Acid Reflux Disease - "Diets Vs. Diet Myths"
Acid reflux is a condition in which the esophagus is inflamed due to acid backing up after if reaches the stomach. It returns to the esophagus causing heartburn, chest pain, and regurgitation of food. Acid reflux can be an extremely bothersome condition, especially at night when you are attempting to sleep and especially when you are lying flat on your back. At least 10 out of every 100 people are looking for a diet for acid reflux disease. The problem is that we don’t know what is myth and what is fact concerning how to alleviate acid reflux. There are a number of foods you are told to avoid when you have an acid reflux problem, just as there are particular foods you are told to consume. We all believe that spicy food, fruits that have a high acid content, and coffee need to be kept out of our everyday diet if we don’t want acid reflux to develop. Studies prove that this is a false assumption. These foods do not actually cause acid reflux. Another food (this one is associated with the relief of acid reflux) is milk. I have heard some folks complain of milk causing their reflux to be worse. Milk contains properties that make our stomach release more acid. The fact of the matter is that you do not have to eat particular food to eliminate or avoid reflux, nor do you have to totally cut out the aforementioned foods. The key to not getting acid reflux is less food consumption. This is the actual only diet for acid reflux disease. I am not saying that if you already have heartburn symptoms, that particular acidy foods will not aggravate the symptoms. But usually this happens when these foods are taken in large amounts. Any food taken in excessively can intensify acid reflux. Most people will eat three heavy meals during the day and, on top of that, they will eat just before bedtime. What you need to do in order to construct a diet for acid reflux disease is to eat smaller portions, but eat more frequently to keep from getting hungry. Don’t ever indulge yourself at one sitting because guess what—you will likely develop acid reflux. You stomach does not have to work as hard when it intakes smaller portions. Acid is secreted by the stomach to help digestion and not as much acid must be emitted for lesser amounts of food. Now, there are certain foods that will stifle or slow down the stomach’s over secretion of acid. Rice, pastas, and breads are ideal for this. Food with a high fat content lay on the stomach and area difficult to digest. Anything difficult to digest creates the necessity for more acid secretion. Bear in mind however, that the major culprit is over consumption of food in general. More food requires more digestion; therefore, there will be more acid secreted by the stomach. Now another thing to consider is your intake of alcohol—it actually does aggravate acid reflux. A couple of other tips to add to your diet for acid reflux disease do not actually deal with the food itself. One tip is to lie down directly after you eat—wait about one hour. Whenever you do lie down, don’t lay flat on your back. Elevate your head with extra pillows or a wedge pillow or simply put blocks under the head of your bed to raise it about half a foot or a couple of inches more. So, you see, an acid reflux diet is not exactly what you think it is. Always know what is myth and what is fact. |