Acid reflux is a condition that occurs when the acid from the stomach pushes upward into the oesophagus. This happens when the sphincter in the oesophagus relaxes. This results in a burning sensation commonly known as heartburn. Other symptoms of acid reflux include throwing up and a lingering sour taste at the back of your mouth.
While heartburn might be nothing to worry about if it happens once in a while, but if it occurs more than twice in a week, it may be a symptom of a condition known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
What Are the Causes of Acid Reflux Disease?
The main cause of acid reflux disease is a stomach abnormality known as hiatal hernia. Other likely causes of acid reflux disease are: smoking, eating large meals, eating spicy foods, lying down right after a meal, being overweight or obese, eating close to bedtime, and pregnancy.
One of the things that trigger acid reflux is your diet. If your diet. Sometimes, the foods you eat may be the ones that induce acid reflux. And so to fix that, you have to eat foods that would reduce how often you experience it. These foods can also help you avoid the symptoms of acid reflux disease, such as heartburn, dysphagia, and bloating.
In today’s post, we would be looking at some foods you should eat if you have acid reflux. These are foods that can be easily found in Nigeria. So here are some Nigerian foods to eat if you have acid reflux disease.
7 Nigerian Foods To Eat If You Have Acid Reflux
1. Tiger Nut Milk
Tiger nuts or debino are tubers that are widely consumed in many parts of Nigeria. They are very rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other healthy plant compounds.
What makes tiger nut milk good if you have acid reflux is that it is a healthy plant-based milk. Drinking full-fat cow’s milk can lead to acid reflux, and also many people have difficulty digesting it.
Hence, tiger nut milk is a healthier option to drink if you have acid reflux. Other alternatives are almond milk, cashew milk, and soy milk.
2. Whole Grains
Whole grains are very healthy as they are loaded with lots of nutrients you would not find in regular grains. Their high fibre content could be helpful in absorbing stomach acid, which could reduce the chances of experiencing acid reflux.
Examples of whole grain foods in Nigeria include acha (fonio), oats, brown rice, whole wheat, millet, and more. You can also try replacing the bread you eat with whole-wheat bread and going for whole-wheat pasta rather than the regular kind.
3. Lean Meats
Lean meats refer to meats that have low fat content, and one way you can do that is by removing the skin from the meat, like chicken and turkey meat. And rather than fry the meat before you eat it, you should simply boil it. Lean meat also includes red meat and pork, which contain very little or no fat.
When next you are buying red meat, you should make sure it is cut from a part of the meat that has little to no fat. Also, when next you want to cook your chicken or turkey, make sure you remove the skin first and avoid frying it.
4. Potatoes
Potatoes are another food you can eat to prevent acid reflux. This is because potatoes are very rich in fibre, and a range of other nutrients. The fibre content in potatoes can help with the absorption of acid from good and also help food digest better.
5. Ginger
If you suffer from constant heartburn, then including ginger in your diet would help you find relief. This is because ginger contains anti-inflammatory properties, and it has been used as a natural remedy for heartburn for centuries. There are so many ways to include ginger in your diet, but you can also add it to your smoothies, along with other fruits, or brew it as a tea.
6. Vegetables
Vegetables contain nutrients that have a lot of effects on the body, including preventing acid reflux. Vegetables like carrots are also rich in fibre, which plays a major role in absorbing acid. Another good thing about vegetables is that they are low in fat, making them just right for preventing acid reflux.
In Nigeria, there are many highly nutritious leafy vegetables such as fluted pumpkin leaves (ugu), spinach, bitter leaves, scent leaves, and ewedu leaves.
7. Non-citrus Fruits
If you are dealing with heartburn, you should avoid fruits from the citrus family, like orange, lime, lemon, tangerine, and so on, as they have high acidic content, which could trigger acid reflux. Instead, you can eat other fruits like watermelon, bananas, pears, garden eggs, avocado, and more. In addition, you can also drink cucumber juice.
Nigerian Foods To Avoid If You Have Acid Reflux Disease
In order to prevent the symptoms of acid reflux from worsening, there are certain foods that should be avoided. Below are some of them:
- Pepper soup or any spicy soup
- Coffee
- Alcohol
- Tomato juice
- Peppermint
- Chocolate
- Pizza
- Shawarma
- Instant noodles
- Potato chips and other processed snacks
- Hot dogs
- Cheese.
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