Keeping Acid Reflux Pain At Bay

Heartburn is a painful condition in which acid backs up from the stomach into the esophagus and causes a painful and/or burning sensation below a person’s breastbone.  What you eat definitely contributes to whether or not you experience heartburn.  Learn what foods to avoid to reduce your painful experiences of heartburn by reading on!

Heartburn

Heartburn, also known as acid reflux and sour stomach, occurs when the esophageal sphincter either doesn’t close tightly enough or opens at inappropriate times.  The esophageal sphincter is a mechanism within the body, at the bottom of the esophagus that opens when you swallow, allowing the food you eat to go into your stomach.  After food goes into the stomach, the sphincter closes tightly so that stomach acid cannot move into the esophagus.  However, when the sphincter is not operating properly, the stomach’s acid can travel into the esophagus, leading to heartburn.

Chocolate

A lot of people like chocolate as a tasty teat, but unfortunately chocolate often leads to heartburn in individuals who suffer with heartburn frequently. 

For instance, Dr. Castell conducted a study involving individuals who rarely or frequently experienced heartburn.  In one part of the study, participants were asked to drink a half-cup of chocolate syrup.  Dr. Castell then measured the pressure at the bottom of participants’ esophagi sphincters and discovered that for approximately 50 minutes after ingesting the chocolate syrup, those who frequently experienced heartburn has sphincters that would not close, allowing stomach acid to pass into participants’ esophagi.

In another part of his study, Dr. Castell asked participants to drink a third-cup of chocolate syrup mixed with water or sugar water after each meal. 

He discovered that while participants who experienced frequent heartburn experienced no distress after drinking the sugar water, stomach acid backed up into the esophagi within one hour of participants who drunk chocolate water.  Additionally, those who experienced rare bouts of heartburn experienced no distress no matter which drink was ingested after meals. 

Chocolate appears to increase the chances one will get heartburn if the individual has regular bouts of heartburn. 

Fat

Likewise, foods containing a lot of fat seem to increase heartburn risk for those who experience heartburn regularly.  In fact, eating food containing a lot of fat almost doubles the risk one will experience heartburn over eating chocolate! 

Some fatty foods you may want to avoid include:

· Cheese
· Fried foods
· Fast food
· Hamburgers

Knowing what to avoid eating will help you reduce the risk you will experience the painful condition of heartburn often. 

Source:

Food – Your Miracle Medicine: How Food Can Prevent and Cure Over 100 Symptoms and Problems by Jean Carper
 

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