What Foods to Avoid in Your Heartburn Diet

Heartburn can cause disruption to your life. Sometimes, by taking medication, it may not help to alleviate your heartburn symptoms. Or, it may make it worse. Thus, you may want to modify your diet to help to improve your situation. It is not easy to give up some of our favorite foods and drinks. However, you don't have to give up everything you love at one time.

There are certain types of food you should avoid if you are suffering from acid reflux or heartburn symptoms. Here are 3 types of foods which you should avoid in your heartburn diet.

Fatty and fried foods - Many people love fatty and fried foods. Yet, these foods are common acid reflux or heartburn triggers. Fatty foods tend to stay in the stomach longer and require more acid to digest them. Avoid eating too much fatty foods that will slow down your digestion system and aggravate your heartburn symptoms.

Giving up fried foods can be the toughest thing to most people. In fact, fried foods have become a big part of our diet and life. But instead of taking it every meal, you can eat it once a week as a form of reward to yourself. You can try using other alternative cooking methods such as broiling, grilling, and roasting to reduce the usage of oil.

Caffeine - Do you know that coffee, tea and even chocolate are common heartburn triggers? To most people, drinking coffee and tea is like an addiction and they must have 3 to 5 cups of coffee or tea throughout the day. As you know, caffeine can cause your stomach to churn faster and thus it will make the stomach contents to push up. Well, you do not have to stop drinking them. Simply reduce your consumption slowly to maybe 1 cup per day. This will definitely help to improve your heartburn symptoms or even eliminate them.

Fruits - Most of the citrus fruits like orange, tomato, lemon and grapefruit should be avoided. These fruits will accelerate acid production and cause your acid reflux or heartburn to flare up. Instead of giving up on fruits, you may want to try non-citrus fruits like bananas, papaya or berries which can aid in your digestion and help to reduce your heartburn symptoms.

==> Can Papaya Help to Remedy Heartburn

On the whole, it is still important that you must make effort to find out what types of foods to avoid in your heartburn diet. By doing so, you can find out your own heartburn triggers and stop taking those antacid which may make your symptoms worse.

To find out even more types of food you should avoid, you must go check out: Natural Heartburn Cures Without Medication.

Magnetic Beads Create New Hope to GERD Sufferers

It is estimated that more than 20 million Americans suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Medications such as Zantac, Prilosec, etc may offer short-term relief for some sufferers of this disease. These medications decrease the acid production, but do not prevent the actual reflux in most patients.

GERD results from a weak muscle in the lower esophagus (the tube through which food passes from the mouth to the stomach). When this muscle functions properly, it acts as a protective valve between the esophagus and the stomach. It will allow food and liquid to pass, but will prevent the reflux or back flow of acidic stomach contents. In patients with GERD, the valve is weak or nonfunctional so acid can flow back into the esophagus causing damage. This damage to the esophagus can lead to more serious conditions such as esophagitis and Barrett's esophagus.

There may be new hope for GERD suffers from magnetic beads. Several medical centers around the United States and in Europe are evaluating a non-medical alternative that would prevent the reflux. The device is a flexible band made of magnetic beads called the LINX Reflux Management System. The device is placed during a 20-30 minute laparoscopic surgical procedure. The beads are made of permanent rare earth magnets encased in titanium. Each band is sized to fit the individual patient. The band “stretches” to allow food to pass, but prevents the reflux of acid.

The LINX™ device should not affect airport security, but all patients will be provided an implant card to have available in the event an issue arises.

To Learn More About The Unique 5-Step Holistic Acid Reflux Cure System Visit: Acid Reflux Treatment - Click Here

Source
Torax Medical, Inc
Ohio State University Medical Center
UC San Diego Medical Center

FDA issued stern warning on heartburn drug Reglan

FDA officials warn that the long-term use of metoclopramide, a drug used to treat heartburn, is linked to muscle spasms and tics.

 

Metoclopramide, which comes in a variety of forms including tablets, injections and oral solutions, speeds up the work of muscles used in digestion and subsequently treats gastrointestinal disorders particularly acid reflux and heartburn.

The drug's current labeling mentions the risk of developing the spasms called tardive dyskinesia; health officials, however, urge drug makers to highlight the warning.

Tardive dyskinesia is characterized by involuntary, repetitive movements of the extremities, lip smacking, grimacing, tongue protrusion, and rapid eye movements or blinking.

Health officials also advise individuals to avoid the chronic use of the drug unless its benefits outweigh the risk.

According to a recently-released FDA statement, using metoclopramide (Reglan) for long periods of time or at high doses leads to involuntary and repetitive movements of the body.

The statement includes the elderly, especially women, and those who have been taking the drug for more than three months in the high-risk group.


The condition is reported to be irreversible in the majority of cases even after stopping the use of the drug.

Meal Planning Tips to Prevent Heartburn

If you have frequent or occasional heartburn, you can help decrease the tendency of the LES to relax, and decrease the likelihood that the stomach contents (and stomach acid) will splash up toward the LES by keeping in mind a few tips:

* Avoid lying down for two to three hours after eating. When you lie down, it's physically easier for stomach contents to splash up toward the LES. By sitting up or standing, gravity helps stomach contents stay where they belong -- at the bottom of the stomach.

 * Avoid items that weaken the LES muscle (like chocolate, peppermint, caffeine, alcohol, fatty foods) and foods and beverages that may irritate a damaged esophagus lining (citrus and citrus juice, tomatoes and tomato juice, and chili peppers and black pepper).
   
* Avoid eating large meals because the more volume in the stomach, the more likely the stomach contents will splash toward the LES. Try eating four to five small meals instead of two or three large ones. By portaion out your food, it will tax your stomach too much

* Avoid high-fat meals because they tend to stay in the stomach longer; greasy or fried foods can also weaken the LES muscle. This can help you to maintain your weight loss also.

* Avoid smoking and avoid alcohol before, during, or after meals that seem to result in heartburn (like dinner). Both can weaken the LES muscle.

* Try waiting at least two hours after a meal before exercising if you find your heartburn seems to get worse after exercise.

* Chew gum (a nonpeppermint flavor) after meals to stimulate saliva production (the bicarbonate in saliva neutralizes acid) and increase peristalsis (which helps move the stomach contents into the small intestine more quickly).

* Plan your meals to encourage slow but sure weight loss if you are overweight. Extra weight around the midsection, especially, can press against the stomach and increase the pressure going up toward the LES.

* Drink a small glass of water at the end of meals to help dilute and wash down any stomach acid that might be splashing up into the esophagus, suggests Shekhar Challa, MD, president of Kansas Medical Clinic and author of Spurn The Burn: Treat The Heat.

* Plan on heartburn-friendly beverages like water, mineral water, decaffeinated tea, noncitrus juices, or nonfat or low-fat milk. Beverages to avoid include:
- Sodas: These can bloat the abdomen, increasing the pressure in the stomach and encouraging stomach acid to splash up into the esophagus.
- Juices: Tomato and citrus juices can irritate a damaged esophagus.
- Alcoholic beverages, coffee (even decaf) and caffeinated tea and cola can increase the acid content in the stomach as well as relax the LES.

* Eat a high fiber diet! A recent study found that people who followed a high-fiber meal plan were 20% less likely to have acid reflux symptoms, regardless of their body weight. You'll find fiber in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds (basically unprocessed plant foods).

To Learn More About The Unique 5-Step Holistic Acid Reflux Cure System Visit: Acid Reflux Treatment - Click Here

7 Causes of Heartburn Acid Reflux

There is a common misconception that if you suffer from acid reflux, you must be what you eat especially
eating spicy foods or drinking alcoholic beverages or smoking. However, this is not totally true.

Dr. Anish Sheth, a gastroenterologist and assistant professor of medicine at Yale University stated that there are 7 causes of heartburn acid reflux and they are often lifestyle factors.

The following are the 7 possible causes.

1. Sphincter has low pressure
Acid reflux occurs when the acidic contents of the stomach pass up into the esophagus, and the sphincter muscle (the barrier between the two) has a defect, so it is unable to block the acid.

If the sphincter muscle has low pressure, it causes acid reflux.

“Some people just have a low pressure, and we don’t know why,” Sheth said. “Pregnancy can lower the pressure, as can blood pressure and depression medications. But, most of the time, we don’t know what causes it.”

For patients who suffer from a low-pressure sphincter, there is hope: a minimally invasive surgery known as fundoplication can provide relief.

2. Pregnancy

“Elevated progestin hormones cause the pressure of the sphincter to go down,” Sheth said. “And the increased pressure of the growing uterus predisposes the woman to acid reflux.”

The good news is that once the pregnancy is over, the symptoms of acid reflux are likely to disappear.

3. Hiatal Hernia
A hiatal hernia is very common (at least 40 percent of Americans have them) and doesn’t necessarily cause acid reflux, Sheth said.

However, in a subgroup of patients with very severe reflux, a hiatal hernia – where the upper portion of the stomach moves upward into the chest – can cause acid to reflux, Sheth added.

Hiatal hernias can range in size from 1 to 4 centimeters. They can be repaired during fundoplication surgeries.

4. Gastroparesis
This is a disorder in which the stomach takes too long to empty its contents.

“Normally, the acid is produced and emptied into the small intestine, but if it sits in the stomach for longer, by sheer logic, it will come back up into the esophagus,” Sheth said.

5. Obesity
“Even though obesity is a lifestyle issue, it’s also something that can go overstated,” Sheth said.

“Obesity increases the pressure in the stomach area, so for people who don’t have the other medical causes, the sheer presence of obesity will cause them to have acid reflux.”

6. Bisphosphonates
This class of drugs prevents and treats osteoporosis in women and, occasionally, cause acid reflux in users.

“They stand out,” Sheth said. “They don’t necessarily cause reflux, but they can cause esophageal irritation, which can feel like heartburn.”

Sheth added it is always worth a quick review of any medication that you are taking long-term to see if acid reflux is one of its side effects.

7. Lifestyle
People who have heartburn "every now and then" may benefit from making lifestyle changes, Sheth said.

If they decrease their chocolate and/or caffeine intake (or other food or beverages that may irritate their symptoms), lose weight and stop smoking, they are likely to see a reduction in acid reflux symptoms, he said.

 It is better to take care now than regret later. By making some changes to your lifestyle, it can only improve your health and make life happier and easier for you. Try it today.