Acid Reflux Food Plans

Millions of people suffer from acid reflux, and while there are many medications that may help to treat the symptoms, most just offer relief from the pain. Antacids, meant for heartburn, can make the problem worse in the long run, as the stomach acids are needed to digest the foods you eat. Actually curing the underlying problem can be more difficult, but is not impossible. When suffering from acid reflux food that you eat will often make the problem worse. Learning which foods to avoid can be very helpful, so you may wish to develop a personal acid reflux food plan, as well as incorporating a few other simple lifestyle changes that may help you to feel better.


Your Acid Reflux Food Plan

The first step in your own acid reflux food should be to notice which of the foods you presently eat tend to make your symptoms worse. Commonly these will include spicy and high-fat foods, as well as foods high in acidity, such as tomatoes or other fruits and vegetables. Eating a lower-fat diet, avoiding very spicy choices, and choosing different vegetables will help quite a lot. Eating more whole grains is very helpful, and avoiding fast foods should be included in any acid reflux food plan.

Other items that are known to exacerbate acid reflux include alcohol and caffeine. Try cutting down on drinking alcoholic drinks and coffee, and you may find it makes a big difference. Stopping smoking will help as well; while this is not food, it still affects your health.The timing and frequency of your meals is also important. If you eat just three large meals a day it probably makes the symptoms worse. Try eating more meals per day, but smaller meals each time. Eating too large an amount at one sitting makes your stomach produce more acid, which is the last thing you want. Eating more frequently means your stomach won’t have to be totally empty for very long, which can sometimes also cause pain, because it means there is nothing to mix with the stomach acids and keep them from burning your throat.

These lifestyle changes that start with an acid reflux food plan can bring welcome relief from the pain and distress of acid reflux. Remember to check with your doctor before making any major changes to your diet.

Making Your Acid Reflux Recipes Healthy

It’s not enough to make a recipe that won’t worsen your acid reflux; you also need it to be nutritious, especially if you’re hoping to improve your general health. Goof foods to include in an acid reflux recipe include a lot of fruits and vegetables. Among fruits, apples and bananas are usually best, as they are not acidic. There are lot of vegetables to use, such as cabbage, green beans, carrots, broccoli, and peas. Potatoes, a favorite among many people, are also good, but should be baked, roasted, or added to soups, not fried as that adds too much fat. Lean meats will not hurt, and while egg yolks tend to be avoided in a good acid reflux recipe, egg whites or egg substitutes are okay. And finally us low-fat or fat-free dairy products and whole grains. You will notice that many of these foods are similar to a diet intended for weight loss – this is true, and coincidentally losing weight is also helpful in reducing the symptoms of acid reflux.

Acid Reflux Recipe #1: Vegetable Broth



A good acid reflux recipe is a basic vegetable broth, which is a good basis for soup stock to be used in other recipes, as well as being delicious on its own. Commercial vegetable broths often contain a lot of ingredients that you want to avoid. Chop two cups each of celery leaves and beet tops, carrots, and potato peelings (the red-skinned kind is best.) Next add three chopped cups of celery, one small diced onion, a grated or sliced zucchini or squash, and maybe a bit of parsley. Cover with boiling water and simmer for half an hour. You can eat it as it is as a soup, or strain to use as clear stock. This recipe is rich in minerals and gentle on your digestive system, as well as delicious.

Acid Reflux Recipe #2: Lentils and Rice



Rinse one pound of organic lentils and boil with eight cups of water. To this you will add one diced onion, three cloves of garlic, which you can chop or put through a garlic press, two chopped or grated carrots, and two stalks of celery sliced thinly. Next you should add a bay leaf and some thyme to taste. With a lid on the pot, simmer until the lentils are tender; this should take about twenty minutes or so. Stir a few times while it simmers, and add more liquid if it is needed as the lentils absorb the water. When it is done, remember to remove the bay leaf.
Separately, prepare some brown rice – the package will have directions, but the usual ratio is a little over twice as much water as rice, i.e. two and a quarter cups of water to one cup of rice. When both the rice and lentils are done, serve by plating some rice and spooning lentils over top. Add salt and pepper to taste. You may wish to garnish with fresh parsley.

Acid Reflux Diet

* First of all, try to eat small, frequent meals instead of three big meals a day. Small amounts of food each time would exert less workload on the stomach and therefore requires less acid secretion for digestion. Make sure to include foods that are high in complex carbohydrates in each meal. These foods, such as rice, breads and pasta, are able to tie up excess stomach acid and are often easy on the stomach.
* Avoid high-fat meals such as those from the fast food chains. High fat foods will remain in the stomach longer, thus causing the need for more stomach acid in order to digest them.
* But remember, don't overeat! Eating too much of any foods will stimulate the stomach to secret more acids for digestion.
* Avoid or limit alcohol
* Maintain upright position during and at least 45 minutes after eating
* Try elevating the head of bed six to eight inches when lying down.

Don't think that beverages just quickly flow through your stomach without affecting acid production. Surprisingly, a lot of beverages stimulate acid secretion such as beer, wine and pop. The worst of all is beer. It could double your stomach acid within an hour.

Acid Reflux Diet

Many people take over-the-counter antacids for a quick ease of acid reflux, but for most people, a proper diet is the best solution for overcoming acid reflux.
Acid Reflux Diet Myth

* Myth 1: Drink milk

A lot of people try drinking milk to ease acid reflux before sleep. But often, milk ends up causing acid reflux during sleep. To understand the whole situation, we have to realize that the problem roots from eating too much at dinner time. Eating a big meal at dinner causes excess stomach acid production. Drinking milk could be a quick fix to the acid reflux problem. Unfortunately, milk has a rebound action and would eventually encourage secretion of more stomach acid, which causes the acid reflux. To solve the problem, try adjusting your diet by eating a small meal at dinner and have a small snack such as crackers before sleep.

* Myth 2: Avoid coffee, citrus fruits and Spicy food

We have been told for years that coffee, acidic fruit as well as spicy foods can aggravate acid reflux. Therefore, we should avoid these in our daily diet in order to reduce acid reflux. A recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in May 2006 showed that none of these myths hold true. Researchers from the Stanford University found that the only two behavioral changes can reduce symptoms of acid reflux - eating less and elevate your head while sleeping.

Acid Reflux Disease Diets

There are many different medications for the quick relief of acid reflux disease. However, an easy and effective long term solution can be as simple as following an acid reflux diet.

The first thing to do is eat smaller meals more frequently throughout the day. If you do this, your stomach will produce less acid for the smaller amount of food, therefore less acid will be available to enter the esophagus. The type of foods to avoid with acid reflux are foods that are low in fat, all vegetables(not fried), non citrus fruits, decaffinated beverages, and non spicy foods. Foods that would aggrevate or cause reflux and should be avoided are high fat foods(especially fast food), alcohol, chocolate, foods containing caffeine, peppermint and spearmint, Onions, and tomato products.