How Do You Know Which Food to Avoid for Heartburn?

Heartburn is a terrible affliction which causes a lot of pain and inconvenience even when it occurs occasionally. Every human being, child and adult, will experience some time or other this terrible symptom. They learn from experience which foods to avoid for heartburn as some food groups do not agree with them. Some causes can be generalized, but many times, the irritants are as different as the people whom they affect.

Main Culprits - Some Foods to Avoid for Heartburn

There are many foods that are commonly known to cause acid in the stomach and heartburn. These are citrus fruits, tomatoes, fatty foods such as pork chops, deep fried meat, or potatoes, aerated cold drinks, coffee, hot milk and so on. These are just some of the foods one should avoid for heartburn as consuming any of these in excess can cause acute discomfort.

However, not all the items named above react in the same way on everyone. People have different reactions to different stimulants and hence, one will need to carefully watch and identify which foods cause the greatest harm. Once you have a list, eliminate those foods from your diet to the extent possible. For example if you find that hot milk causes acute heartburn, then either stop having it altogether, or have it at room temperature or ice cold.

Similarly, with fatty foods - either totally stop having them or have a Tums right before or after the meal which will neutralize the excess acid formed in the stomach.

Many complain that a popular food that should be avoided for heartburn is everyone's favorite - chocolate. It has been found that heartburn can occur following the consumption of chocolate or chocolate drinks at night. It has been observed that if the same drink is enjoyed during the day time, it does not react. However, at night it provokes high acidity. It is good then to avoid chocolate and its derivates at night.

Many people observe that smoking and alcohol consumption - with special emphasis on smoking - cause acute heartburn. It is very true that smoking affects the acid production in the stomach. If you observe that heartburn is a common occurrence post smoking, do away with the habit. As it is, smoking is one of the most harmful habits of a human being.

Alcohol, when consumed on an empty stomach also can cause an acidic stomach. In order to avoid this, you should always consume some nuts or something similar while drinking. This would ensure that your stomach does not overdo the production of acid, when you drown it in alcohol.

The symptoms and reaction vary from person to person. The good news is that, most of the time, if you avoid the foods that cause heartburn, you are in effect removing the irritant - and the heartburn disappears too.