Acid reflux, food allergies, vomiting and certain infections can cause esophagitis, or inflammation in your esophageal lining. Because your esophagus connects your stomach to your throat, some symptoms you may experience if you have esophagitis are trouble swallowing, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting and chest pain with eating. Eating certain foods may make esophagitis worse.
Acidic, Spicy and Hard Foods
If your esophagitis is caused by gastroesophageal reflux disease, avoiding foods that commonly trigger acid reflux may lessen your symptoms. Common culprits are spicy foods, such as curry and chili powder; hard foods, such as raw vegetables and nuts; and acidic foods, such as tomatoes and citrus fruits, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Pills can also cause esophagitis symptoms if you aren’t careful about taking them with a lot of liquid or if you lie flat within 30 minutes of taking a pill, advises MayoClinic.com.
Food Allergens
Eosinophilic esophagitis is when white blood cells -- called eosinophils -- enter your esophagus and cause swelling in response to a perceived threat to your health. In many cases, food allergies trigger this response. If you have a known food allergy, carefully read labels of the foods you eat and check with the restaurant or cook to ensure a recipe doesn’t contain that food. Common food triggers are cow’s milk, wheat, eggs, peanuts, fish, shellfish and soy, according to an article in the January 2010 “Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine.” If you suspect you have a food allergy, ask your doctor to give you a food allergy test.
Other Risk Reduction Measures
If you have esophagitis caused by acid reflux, monitoring your eating habits and other lifestyle choices may also reduce symptoms. For example, eating small and frequent meals, avoiding eating any foods within two hours of bed time and elevating your pillow or mattress by 8 to 10 inches will help reduce the risk of stomach juices entering your esophagus, according to the Jackson Siegelbaum Gastroenterology website. Eating high-calorie foods without exercising enough can also indirectly lead to gastritis because being overweight or obese increases your risk of acid reflux.
Considerations
Monitoring your diet is a major step toward reducing gastritis symptoms, but you may also need medical treatment for the underlying cause or any further complications. For example, you may benefit from taking medication to block your stomach’s acid production if you have GERD, you may benefit from dietary supplements if you have a certain food intolerance and you may need an antibiotic or other medication if an infection is responsible for the inflammation in your esophagus.
References
- Cleveland Clinic: Esophagitis
- MayoClinic.com; Esophagitis; September 2009
- MedlinePlus: Esophagitis
- Jackson Siegelbaum Gastroenterology; Esophagitis and Stricture; Frank W. Jackson
- The Online Allergist: Eosinophilic Esophagitis
- “Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine”; Food Allergy and Eosinophilic Esophagitis: Learning What to Avoid; Sandra Hong, et al.; January 2010
- Kids with Food Allergies Foundation; Eosinophilic Esophagitis: Questions and Answers; November 2005
- Cedars-Sinai: Esophagitis
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