Food That Fight Acidity

Acid Reflux & Foods

Acid reflux is a condition in the body in which the contents of the stomach (partially digested food and liquids) are thrown back in to the oesophagus and mouth. This is also known as Gastro Oesophageal Reflux Disease or in short form GERD or commonly called Acidity.  When food come back in oesophagus (tube connecting mouth to stomach) then it can cause irritation to the oesophagus, heart burn and bad taste in mouth.  The reasons can be lot for the disease but main reasons are

1.       Smoking

2.       Obesity

3.       Alcohol

4.       Spicy food

5.       Drugs like drugs used for high blood pressure or sea sickness or anti asthmatics etc

6.       Unexplained reasons

This condition can be worsened in case of pregnancy.

Now the topic of this Hub is not to talk much about this disease but about the foods which help in fighting this disease. The various foods that do this are

1.      Bananas:  Everyone knows that bananas are not easily available all over the world but also one of the cheapest fruit and liked all over the world. Even though this fruit is full of calories but also it is full of minerals and other health benefit things. Bananas have very low Ph Value and thus help in not letting form the acids in the stomach. They are also a rich source of Vitamins, minerals and instant energy (see the Tennis players eating Bananas in the break between every two games). A banana a day is surely going to help fight GERD.

2.      Green Vegetables:  Green vegetables are very good source for lots of healthy things for the body. Cauliflowers, spinach, green beans, broccoli, mint, lady finger, asparagus have been recommended by the doctors for not only minerals but also for the fibre content they have in them which curb the acid formation in the stomach thus preventing GERD.

3.       Ginger:  To most people ginger taste offensive. But if taken in moderate amount it can not only help fighting GERD ( it is supposed to be best food for GERD) but also fighting other Gastric diseases.

4.       Brown Rice: Brown rice is a very complex carbohydrate and it requires a lot of acid to digest. Thus if you are suffering from Hyper acidity then since it needs extra acid so this way it takes care of extra acid stomach produces.

5.       Melons:  Role of melons is controversial. Even though they have low Ph and do help most person in case of GERD but it has been seen that in some it worsen the condition so you must try it in small portion to see what happens, if it helps you then eat more portions.

6.      Sea Food: Sea food is very rich natural dietary source of Omega 3 fatty acids which relieve heart burn and helps in reducing secretion of the acid from the stomach. But again one caution is don’t add oil while cooking fish so use baked fish.

Which foods are to be avoided?

The foods which have high ph value should be avoided as this would increase the acidity in the stomach and would cause heart burn.

1.       Citrus Juices

2.       Tomatoes

3.       Raw onions

4.       Fried food

5.       Beef

6.       Fried chicken

7.       Milk Shakes

8.       Macaroni

9.       Sour cream

10.   Chocolates.