With weekly diet Heartburn: what to eat and weekly menu for reflux

To alleviate heartburn with the right foods, first find out its causes. Here you will find the keys to do it and a weekly diet to improve the problem.

The acidity or heartburn is a painful burning sensation in the chest or throat that causes acid reflux from the stomach. It can occur in a specific way, but if it is experienced frequently, it may indicate that you have gastro esophageal reflux, a problem that requires medical tests to determine the cause. In most cases, heartburn can be prevented naturally by changing some eating habits.

Treatment with  ‘stomach protectors” such as omeprazole may be effective in the short term, but it does not go to the root of the problem. In addition, they have side effects, such as a deficiency in the absorption of vitamin B12, calcium or magnesium, which favors osteoporosis and muscle weakness, among other problems. They also favor the overgrowth of Helicobacter pylori, something that should be avoided precisely when faced with a reflux problem.

In this article you will find:

• What foods to eat to relieve heartburn, which can vary depending on its causes.
• The best natural remedies against heartburn that you can include in your menu.
• An example of a weekly diet against heartburn, which you will find in downloadable form.

In the downloadable weekly menu against reflux that we present at the end of this article, you will find reflected the two basic principles that we must take into account if we want to improve heartburn:

• Base our diet on natural foods, generally avoiding foods that cause heartburn and favoring the consumption of other more recommended foods.
• Prepare them in a way that their digestion is easy.

WHAT TO EAT TO RELIEVE HEARTBURN

It should be emphasized that the causes of heartburn can be different and that, however, the same symptomatic treatment is often prescribed. It is worth finding out the reason behind each heartburn and recognizing the differences between the symptoms. This will allow you to find a way to improve your acidity in a personalized way and use more appropriate strategies.

Symptoms such as burning can have curiously opposite explanations: they can be due both to excess acids in the stomach and to deficiency.

In fact, the discomfort you feel indicates whether the problem of heartburn is caused by an excess of acids in the stomach or by its deficiency. In each case prevention and treatment are different. In any case, there are some common symptoms, which can occur in both cases, such as burning in the chest or in the pit of the stomach, a tendency to constipation and swollen and red gums.

Let”s see both cases in detail, how to identify whether it is one or the other and how to approach them.

1. HEARTBURN CAUSED BY EXCESS ACIDS

In this case, it usually appears on an empty stomach or before eating and improves both when eating and drinking. Other signs that excess acidity is the problem are hunger and thirst for cold drinks.

It must be taken into account that the pH of our stomach has to be very acidic so that it can digest (break) the protein bonds, so, even if we have an excess of acids, it is not advisable to reduce the pH too much. In many cases, the increase in this acid secretion is compensated in the stomach by the secretion of mucin in its walls. However, hyperacidity can cause problems, mainly in the entry and exit of the stomach, where the mucous membranes are not prepared for this increase in acidity.

Excess acids can in turn have various causes and depending on which they may be more convenient to emphasize some measures or others:

• Excess heat. According to traditional Chinese medicine, it is due to excess heat in the stomach.
• Helicobacter pylori bacteria. A common cause of excess acidity in the stomach is the overgrowth of the Helicobacter pylori bacteria, which we all have but which, in certain situations and depending on the state of our stomach lining, can reproduce more or less easily. The  pylori attacks the lining of the stomach wall, inflames and destroys it. Hence the sensation of heartburn and pain.
• A valve that does not close properly. Heartburn may also be due to the fact that the valve between the esophagus and the stomach, the cardia, does not close properly. Behind this malfunction is sometimes  pylori, and sometimes sustained stress, the consumption of drugs, alcohol, tobacco or coffee, and physical disorders such as hiatal hernia, which occurs when part of the stomach “becomes strain “through the diaphragm.

To do? One of the goals of treatment should be to improve the regenerative capacity of the mucosa. In addition, the doctor will have to assess whether it is necessary to treat H. pylori.

In general, foods that Chinese medicine describes as “cold” can help us, such as celery, cucumber, sprouts, quinoa or corn.

2. HEARTBURN CAUSED BY A LACK OF ACIDS

As we said, the opposite problem, that is, the deficiency of acids in the stomach, can also cause burning, as it causes the food to not digest well and ferment in the stomach.

In this case, the discomfort does not appear before, but after ingestion. This difference allows us to determine the cause. In addition to burning, other symptoms are heaviness, bloating, belching, a feeling of fullness, a dry mouth, and a thirst that persists even when drinking.

According to Chinese medicine, the problem is that there is “cold” in the stomach and then it is convenient for us to heat the “pot” with foods of a warm nature such as onion, garlic, pumpkin or sweet potato.

THE BEST NATURAL REMEDIES AND HABITS AGAINST REFLUX

When the discomfort is intense, we can resort to effective natural remedies without the side effects of antacid drugs:

• White clay: dilute a small amount of white clay in 100 ml of water and drink when discomfort appears.
• Raw potato juice: take 100 ml when discomfort appears.
• Umeboshi paste: put a small amount under the tongue and wait until you secrete a lot of saliva to swallow it.
• Kuzu with umebsohi: Make the kuzu drink and add some umeboshi.
• Millet flan: you can prepare a flan based on millet, kuzu and apple juice that is a real balm for the stomach. You will find the recipe in the downloadable anti-reflux diet that you will find below.

Apart from these specific remedies, you can usually resort to the following remedies and habits to digest better:

• Mandarin juice: take 100 ml before meals.
• Fresh ginger: dress vegetables and legumes with grated or juiced fresh ginger.
• Soy lecithin: put a little in high-fat foods.
• Chew well: chew each bite 20 times. Dedicate at least half an hour to each meal and avoid eating standing up and in stressful and cold places.
• Gentle cooking: Prefer steaming, boiling, and sautéing over frying, barbecuing, or roasting.
• Do not be satisfied: get up from the table without an excessive feeling of fullness. Don”t fill your stomach completely.

WEEKLY DIET FOR HEARTBURN

We have prepared a weekly menu with the ingredients that give peace to your digestive system without altering the mucous membranes or the microbiota. You will find many of the foods suitable for heartburn that we have included in this article, raw or subjected only to gentle cooking. You have breakfast, lunch and dinner proposals from Monday to Friday, with the option to choose for the weekend what you liked the most from the menu.