What do you think, is green tea good for acid reflux or not? Hanging out and eating junk food is pleasant, but it often predicts problems.
Heartburn and regurgitation are often associated with unhealthy and improper eating. A table with plenty of tasteful food calls for problems. We can burden our stomach and cause health problems quickly.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common, chronic or repetitive problem that occurs due to excessive return of stomach contents into the esophagus, but also in the mouth and respiratory tract.
The return of gastric contents (reflux), especially gastric acid to the esophagus, is a phenomenon that causes people a minor or greater problem.
If the problems are worse, we are talking about reflux disease. Difficulties occur frequently in some patients and seriously disturb their life and work. Are you one of them? See how green tea can help.
Does green tea help in acid reflux?
Green tea is a real tea, so this means that it contains caffeine. Coffee and all beverages containing caffeine have a similar effect to the lower esophageal sphincter as alcohol.
Sphincter’s function is to be closed when you don’t swallow, so that food content can’t go back to your esophagus or even in the mouth or respiratory tract and cause heartburn and regurgitation.
Caffeine effects
Caffeine products release sphincter’s tension, so if you have common problems with heartburn, consider avoiding caffeinated drinks, especially energy drinks and coffee.
Maybe you can drink one cup of green tea per day, just don’t drink it on an empty stomach or a half of an hour after a meal.
Prefer herbal tea or a vegetable drink, if you see that heartburn occurs soon after drinking a cup of green tea.
GERD Disease
GERD can interfere in our live and daily activities. However, GERD doesn’t cause excessive excretion of gastric acid.
The main cause is a disorder in the functioning of the lower esophageal sphincter, which ensures that the passage between the esophagus and the stomach is closed when we don’t swallow.
Closed passage prevents the passage of stomach contents containing enzymes, foods, liquids, bile, and acids to go back into the esophagus and work on the mucous membrane of the esophagus.
Returning of stomach contents in the esophagus is called reflux, and the problem that we face is heartburn.
A common disease
GERD is becoming a more and more common disease that affects about 10% of the population in the developed world over the last two decades. About 40% of adults report that they have heartburn at least once a month.
Which food and drinks to avoid?
Heartburn occurs when we eat too fast or we eat specific foods too often. So it’s important to take time for each meal, but it’s also important to know which foods accelerate heartburn.
Avoid alcoholic drinks and milk
Beer, wine and all other alcoholic beverages have long been known to cause heartburn, so you should avoid them.
Alcohol causes the release of the lower esophageal sphincter and the valve between the stomach and the lower part of the esophagus that allows the leakage of acid from the stomach upwards of the esophagus.
Milk is also a major ally of the heartburn, as it contains fat and proteins that stimulate the excretion of excessive amounts of acid in the stomach.
Foods that cause acid reflux
These are the type of foods that you should avoid.
Oily and fried foods
Oily and fried foods are not advisable for people who have mentioned problems.
The disadvantage of the fats is that they usually stay in the stomach for a long time, thus excrete more stomach acid than usual.
Occasional heartburn is not dangerous, but its repetitive form can lead to serious health problems, such as an esophagus ulcer.
Chocolate and carbonated drinks
Chocolate contains significant amounts of both fat and caffeine, so avoid it as much as possible.
Carbonated beverages containing bubbles and carbon dioxide expand our stomach, and the muscle of the lower esophageal sphincter again becomes loose.
In addition, they contain a lot of sugar, so it is best to avoid them.
Drink herbal teas and take care of proper nutrition
Eat food that is rich in fiber, as it helps digestion and causes food to remain in your stomach for as long as it is necessary.
If the food doesn’t stay in the stomach for long, the organ won’t produce more stomach acid.
Ensure that you eat a lot of fruits, vegetables, cereals, and legumes. This way you will consume a lot of necessary fiber.
Whole-grain food
Avoid processed carbohydrates. It means you can enjoy as many whole-grain products as whole-grain bread, whole-grained pasta, and whole-grain rice.
Always check the ingredients list on the product packaging and reach out to those who have “full-grain” written as far as possible at the top.
Herbal teas
Instead of drinking too much caffeine drinks, try to drink herbal teas and water. It is also ok to drink water with lemon juice.
People are mistaken when they think lemon will harm them because it contains acid.
Enjoy freshly squeezed vegetable juices (carrot juice, potato juice) as they contain enzymes that help fight reflux.
Sodium bicarbonate is actually a natural antacid. Mix the spoon of baking soda with a glass of cold water and drink.
You can drink aloe vera that quickly relieves gastric acid problems.
I advise you to drink ginger and anise tea instead of green tea and other beverages that contain caffeine or bubbles.
Every individual is different and so are you, so maybe you can drink that cup of green tea a day.
Plenty of teas to choose from
So, is green tea good for acid reflux? Try and you will see if one cup is too much for your stomach acid or not.
But don’t be disappointed, if you will have to replace it with herbal teas because you have plenty of them to choose from.
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