Food For Your Healing

If you suffer from this health condition, you need to focus on a food diet for acid reflux that will help you to control of it and allow you to live a normal life.

As food is normally digested, painlessly, in the stomach’s acid, most people don’t realize the detrimental effects this stomach acid can have on you upper gastrointestinal or GI tract.

However for those that do suffer from acid reflux, these effects are very prominent and quite often dehabilitating.

Individuals with acid reflux suffer from a dysfunctional muscle at the end of their esophagus, known as the lower esophageal sphincter valve.  This valve, which normally remains closed once food as passed into the stomach, will open up when it shouldn’t.

This results in a back flow of stomach acid up into the esophagus.  As the esophagus does not have the same protective lining as the stomach, this acid causes some rather substantial pain and burning in the throat.

Acid reflux is a very common gastrointestinal disorder, and though it is easily recognized it is something you should take seriously.

It has become such a common health condition that there are an unlimited number of commercials advertising medications for it.

Some people may turn to these medications, but sticking to a proper food diet for acid reflux is an excellent way to control this health condition naturally.

Apples and Alkaline Fruits

You may find it a bit strange that eating a diet that includes apples, an acidic-tasting fruit, will help prevent acid reflux.

Well, the truth is that many who suffer from acid reflux have found that apples and some other fruits tend to alleviate this health condition.

Apples achieve this in two ways.

The first effect apples have on your body is that as your stomach digests an apple, natural acids from this fruit are released and mix with your stomach acid.

Your body then realizes that it does not need to produce as much stomach acid for digestion to occur.  This results in less stomach acid being available to reflux up into your esophagus.

And secondly apples are actually a very alkaline food and therefore also have a neutralizing effect on stomach acid, increasing the pH in the stomach.

Though very few studies have been done to determine which kinds of apples are the most effective, it is believed that those with lower natural acidic content may be better than those with a high natural level of acid.

So to start of you should try incorporating an apple every night just before you go to bed and maybe you will begin to enjoy the healing power of this fruit on acid reflux.

There are other fruits that you can eat that have the same alkaline, acid-neutralizing properties of apples, though less effective.  These include bananas, grapes and pears.

Chicken and Lean Meat

When suffering from acid reflux you must try to avoid high fat foods as they are harder for your stomach to digest and tend to aggravate the condition.

That’s right…quit eating those hot dogs and hamburgers!

While you are trying to stay away from high fat meats, such as beef or lamb, try some of the more lean alternatives.

One of the best lean alternatives is chicken.

Not only is chicken low in fat but it is also low in calories and cholesterol, while being high in protein.

The best way to prepare chicken is by baking or grilling.  Other cooking methods, like deep frying, introduce too much fats and oils into the meat causing more harm than good.

If you must include a higher fat meat, such as beef, in your diet be sure to trim off all visible fat to help control your acid reflux.

If you don’t like chicken there are some other lean options.  These include turkey and fish that are easy on the stomach, such as salmon.

Whole Grains including Bread, Rice And Pasta

Though many people tend to reach for white bread out of convenience and habit, the refined sugar that it contains is a big “no no” if you suffer from acid reflux.

Refined sugars can contribute to the build up and back up of acid, causing acid reflux and therefore they should be avoided.

Whole wheat and whole grains on the other hand are very easy for the body to digest and are high in fiber reducing the chances of acid reflux symptoms from occurring.

You should turn to whole grain options for not only your breads but also your pastas and rice. That means no more sandwiches with white bread or white linguine noodles.

Choosing these whole grain options will not only help to manage your condition, but will also help alleviate constipation and reduce the risk of developing cancers of the lower intestinal tract.

Put Down The Cup Of Coffee And Pour Yourself A Glass Of Water

When you suffer from acid reflux it is very important to stay away from coffee and pop drinks as these not only have excessive amounts of caffeine, but excessive amount of sugar that may bring on acid reflux.

Both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee decreases the pressure in the lower esophageal sphincter causing it to open up and allow the back flow of stomach acid into the esophagus.

Coffee is also very acidic and this increase in “unnatural acid” in the stomach can lead to an increase in the secretion of stomach acid.

So remove coffee from your diet as it is shouldn not be included in any food diet for acid reflux!

What should you replace your coffee consumption with??…Simple…Water!

Sure we all know that we should drink plenty of water on a daily basis, but drinking water aids stomach digestion and increases the speed with which food is passed from the stomach into the lower gastrointestinal tract.

Though acid reflux can be very difficult to live with, knowing how to manage your symptoms is an important part of the process.

Much attention is focused on the foods to avoid, but it’s equally as important to focus on the foods that you should eat as well. Keeping a proper food diet for acid reflux that is not only rich in nutrients but also alkaline and easy to digest foods can allow you to live a normal and healthier life!