What to Drink When You Have Acid Reflux?

Ring shaped valve is present at the entrance of stomach, this is known as LES i.e. lower esophageal sphincter. The opening of LES or lower esophageal sphincter closes when food passes through the food pipe. If the value fails to close on time or opens too frequently then the acid produced in the stomach enters the esophagus. This causes burning in chest known as acid reflux.

People suffering from acid reflux should be very carefully about what they eat or drink. Usually, intake of spicy fried or food containing lot of caffeine should be avoided in acid reflux as this makes the burning sensation even worse. On the contrary, there are some food items that help in getting relief from heart burn. Let’s take a look on some of the drinks that are beneficial in fighting acid reflux:

• Ginger drink is good when you have acid reflux. Ginger has high anti-inflammation property, which helps in acid reflux. Medical practitioner’s advice to drink hot tea made with fresh ginger. This tea helps in cutting the acid produced in stomach. Ginger is also very helpful in curing bellyache or other kind of stomach related disorder.
• Banana drink is good when you have acid reflux. Fruits which are acidic in nature, like orange, berries, grapefruit etc aggravate the heart burn problem. But researches have revealed that food with high pH content helps in neutralizing acidity and its painful symptoms. Banana is one of the best alkaline fruit with pH content of 4.5 to 5.2.
• Yogurt is good when you have acid reflux. It is a nice creamy food which is packed with nutrients and helps in fighting acidity from the core. Yogurt makes stomach cool and non acidic. Majority of people avoid intake of yogurt because they believe that it is high on calories. It is true that yogurt is slightly high on calories but it is healthy calories, also for health freak people low fat or fat free yogurts are also available.
• Melon. Another good drink when you have acid reflux is melon drink. Just like bananas, melon is also an alkaline fruit with high pH content. Patients suffering from acid reflux should take melon any form like smoothies or crushers. Eating melons everyday is very healthy and light on digestion.
• Green leafy vegetable drink is excellent when you have acid reflux. There is a list of benefits that can be availed when green vegetables are eaten regularly. Juice of green vegetables like kale, Brussels, asparagus, sprouts etc is highly alkaline and helps in fighting acidity. There are various different and tasty ways of including green vegetables in daily diet.
• Oatmeal is fantastic when you have acid reflux. All types of whole grains are very beneficial in treating any type of acid reflux caused in the body. Gelatinous texture of the oatmeal provides lining on the stomach inner surface. This restrains the acid from moving into the esophagus. One should eat oatmeal with low fat milk and nuts to avoid burning sensation in chest.
• Chewing Gum is good when you have acid reflux. Chewing gum also helps in treating acidity by producing a lot of saliva. This helps in considerably reducing the amount of acid in the stomach. Hence, instead of using any spray based mouth fresher it is good and healthy to chew gums. This removes bad odor from mouth and also maintains required body pH.

• Heart Burn. Constant burning sensation in heart leading to discomfort.
• Bloating
• Frequent burps
• Nausea
• Sour taste acid moving up and down in the throat
• Vomit
• Wheezing sound while breathing is a symptom of acid reflux.

Some of the common risk factors that add to acid reflux are:

• Being over weight
• Eating snacks just before the bedtime
• Eating large portions of meal or going to bed right after eating
• Drinking excess quantity of alcohol or caffeine drinks like tea/coffee.
• Frequent smoking is a factor of risk for acid reflux
• Pregnancy.