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If you are suffering from acid reflux symptoms it may seem that everything you eat causes the heartburn and indigestion. Finding a great diet to help you avoid the pain and discomfort associated with heartburn can be key to avoiding acid reflux pain and getting on with your life.

Do not forget that diet alone may not give you the relief you are looking for. This is something you should talk to you doctor about to see if you need medication or if you indigestion is serious. He may even have you take medication in addition to you new diet. Lets first take a look at what acid reflux is before we start to talk about a good diet for your.

Acid reflux, or heartburn, is a condition in which acids from the stomach enter the esophagus, causing painful burning sensations. With heartburn, the band of muscles that close off the top of the stomach from the bottom of the esophagus don’t close properly, allowing the acid to travel up into the esophagus. This can be aggravated by increased pressure in the stomach from certain foods, or from pregnancy, for example. For many people, the problem of heartburn is a chronic one, and is treated through a variety of means, such as dietary changes, over-the-counter medicines, prescription medicines, and possibly even surgery.

As with any chronic problem, most people choose the least invasive and least costly treatment option first. For heartburn, perhaps the most effective treatment and prevention measure is to discover the foods that cause heartburn and to reduce or eliminate them in a person’s diet. The specific foods may be different for everyone, so while it is helpful to start with foods that generally cause problems, keeping a food diary is perhaps the most helpful way for an individual to pinpoint his or her own specific heartburn food triggers. Simply record the food eaten, the amount, the time at which it was eaten, and the corresponding heartburn symptoms, and look for a pattern that emerges over time (perhaps a week or maybe longer).

While foods have a different effect on everyone, there are certain foods that are the “usual suspects” as foods that cause heartburn. At the top of the list are spicy foods. Foods that contain acids in high concentrations, like citrus or tomato juices, may also aggravate heartburn. There are certain other foods that also have been shown to worsen heartburn, and therefore should be avoided. These include chocolate, peppermint, carbonated drinks, drinks that contain caffeine, and alcohol. Reducing or eliminating these foods can have very beneficial effects on heartburn symptoms.

Along with the specific foods that cause heartburn, dietary habits such as the amount of food consumed and the timing of meals can also contribute to heartburn problems. Eating large meals increases the pressure in the stomach, therefore contributing to heartburn. Eating later in the evening can also make nighttime heartburn worse. Through a combination of eating smaller meals, eating earlier in the day, and avoiding foods that trigger heartburn, most acid reflux sufferers can improve their condition.

Visit AcidRefluxFocus.com for more information about acid reflux symptoms, heartburn and GERD.