If you suffer from heartburn, acid reflux or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), you may be curious about how you can relieve the discomfort you suffer without having to use medication or increasing your dosage of current medicine. Some foods are known as being "trigger foods" for heartburn or acid reflux. By avoiding these foods or eating them less often, you may be able to improve your symptoms.
Milk
Cut the risk of acid reflux and heartburn by drinking skim milk and buying low-fat milk products. Full-fat dairy products stay in the stomach longer and lengthen the digestive process, which makes the lower esophageal sphincter muscle work harder over a longer period of time to combat reflux.
This muscle normally strengthens and flexes to block food from re-entering the esophagus from the stomach.
Mint
Don't eat a lot of mint if you want to avoid heartburn and reflux. Nexium, a company that works to develop medication to treat acid reflux and GERD, notes that even though mint has historically acted as a stomach soother and a food that calms the digestive system, it is also an irritant for acid reflux.
This category includes spearmint, peppermint and other types of mint.
Caffeine
Avoid large amounts of coffee, chocolate, caffeinated tea and other items with caffeine. It's less likely to aggravate heartburn or GERD when consumed in small quantities, but caffeine acts to stimulate reflux in many patients.
Fatty Foods
Help your health and your reflux by cutting fatty foods out of your diet. The Mayo Clinic includes fatty and fried foods on a list of items that heartburn patients should work to avoid.
Like milk, cream and full-fat dairy products, these foods take longer to digest than others and can relax the lower esophageal sphincter muscle.
Spicy Foods
Limit your consumption of highly spicy foods. These items can irritate the esophagus and bring on heartburn, even in people who do not suffer from GERD, and they can worsen symptoms in people who do have acid problems.
Citrus
Reduce the risk of heartburn by reducing your intake of citrus foods and juices, which are highly acidic. Lemons, limes, pineapples, grapefruits, oranges, their juices and other citrus foods should be eaten sparingly.
Citruses can aggravate inflammation in the esophagus and make normal GERD symptoms more severe, points out the Jackson Siegelbaum Gastroenterology Clinic of Pennsylvania.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are acidic and are a common trigger food for acid reflux. Avoid tomatoes and tomato products such as sauce, paste and ketchup, and foods containing tomatoes.
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