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Heartburn is generally a very common experience and no cause for concern. While that burning feeling in the pit of your chest is uncomfortable and frustrating, it is oftentimes no more than that. Run of the mill heartburn can typically be treated with over the counter medications and dietary changes. When aiming to reduce heartburn, it’s important to know what foods can help, what foods make it worse, and what you need to avoid.
First of all, what is heartburn and what causes it? Simply put, heartburn is the sensation you feel in your chest when stomach acid backs up into your esophagus, the tube that takes food from your mouth to your stomach. This tube is controlled by a series of muscles which keeps the food you swallow in. However, if these muscles malfunction, it can allow partially digested food to flow backwards up the esophagus. Heartburn can feel more intense or noticeable when you’re bent over or laying down.
Additionally, the foods you eat can play a role. Anything that is particularly hard to digest, potent, or acidic can cause heartburn or make it worse. Things like garlic, onions, high fat foods, chocolate, coffee, spicy foods, and citrus are all some of the most common offenders when it comes to chronic heartburn. Avoiding these foods, especially close to bedtime, as heartburn can interrupt sleep, is a good rule of thumb if you suffer from chronic heartburn.
One food that you may not realize is also highly acidic is tomatoes—because of this, anything made with a tomato base can be a contributor to heartburn. One food in particular is tomato sauce—not only do many tomato sauces on the market have preservatives that can be a digestive irritant, but they also often have added spices that double up on the acidity and potency that will wreak havoc on an already sensitive esophagus.
For this reason, spaghetti is one food you may want to avoid if you suffer from heartburn, according to the Mayo Clinic. Although it’s one of the most easy, versatile foods you can make for dinner, one of the foods that nearly everyone likes, eating something with so much acidic content could make your heartburn worse. If you like eating pasta, consider opting for a cream or pesto sauce that is less acidic. Or, simply avoid eating spaghetti with tomato sauce too late in the day, as this will at least help prevent having late night heat burn that will disrupt sleep.
As stated previously, heartburn is a normal experience for most people, although uncomfortable and unfortunate. However, if you do experience heartburn more than twice a week or have a persistent loss of appetite, something deeper could be at play. If you have heartburn with any of these circumstances, you should consult your doctor about getting to the bottom of what’s going on, and coming up with a treatment plan uniquely tailored to your needs.
