Acid reflux is a fairly common condition with many potential triggers, and the symptoms it can cause may impact your health and wellbeing.
In this blog, we explore some of the most common triggers for acid reflux, highlighting how to avoid them and manage your condition each day. Keep reading to learn all you need about common acid reflux triggers.
What is acid reflux?
Acid reflux is where your stomach acid flows back into your oesophagus (throat), leading to symptoms like:
- Heartburn
- An acidic taste in your mouth
- A hoarse voice
- Bad breath
- Coughing or hiccups
- Bloating
- Nausea
Several factors can cause acid reflux, so minimising your triggers can be crucial to reducing your likelihood of symptoms.
In some cases, acid reflux can also become chronic and require additional support. You can learn when to see a doctor for acid reflux in our dedicated blog post.
Acid reflux and diet
Diet can play a significant role in acid reflux management. Specific foods and drinks can increase the risk of symptoms or worsen them.
Spicy food
Foods containing spicy ingredients can irritate the oesophagus’s lining and increase stomach acid production, which can cause more frequent acid reflux episodes.
Caffeine
You may think starting your day with a coffee is the perfect morning routine, but caffeine is a common acid reflux trigger.
Caffeine can relax your lower oesophageal sphincter – the muscle that separates your stomach from your oesophagus, which stops food, drink and stomach acid from flowing back upwards. A relaxed lower oesophageal sphincter makes it much easier for stomach acid to move back into your throat.
Caffeine also stimulates stomach acid production, which can worsen your symptoms.
Alcohol
Drinking alcohol could cause problems if you have acid reflux. Alcohol relaxes the lower oesophageal sphincter and irritates the stomach lining, so acid flows up into your throat.
Carbonated drinks
Drinking fizzy drinks can be refreshing, but their bubbles can do more harm than good if you have acid reflux. Carbonation can cause bloating and increase the pressure in your stomach, forcing acid back into your oesophagus.
Some carbonated drinks also contain caffeine and lots of sugar, which can exacerbate acid reflux symptoms.
Foods high in fat
Fried food or foods high in fat, like full-fat dairy products, can worsen acid reflux. The reason for this is because they stay in the stomach longer and take longer to digest. This delayed stomach emptying can then go on to increase acid reflux symptoms.
Lifestyle factors that trigger acid reflux
Other lifestyle choices can affect your acid reflux symptoms apart from what you eat. Understanding how these influence acid reflux symptoms can help you make changes that alleviate your symptoms.
Eating large meals
Portion size can play a role in acid reflux. Eating large meals puts additional pressure on your stomach, which forces acid back into your oesophagus. Similarly, if your stomach is overfull, it can stretch and weaken your lower oesophageal sphincter.
Lying down too soon after eating
Eating and then immediately lying down or going to sleep can significantly increase your chances of acid reflux symptoms.
Stomach acid can move up towards your oesophagus more easily when lying down. So, if you eat a large meal and lie down soon after, food and acid can flow back.
Smoking
Smoking triggers acid reflux by weakening your lower oesophageal sphincter and increasing the acid your stomach produces. Both of these effects can aggravate your acid reflux.
Stress
Stress isn’t always avoidable, and while it may not directly cause acid reflux, it can worsen your symptoms.
For example, some people are more likely to eat unhealthy, high-fat foods and drink alcohol when they’re stressed.
Tips for managing your acid reflux
Managing your acid reflux is essential as it helps to keep your symptoms at bay and banish uncomfortable heartburn episodes.
Some top tips for minimising your symptoms include:
- avoiding spicy foods
- reducing foods high in fat and highly processed
- stopping smoking
- limiting your alcohol intake
- actively managing stress through relaxation techniques, mindfulness and counselling
- not eating three to four hours before going to bed
- limiting caffeinated and carbonated drinks
- eating smaller, frequent meals
If you still experience acid reflux even after making changes like these, you may need to investigate your triggers.
You can work them out by keeping a symptoms diary: keep track of what you eat and note any symptoms that occur. You should notice a pattern between your symptoms and a possible trigger.
Over-the-counter medications may also help you to manage your condition, too. Antacids can neutralise the acid in your stomach, and omeprazole can reduce the amount of acid the stomach produces.
However, you may need acid reflux surgery to eliminate your symptoms if lifestyle changes and over-the-counter medicines don’t work.
Find acid reflux support with Mr Achal Khanna
Managing your triggers for acid reflux can help control your symptoms. There are many ways to find relief – from avoiding spicy foods to keeping a symptom diary.
Mr Achal Khanna can offer minimally invasive acid reflux treatment if your acid reflux causes troublesome symptoms that lifestyle changes and over-the-counter medicines haven’t helped.
Book a consultation with Mr Achal Khanna today to learn how he and his team can help you manage your acid reflux.