Diet Tips for Acid Reflux

Diet plays a major part in both causing and curing acid reflux. It doesn't matter what type of you suffer from, or what factors underlie your own particular struggle with heartburn, there's no doubt that a change in diet can have remarkable effects upon how you manage your symptoms.

Unfortunately, there are some foods that seem to encourage heartburn in a lot of people, and maybe you're one of them. Among these foods we can recognize general categories such as spicy, high fat and dairy foods. Chocolate, tomatoes and herbal supplements are also known to bring about heartburn-like symptoms, particularly if you eat them just before you go to bed.

OK, so you think you've recognized particular foods that seem to bring on your heartburn. Well, all is not lost: you don't necessarily have to say goodbye to them! You may find that eating them in the morning instead of closer to bedtime will alleviate your acid indigestion symptoms. When you eaten during a time when you're awake and active, your body is much better able to contain the stomach acids used to digest your food.

This is evidenced by the fact that many people suffer from heartburn primarily at night time. Many people have found relief by raising the level of the head of their bed. Simply adding layers of pillows isn't so effective (although I have to say it worked for me), but raising the entire head end of a bed by at least twelve inches has been shown to lessen heartburn symptoms. Of course, your partner might not be so happy with that!

Of course, if you still are suffering from after modifying your diet, when you eat and sleeping arrangements, you should definitely see a doctor to rule out the possibility of structural abnormality or other factors contributing to your symptoms.

Even if the doctor ends up prescribing a prescription medicine, you should still make a point of trying to eliminate foods that make heartburn worse, and increase fresh, raw foods. And don't forget, sometimes by changing your eating habits, e.g. time, it will still be possible for you to enjoy the "forbidden" foods you like!