If you often feel heartburn, then you also need to be careful when picking your food, some things can aggravate this symptom, read on.
The human stomach is like a well-maintained garden, and stomach acid is the clear spring that nourishes everything but needs to be carefully controlled. Between the stomach and the oesophagus, there is a loyal gate, the sphincter, which acts as a dutiful gatekeeper, ensuring that the spring (stomach acid) gurgles within the garden (stomach) before it overflows and encroaches on the delicate pathway (oesophagus) adjacent to it. However, when the acid slips out and travels up the path, it can give you a burning sensation called heartburn, as if an unwelcome visitor has suddenly entered the garden and disturbed the peace. We can't rely on medication alone to deal with this unwelcome visitor, because it's a battle that requires a long-term strategy and careful attention. Just as a gardener needs to know which plants are attracting pests and which fertilisers are causing an imbalance in the soil, we also need to be wise gardeners of our bodies, knowing which foods are triggering heartburn.
I know there are a lot of coffee lovers out there who are sad, but if you're a heartburn sufferer and you can't live without coffee every day, for the sake of your health, please bear to quit coffee. Of course, many people need a cup of coffee in the morning to wake themselves up, but this not only wakes up the sleeping senses but also quietly wakes up the ‘acid genie’ in the stomach. This elf becomes more active under the catalyst of coffee, releasing more stomach acid, which is one of the culprits of heartburn discomfort. More subtly, coffee also loosens the ‘sphincter gate’. This gate, which is a strong defence against acid reflux, becomes less reliable under the magic of coffee. Thus, food and stomach acid can take advantage of the situation, and they go upstream, disturbing the originally calm oesophagus and bringing about burning and discomfort.
Used to ordering a fried food takeaway on a weekend night? Have some fried chicken or fries every time you go to the cinema? But if you suffer from acid reflux, you might want to give up this ‘pleasure’. The stomach carefully handles every piece of food that comes in and out of the body, making sure it is safely and orderly converted into energy. However, when highly processed, fried and greasy foods flood in, it puts a huge workload on the stomach. They keep the food in the stomach longer. As a result, stomach acid ‘backup’ occurs, and the acid that should be at the bottom of the stomach begins to flow uncontrollably up into the oesophagus. This not only makes the oesophagus feel uncomfortable but also stimulates the stomach, which mistakenly thinks that it needs to increase its power to produce more stomach acid to cope with this sudden ‘crisis’.
Even tomatoes, a vegetable you thought was healthy, can exacerbate heartburn! Tomatoes are known for their richness in antioxidants and lycopene. However, tomatoes contain malic acid and citric acid, two acids that wield their acidic charms in the stomach arena.
Heartburn, like a flaming dance on the stomach lining, is excruciatingly painful. Instead of making the heartburn sufferer feel full, some foods stimulate the production of stomach acid, which puts unprecedented pressure and discomfort on the already fragile stomach lining. By adjusting our diet, we are not only alleviating the discomfort caused by heartburn but also paving the way for a more harmonious symbiosis in our health garden. In the process, each avoidance and attempt is a deeper understanding and care of our own body, making life more comfortable and at ease every day.
