You just ate a spicy taco dish and now you feel completely awful. It’s most likely heartburn, which happens when stomach acid backs up into your esophagus. The symptoms are pretty easy to detect as well: a burning pain in your chest that worsens when you lie down or bend over. The usual culprits are spicy or fried foods, as well as caffeine and alcohol. If this keeps happening, meds aren’t your only option. There are foods and beverages you can reach for that will work wonders to help soothe your discomfort by neutralizing the acid in whatever you’ve just eaten.
Ginger Tea
This root is an excellent and age-old cure-all for many digestive ailments. Simply peel or grate an inch or so of ginger root and steep in boiling water to make a pain-soothing tea, suggests Robynne Chutkan, a gastroenterologist in Washington, DC, and author ofGutbliss. “It’s an effective anti-inflammatory and it’s one of the best foods for acid reflux.”
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Bananas
This naturally low-acid fruit is a smart food to reach for if you’re feeling the symptoms of heartburn. “A nice mushy banana will help relieve discomfort because it will stick to the irritated esophageal lining,” says Gerard E. Mullin, MD, a digestive health expert and author of The Gut Balance Revolution. “It forms a protective film that coats, protects and soothes.”
Almond milk
You’ll start your day off with fewer digestive issues if you blend an almond milk smoothie for breakfast. “If you tend to have reflux, almond milk is a great balancer,” Chutkan says. “It’s alkaline so it helps neutralize acidic foods. To make a filling smoothiethat tastes great, try blending together 1 cup of strawberries, 1 frozen banana to make it creamy, one 1 of unsweetened almond milk and 1 cup of spinach.”
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Oatmeal
Sit down to a bowl of oatmeal and it will not only coat and buffer your stomach lining, but it’s filling and contains healthy fiber, too. “Just avoid splashing your oatmeal with heavy cream,” Mullin says. “High fats, even healthy fats, relax the lower esophageal sphincter, which can prompt reflux.”
Leafy greens
It may seem unappealing to reach for a salad if you have heartburn, but that bowl of chopped romaine can work wonders to end a bad bout of pain. “When people say they get reflux from vegetables, it’s usually because of the cream-based dressing or cheese in a salad,” Chutkan says. “A bowl of steamed vegetables or chopped greens with lemon juice or a touch of olive oil will be less irritating because veggies are low in fat. High-fat foods, by contrast, slow down stomach emptying and can precipitate reflux.”
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Fennel
This healing herb is another ingredient to consider steeping into a tea when heartburn strikes, Chutkan says. Simply place two teaspoons of fennel seeds and honey and steep both in boiling water. Then place the strained tea in a big container for a half hour. You can even refrigerate it and heat it up on an as-needed basis to soothe your stomach. Tip: chew fennel seeds throughout the day to both freshen your breath and keep stomach acid in check.
Licorice
While this isn’t a proven heartburn remedy, some experts suggest that pure black licorice can help coat the esophageal lining. “It has to be pure licorice, not the junk with high fructose corn syrup,” Mullin says. “Pure licorice works to form a protective layer over the lining of the esophagus.” In addition, the chewing action makes you salivate, which in turn can help get rid of acid.
Kefir and aloe
For a heartburn-soothing combo, simply mix a teaspoon of aloe juice with a few ounces of Kefir, a fermented milk drink, Mullin suggests. “This mixture can help relieve symptoms because the juice from the aloe plant reduces inflammation and heals the GI tract, and the alkalizing kefir counteracts acid,” he says. (But avoid consuming too much aloe juice as it can prompt diarrhea and stomach pain.)
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Green veggies
Veggies like broccoli, asparagus, green beans, celery, and cauliflower are all low in acid. “This makes them soothing to the esophageal lining,” Mullin says. Tip: be sure to season them with non-acidic spices such as basil and oregano. Avoid acidic spices like chili powder and black pepper.
