Cooking for your family is always a pleasure; so is inviting friends and relatives over for a meal from time to time. But what if you or your family members often find yourselves victims of stomach distress after meals? You may experience a burning sensation or discomfort that can move up from your stomach to the middle of your abdomen and chest. The discomfort can also move into your throat. At times there’s a sour belching or a sour/ bitter-tasting acid backing up into your throat or mouth. Sometimes, there’s constipation and indigestion along with this. When this happens, you know that you or your family member is suffering from what is commonly called acidity.
What causes acidity?
When you eat food, your stomach produces gastric acids for the process of digestion. However, certain lifestyle habits that you develop over a period of time interrupt this smooth process of acid production and release, resulting in corrosion of the stomach wall, thereby increasing episodes of acidity. If you are tired of those burning sensations in the belly and grumbling from your family members, may be it’s time you relook at your lifestyle and eating pattern.
Triggers of acidity
Says Mumbai-based Nutritionist Poonam Gokhale, “Acidity is a common affair but the reasons for each one are different. Some people might have acidity with chocolates and others with citrus. A friend for one can be enemy for another.”
Certain cooking methods, too, can lead to an overproduction of gastrin, the hormone that stimulates the production of stomach acid.
Tips to combat acidity
Changing the way you prepare and cook and have meals can dramatically reduce the severity and frequency of acidity. Here are some ideas to acidity at bay, and to keep you and the rest of your family healthy too. Take a look at what triggers acidity and see the several ways in which you can avoid it:
Too much food at one time: Bigger isn’t always better. Excessive eating can cause acidity.
Tip: Advises Gokhale, “Trim your portions consciously by using smaller plates.Space out your food equally throughout the day. Increased time gap leads to increased acid secretion in the stomach.”
Eating acidic foods: Tomatoes, raw onions, raw garlic, fresh or dry peppermint, citrus fruits like oranges, grapefruits, and lemons can trigger acidity, especially if you eat them by themselves, on an empty stomach. Vinegar, a common ingredient in salad dressings and other dishes, is also highly acidic.
Tip: Identify acidic foods and if you can’t avoid them, limit their intake. For instance, cook tomatoes with alkaline foods like spinach, fenugreek, potatoes, radish etc to balance its acidic effect in your meal.
Eating fatty & fried foods: Write Bonci and Elaine Magee, authors of the book ‘Tell Me What to Eat If I Have Acid Reflux’, “High-fat foods tend to stay in the stomach longer, and the longer they’re there, the more likely discomfort can be.” If you’re eating big servings of those high-fat foods then it’s a double whammy.
Tip: Trim any visible fat and skin off meat, and try to avoid meats that are generally higher in overall fat. Limit or avoid the use of oils and butter. Go easy on samosas, pakoras, sev etc.
Eating spicy foods: Hotter isn’t always better. The trigger spices are: Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, mustard seeds, black pepper, white pepper, cayenne pepper, amchoor (dry mango powder), pickles, white vinegar, and ketchup. Garam masala has many of these spices. Avoid using it.
Tip: Fresh herbs such as basil, cilantro, and ginger, as well as dried herbs like rosemary, thyme, dill, and oregano, boost flavour and add character without giving acidity.
Eating on the Go: Nutritionists say that the three G’s: Grab, Gulp, and Go affect good digestion and can cause acidity. Don’t shovel food down if you want to tame acidity.
Tip: Slow down. The old advice of eating slowly and chewing food well makes sense.
Going to bed with a full stomach: Eat meals at least two to three hours before lying down.
Tip: Give food time to digest and empty from your stomach, and give acid levels a chance to decrease before putting your body in a position where heartburn is more likely to occur.
Tight-fitting clothes: Often, extra pressure around your belly ramps up acid reflux.
Tip: Loosen up!
More Tips To Manage Acidity
- Lose weight: If you are overweight, losing weight can help relieve your symptoms. Manage your weight to manage your overall health.
- Stop smoking: Nicotine, one of the main active ingredients in cigarettes, can weaken the lower esophageal sphincter, the muscle that controls the opening between the esophagus and stomach, allowing the acid-containing contents of the stomach to more easily enter the esophagus.
- Stop or cut down on alcohol: Beer and wine increase acid production in the stomach, causing inflammation on the stomach’s inner lining. If your aim is to unwind after a stressful day, try exercise, walking, meditation, stretching, or deep breathing instead of drinking alcohol.
- Make sensible choices for your family: “Restrict the intake of tea/coffee for everyone. Go easy on chocolate; instead serve fresh fruits, increase the intake of water; drink enough of it after every meal,” suggests Gokhale. Nutritionists would also like us to choose herbal teas, milk, and plain water in place of caffeine and fizzy drinks and think twice before reaching for junk foods loaded with butter, mayonnaise, cream and cheese, the main culprits of heart burn and acid reflux.
- If your acidity is worse when lying down: Raise the head of your bed so that your head and chest are higher than your feet. You can do this by placing six-inch blocks under the bedposts at the head of the bed. Don’t use piles of pillows. You will only put your head at an angle that can increase pressure on your stomach and make your heartburn worse.
- Relook at your medication: Popping painkillers and supplements has become an everyday thing for a lot of people. But these medicines can affect the acid production and pH of the stomach.
- Keep a diary: Keep track of when heartburn hits and the specific foods and activities that seem to trigger the incidents. When you identify triggers, they will be easier to avoid.
Acidity can be treated with antacids and by making changes in eating and lifestyle habits. If left untreated it can aggravate, causing serious and painful complications like an inflammation of the esophagus due to chronic exposure to stomach acids, which can lead to bleeding and ulcers. While OTC antacids are safe when taken on need-to basis, if your problem is serious and chronic, check if your acidity means much more than unhealthy lifestyle. Certain gastric disorders like stomach ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, or stomach tumors, can have acidity as a symptom. Talk to your doctor about acidity medication based on your unique situation and, together, you can come up with the best treatment plan for you.