Acid Reflux Diet

Symptoms of Acid Reflux Diet

If you have acid reflux diet changes may help reduce your symptoms. Ask your doctor about dietary changes and he or she will probably have a few questions for you. What you eat doesn't cause acid reflux, but dietary changes may eliminate or decrease symptoms.

One question your doctor will probably ask while discussing your acid reflux diet is how many meals a day you eat. It seems like most people skip breakfast these days or eat on the run. Your doctor will advise you to eat at least three meals, possibly more small meals per day to help your symptoms. Having food in your stomach stimulates more acid production, but having small healthy meals more often throughout the day helps absorb more of the stomach acid instead of having it back up into your esophagus. If your doctor puts you on an acid reflux diet, you might be told to eliminate or certainly decrease your intake of caffeine and carbonation. That often means cutting back on your favorite sodas. Caffeine and carbonation do not cause acid reflux, but they aggravate the symptoms for some people.

If spicy foods give you heartburn, they should not be part of your new acid reflux diet. Heartburn is a symptom often associated with acid reflux. While spicy or greasy foods do not cause acid reflux, they might cause heartburn for anyone, especially if consumed in large amounts. Many people with acid reflux are not bothered by such foods, however. So, if you notice more pain or heartburn with any food, consider eliminating it or at least cut back on it as part of your acid reflux diet.

Some foods that trigger heartburn include coffee, tea, spices, onions, carbonated drinks, tomatoes (including juice and sauce), alcohol, pepper, citrus fruits, greasy or fatty foods, chocolate and peppermint. Some people with acid reflux disease are never bothered by any of these foods. Others, however, may be bothered by one or more of them and could benefit by removing them from their acid reflux diet.

Any acid reflux diet your doctor might recommend is probably just a good, sensible diet that everyone in your family could benefit from. While what you eat does not cause the disease, many who suffer from it could benefit from acid reflux diet changes.

So be sure to check out our pages about acid reflux information, acid reflux disease, acid reflux cause, and acid reflux remedy elsewhere on this site.