Eat Right to Keep Heartburn at Bay

by Jason Greening

There are lots of people who suffer from heartburn far too frequently. If you’re one of them, you might find that your favorite foods can seem like they’re the enemy. Not too long after a great meal, you might suddenly experience a burning feeling in the chest area that’s quite painful. And it can sometimes even drive your meal right back up into the esophagus.

But those who suffer from heartburn can often find a way to make friends with food. They just need to learn which foods are safe to eat and which ones to stay away from.

The only way to ease the discomfort of your heartburn is to lower your levels of stomach acids. You’ll also want to soothe and restore the lining of your esophagus, which shields your body from harm.

Healthy eating on its own isn’t an effective treatment of heartburn. Eating according to the food pyramid will have some impact on easing your symptoms. But those who suffer from heartburn will most likely have to make some other changes in their eating habits as well.

If you study the food pyramid, you’ll see that grains should be the focus of your diet. For heartburn relief, this is even more critical to maintaining your health and easing your pain. Whole grains in particular are important. Stay away from highly processed, starchy products that contain a lot of sugar and fat.

Fruits and vegetables make up the next section of the pyramid, and it’s advised that you eat an abundance of these foods. However, when it comes to heartburn, you need to choose wisely. There are a few types of fresh produce that will actually aggravate your problem.

To avoid any issues, stick with fruits such as apples, pears and grapes that are unlikely to aggravate the problem. But fruits that contain citric acid, such as grapefruit, lemons, oranges and limes, can lead to an instant outbreak of heartburn.

The majority of vegetables won’t trigger heartburn symptoms and should be eaten in abundance. But remember to serve them up healthfully. Don’t load them down with excessive fat and unhealthy oils. Too much fat will almost certainly lead to heartburn symptoms.

When choosing which proteins to include in your diet, always opt for the lower fat products. For example, you can’t go wrong with lean meat. So avoid the marbled cuts of beef, and enjoy the well trimmed choices.

Similar to vegetables, though, how you prepare your healthy cut of meat is important. You can keep heartburn at bay if you choose broiling, grilling or baking as your cooking techniques of choice.

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