Foods That Cause Acid Reflex

Changing your diet can help to control acid reflux. Acidic foods, drinks and meats are particularly bad for aggravating acid reflux and causing damage to the esophagus. These should be eliminated completely from your diet.

Significance of Acid Reflux

Acid reflux can cause significant damage to the esophagus. Coughing is often triggered by acid reflux and can affect the lungs and breathing. Untreated acid reflux can even lead to ulcers in the esophagus. Changing your diet and avoiding foods that cause acid reflux is one way to control this condition and reduce the chances of coughing, ulcers and other damage to the body.

Benefits of Reducing Acid Reflux Symptoms

Reducing the symptoms of acid reflux is the biggest benefit of changing your diet to avoid foods that cause this problem. You might find that you can reduce the amount of medication you take or completely eliminate the need for prescriptions with a diet change. Never stop medications without consulting a physician, however.

Drinks

Sodas, alcoholic beverages and tea cause acid reflux. Drinks with caffeine will also aggravate acid reflux symptoms. Eliminate these types of drinks from your diet to reduce symptoms from this condition.

High-Fat Foods

Foods high in fat are bad for your body in many different ways. High-fat foods aggravate acid reflux. These foods take longer to digest, increasing the amount of acid reflux that results. Avoid whole dairy products, fried foods and meats that are high in fat to help control acid reflux. Fried meats, organ meats, some cuts of beef, veal and dark meat chicken are examples of meats high in fat.

Acidic Foods

Acidic foods are another culprit that triggers acid reflux disease. The lining of the esophagus is irritated worse when acidic foods come back up after meals. Avoid acidic vegetables such as tomatoes, corn, lentils, olives, squash, raw onions, black beans, chick peas and kidney beans. Also avoid acidic fruits such as lemons, grapefruit, blueberries, cranberries, oranges, currants and prunes.

Acidic Meats

Acidic meats are difficult to digest. Many acidic meats are also high in fat. When acidic meats sit in the stomach, they're more likely to come back up with this disease. Eliminate seafood, pork and shellfish from your diet to reduce problems with acid reflux.

Other Foods

Chocolate and food products with mint flavoring weaken the sphincter muscle located between the esophagus and the stomach opening. Any foods spiced with chili peppers or other peppers can irritate the esophagus lining to cause worse damage with acid reflux.

Garlic also causes acid reflux. Avoid spicing foods with any form of garlic. Garlic will weaken the sphincter muscle, which aggravates acid reflux.