Lifestyle Change
Another alternative treatment to help you increase your chances of experiencing heartburn produced by GERD is to aim for a healthier lifestyle. Although heartburn can happen to anyone, those who often experience it are overweight or obese. This is because excess weight in the abdominal area puts more pressure on the stomach. This can result in stomach acids rising back to one’s esophagus and causing heartburn.
Though losing weight has its advantages in avoiding heartburn, it still does not guarantee anyone from not experiencing heartburn. Part of reducing one’s weight is adapting a healthier diet and exercising. And in line with this, knowing the foods to avoid can lessen your chances of experiencing heartburn.
By avoiding or limiting certain foods, like tomato-based products, high-fat foods, fried and greasy foods, citrus fruits, soda, caffeine, and mint, you may experience less and less heartburn. You may also want to start keeping a food journal to help you identify heartburn-triggering foods as a reference.
Consume low-fat and protein-rich foods instead. You might also want to consider chewing non-mint gum after every meal. Chewing gum can help increase saliva in your mouth and keep acid from rising into the esophagus.
