Implementing the Foods that Prevent Heartburn into Your Diet
You have sat in front of the television watching a movie and snacking, then suddenly you start to feel this burning sensation moving up your abdomen. This is a symptom of heartburn. That burning sensation everyone gets sometime in their lifetime. However, many other people are hit with this problem daily.
Heartburn is caused by stomach acid moving up your esophagus and into the back of your throat. Generally, you get a sour taste in your mouth when this burning sensation occurs. You may even get a second taste of the food you just ate. Most of the time this medical problem is caused by the food you eat, but there are foods that prevent heartburn.
People that suffer from this ailment can divide their foods into three different areas: foods that create this medical problem, foods that help with the problem and foods that prevent heartburn from happening. Doctors even break heartburn up into mild, moderate and severe.
A person that gets this burning sensation in their chest monthly basis is considered to have mild heartburn. People that get this symptom on a weekly basis are considered to have moderate heartburn. Other people that have heartburn symptoms on a daily basis are considered to have a severe case of heartburn.
People with a severe case of heartburn may have GERD, or Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. This is a severe form of heartburn that can burn the inner lining of your esophagus. The stomach acids continually attack the lining of your esophagus and the burnt lining begins to swell, making it hard to swallow or hurt every time you swallow.
Not only will severe heartburn cause this disease, it can develop into Barrett disease, or Barrett’s esophagus. Barrett’s causes the same cells you in your stomach, where the acid is create, to form and grow in the lining of your lower esophagus. People that are diagnosed with this condition have a 50 percent better chance of getting esophagus cancer.
It is better for a person to go to the doctor and get their diagnoses if you find yourself with a severe case of heartburn. However, there are things you can implement into your diet, such as foods that prevent heartburn.
Garlic and onions are a good food to prevent heartburn. Not only will these foods prevent heartburn, but they will give your food a lot more flavor. One thing you must keep in mind when adding these to your diet is to only use them in their dried form. Using fresh garlic and onions can aggravate your symptoms and even cause heartburn. Buy the dehydrated forms in the spice section of your grocery store.
Bananas and apples are other foods that prevent heartburn. Any form of apples are good, like dried apples, freshly sliced apples or apple juice. Cut up some apples and eat them right after you dine or use them as a dessert. Bananas, however, act as an antacid. Many physicians recommend slicing up a banana and eating with your breakfast. Remember though, bananas do not work for everyone. You should experiment with them and find out whether they work for you.
Grain bread instead of white bread is something else that will help prevent heartburn. Instead of picking up that white bread everyone in your family seems to like more, choose a whole grain bread. Eating two slices of whole grain bread with give you 16 grams of fiber, which is one of the foods that prevent heartburn. You can also experiment with different dishes that use whole grains as part of their ingredients. There are many websites on the Internet that list different whole grain recipes. Everything from dinners or salads to desserts.
Greens, greens and more greens, such as peas, green beans, lettuce, spinach and broccoli, are all foods that prevent heartburn. Not only are they healthy foods and should be a part of your diet anyway, these greens help anyone with mild, moderate or severe heartburn problems. Greens have antioxidants, vitamins and minerals your body needs. Incorporate a green vegetable into your meal, possibly as a side dish.
Many of the foods that prevent heartburn are probably already in your diet, you just have to drop the foods that create heartburn. However, if they are not you need to change your kitchen menu.
Another goal for the prevention of heartburn that you must be aware of is the foods that can cause heartburn. Eating raw onions, tomatoes, citrus fruits, chocolate, peppermint or anything that is fatty, will exacerbate heartburn. Those midday cheeseburgers or dinner time mashed potatoes do not help either. Any food that is starchy, acidic or spicy will mess with your stomach acids. Make sure you stay away from foods that are cooked in oil, any type of oil. The oil can exacerbate heartburn.
There are other things you need to do besides implements foods that prevent heartburn. You have to slow down when you eat. Give your stomach time to digest the bite you just ate. You can easily do this by putting your eating utensils on the table between bites. Start eating smaller portions five or six times a day, instead of three large meals you are having.
Do not eat right before you go to bed. Make sure you eat at least three hours before you turn in for the night. Your stomach acid levels will decrease. Eating right before right before bedtime will increase the amount of stomach acid you have and when you lay down, can easily push up through your esophagus, causing heartburn.
Sleeping with your head raise a few inches above your body will also help with heartburn. The acid reflux that can occur during sleep will be prevented during your rest time. Instead of waking up in the middle of the night or the next morning with a burning sensation behind your chest bone, the acid will not be able to move up your esophagus because of its location to your stomach.
If you are a smoker, quit. Not just because it is good for you, but because it can help with your heartburn symptoms. Nicotine destroys the lower part of the esophageal sphincter. This is the muscle that controls the size of the opening in the stomach from the esophagus. The esophageal sphincter prevents stomach acid from entering the esophagus, which is the main cause of heartburn. A damaged esophageal sphincter will allow acid to seep into the esophagus, or at least more acid than normal to enter into the esophagus.
Another thing that you can change is that morning coffee. Caffeine can cause many of the problems with the esophageal sphincter that nicotine does. You will just have to replace that caffeine fix for a decaffeinated coffee. The same is true for tea. Tea also has a lot of caffeine, as well as sodas. Just slowly transition to decaffeinated drinks, especially if you have severe heartburn.
Chewing gum right after a meal will generate saliva and dilute the stomach acids that come up the esophagus. Just remember to stay away from peppermint gum. You may even want to drink a glass of water after eating, which will also dilute the stomach acid.
If you have put on some weight over the years, like many people have as they get older, try loosing some of that weight. A lot of fat develops over the stomach and can push those acids up through the esophagus. You may want to try wearing looser clothes. Clothes worn tightly around the midsection will also push on the stomach, cause acid reflux.
Even making these lifestyles changes, such as wearing looser clothing, losing weight, stopping smoking and exercising, you still need the to eat the foods that prevent heartburn. No one of these lifestyle changes will prevent heartburn like eating the right foods.
Sometimes no matter what you do you get heartburn. There are foods that can stop heartburn when you are confronted with the symptoms. Put a small amount of ground cloves in water and drink it. The oily cloves with reduce the burning sensation. You can also drink lemonade or squeeze a lemon into a small glass of water. Lemons have calcium carbonate, which helps neutralize your stomach acids. Mix an eight ounce glass of water with baking soda and drink it when heartburn begins to develop. Baking soda is an alkaline and will neutralize the stomach acid.
The one thing that you always have to be aware of when confronted with heartburn is the foods that prevent heartburn.
Ask yourself what foods you ate that day. Was it foods that prevent heartburn or foods that aggravated and created the heartburn? Once you decide which foods are causing the problems, you will be able to substitute those foods for ones that prevent the problem.
Just remember, if you have a severe case of heartburn, you must consult your general practitioner. They can test you to see if you have another medical condition that causes the same symptoms.