoid with acid reflux, there are two very important points to consider.  The first is that you want to make note of the foods that typically cause acid reflux flare-ups.  These are foods that are high in acid content themselves; their acid coupled with the acid from your stomach is going to overload your system and cause reflux.  Foods high in acid content include red meat of any variety, citrus fruits (limes, lemons, oranges, grapefruits, tomatoes), spicy foods such as garlic, onions, and peppers, cranberries, strawberries, raspberries, wine, coffee, tea, cola, and dairy products high in lactose content such as yogurt, milk, and ice cream.  Other foods to avoid with acid reflux are those cooked in heavy oils.  This mean fried foods of any sort, potato chips and other such snack items, and fries.  Also, most packaged foods use oil as a preservative, so you may also want to avoid toaster pastries and foods such as these.  Fast foods are typically also fried in oils, so drive-through hamburgers may need to be avoided.

The other consideration when it comes to foods to avoid with acid reflux is being mindful of what foods seem to cause a flare-up with you personally.  It’s a good idea to keep an eating diary for a few weeks, with notes about what you eat, how much, and when you’ve eaten it.  Also note your acid reflux flare-ups and the time.  This way you can compare the two – if you have a small bag of potato chips as a snack at 3:00 and note that you have a flare-up at 3:30, then you know you’re very sensitive to the oils used in those chips.  Some people need to add to their list of foods to avoid with acid reflux items such as yogurt, cheese, chocolate, certain grains such as macaroni or spaghetti, and desserts that are baked with a lot of oil such as cake, cookies, and brownies.

Everyone’s system is different and sensitive to different things; your list of foods to avoid with acid reflux might be very different than someone else’s.  Along those lines, if you note that strawberries and tomatoes don’t bother you, then of course you can indulge in these foods.

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Article Written By J. Foley

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The common foods that cause acid reflux are those that are very difficult to digest and that have a high concentration of acid in them already.  Red meat of any variety is one such food.  Because of the high amount of enzymes in red meat, it often causes acid reflux in those who eat large portions of it.  While a diet high in protein may be good for weight control, you may be better off opting for leaner varieties of pork, turkey, chicken, and fish instead.  If you must have red meat, have a very small portion and limit the number of times per week that you do.  This can be one of the more difficult foods that cause acid reflux to give up, but for those who do it can be very beneficial.

Other foods that cause acid reflux include citrus fruits such as limes, lemons, grapefruits, tomatoes, tangerines, and oranges.  Most berries are also very high in acid content, and this includes cranberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries.  Wine and hard liquor also has a high acid content, but beer is usually acceptable for most.  Beverages that contain caffeine are also included on the list of foods that cause acid reflux, so that means coffee, tea, cola, and other sodas.  Unfortunately, chocolate is also very high in acid content and typically causes acid reflux in many.  Many dairy products are also very acidic, so this means milk, cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, yogurt and ice cream.  Heavy oils are not necessarily high in acid content but are very difficult for the body to digest, meaning that they cause the stomach to produce more acid than normal.  Anything fried should be added to the list of foods that cause acid reflux; this means not just fried chicken and chicken-fried steak, but French fries, potato chips, corn chips, popcorn made in oil, buffalo wings, and so on.  Most packaged foods use oil as a preservative, so be careful of toaster pastries and anything else that comes in a box.  Many desserts are also cooked with heavy oils, so you may want to add cakes, cookies, and brownies to your list of foods that cause acid reflux.

Of course, some of these foods mentioned might not have an effect on you and your system, while there may be other foods that do trigger flare-ups.  Keep track of what you eat and when you have an attack so that you can make your own personal list of foods that cause acid reflux.

Cure Heartburn, Acid Reflux (Gerd) & Hiatal Hernia Naturally Using The Only Clinically Proven & Unique 5-Step Holistic Acid Reflux System. Click Here

Article Written By J. Foley

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While the pain and discomfort of acid reflux disease happens in the area of the chest and is actually in the esophagus, the disease is caused by stomach acids churning up past a small valve at the top of the stomach that is supposed to keep that acid where it belongs.  So the pain may be in the midsection and in the esophagus, but acid reflux disease actually happens in the stomach.  This can be because of a genetic defect in the small valve that is supposed to stay closed so that this acid doesn’t spill out, by overeating so that the stomach is so full that the acid has no choice but to spill over the top of it, or by eating foods that are high in acid content so that there is too much acid in the stomach at any one time.  Acid reflux disease can also be a combination of these three factors as well.

Most people assume that acid reflux disease should just be treated with antacids, but there are many dangers to long-term use of antacids and other home remedies.  Antacids are made of many harsh chemicals that can build up in the digestive system and do damage to your stomach and intestines, and get absorbed into your system in the bloodstream.  Using antacids to treat the symptoms of your acid reflux disease ignores the real causes of this condition, and sometimes causes people to make their condition worse.  If a patient refuses to address their eating habits that are causing their acid reflux disease and simply rely on taking antacids after heavy or spicy meals, they are doing a lot of damage to their system both with the acid reflux and with the antacids they are ingesting.

Acid reflux disease is also very serious.  It can lead to permanent damage of the esophagus and even in a small amount of cases, cancer.  This type of cancer is actually very difficult to treat and typically is not diagnosed in time for any treatment options.  While cancer typically happens in only a small amount of cases of acid reflux disease, developing strictures, ulcers in the esophagus, and internal bleeding is more common.

Typically a doctor can prescribe the right medications and make recommendations as to dietary changes to address acid reflux disease once and for all.  If you have this chronic condition, you shouldn’t try to simply address it on your own or ignore it and hope it goes away; instead, speak to your doctor right away and get the condition treated properly.

Cure Heartburn, Acid Reflux (Gerd) & Hiatal Hernia Naturally Using The Only Clinically Proven & Unique 5-Step Holistic Acid Reflux System. Click Here

Article Written By J. Foley

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