Is food your enemy? Are you sick of feeling guilty after eating one of your favorite foods, just because you get heartburn soon after? Consider this the end of these feelings. While there are many foods that cause heartburn, there are also many ways to prevent heartburn and extinguish the fire from within, before it even starts!
So it's about 10 minutes after you left a nice restaurant, where you got the best meal in the house. You're already getting that terrible burning sensation rising up your chest, and thus regretting the meal you just dropped $50.00 on. Heartburn is not fun. Period. However, while it is difficult at times to resist eating your favorite foods, heartburn has a cumulative effect, meaning that by knowing most all of the foods that cause heartburn, you can eliminate the ones you don't care about as much, and continue to eat your favorites with less risk of heartburn. And so, the filter and resist method is born!
The main goal here is to ease the symptoms of heartburn by eliminating acid production in your stomach and soothing your irritated esophagus and digestive lining. In order to do this you must first filter the foods that cause heartburn that you don't care about.
The main groups of these foods are:
- Spicy foods
- Coffee and carbonated drinks
- Tomatoes and high-acid citrus fruits
- Pasta
- Starches (especially fried)
- Sugar-filled snacks
- Fried meats
Now, of all these foods types, many of them also cause many other health problems, and you should use your heartburn as an excuse to turn them down. Talk about a blessing in disguise! The main foods to avoid here are fried starches, coffee and carbonated drinks, sugar and fried meats. Some of the others are staples, and cannot be avoided completely.
The above list in not complete by any means, but simply listing 100's of foods would do you no good. However, this list is a good set to keep in mind, and by filtering out the specific foods that cause heartburn from that list that you don't enjoy as much, you're well on your way.
Now for the second step: resistance. This is the tough part. Say you love spicy foods, eating chicken wings or drinking coffee. By reducing the number of foods that cause heartburn in your diet, you have already taken care of part of the problem. At this point, you need to reduce the quantity of the foods you did not filter out of your diet. Simply eat less. If you love your cup of coffee in the morning, drink it. But stick with literally one cup, not five, and you'll typically be fine. If you like wings, eat them on occasion, but get a salad with them to prevent you from eating more than necessary.
Here are some other quick tips for decreasing the chances of heartburn, even after you've used the filter and resist method:
1) Eat smaller, more frequent meals (5-6 per day)
2) Never eat within 2 hours of going to sleep
3) Enjoy vegetables, low-acid fruits and whole grains
By following these simple steps to reduce the foods that cause heartburn in your diet, you will be more comfortable and much healthier for life!
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