Your diet can bring on painful heartburn. What is heartburn? It is a very painful sensation in your esophagus, just below your breastbone. It occurs when you regurgitate gastric acid from your stomach. The pain often extends into your neck, throat and jaw. In fact, your heart has nothing to do with regular heartburn although sometimes heart pain may feel like heartburn pain.



You are probably aware that the food you consume often has a direct relationship with the heartburn you must endure. You get advice from your doctor. He or she will always tell you to eat more vegetables and avoid snacky foods. The doctor is a master of the obvious.

Some specific foods that can cause heartburn include alcohol tomatoes and spicy foods, chocolate, coffee, tea, cola and other carbonated and caffeinated drinks, citrus fruits and juices, peanuts and ice cream.

So, what can you eat and not get intro heartburn trouble?

Fibrous foods aid digestion. Fruit is always a good choice for heartburn patients. Fruit is high and fiber and its sugars create a mucus to protect your stomach and esophagus. Almost any fruit is safe to eat and that includes apples (both fresh and dried), bananas, and pears.

Vegetables are high in fiber and lower in sugar, but they contain higher quantities of starches. Thus, vegetables can reduce and control your heartburn. Broccoli, potatoes, , carrots, peas, cabbage and green beans are all wonderful and safe to eat for everyone, including people who suffer from heartburn.

Safe foods from the meats family include chicken breast (skinless), London Broil steak, very lean ground beef, egg whites and egg substitutes and fish.

Safe dairy products include soy cheese (low fat), sour cream (fat-free), cream cheese (fat-free) and feta or goat cheese.

Safe grains include multi-grain or white bread, graham crackers, pretzels, rice and rice cakes, cereals (bran or oatmeal) and corn bread.

Safe sweets include red licorice, baked potato chips, and fat-free cookies.

Since meats come in so many types, they need to be studied by heartburn victims. Extra lean meats are will be the choice of most heartburn patients. Eating too much fat that is difficult to digest is widely known to cause heartburn.

Egg whites and egg substitutes are fine, but avoid yolks.

Be careful with dairy products because many cheeses do have a high fat content that is known to cause heartburn. Try to stick with soy milk if you have a serious problem with heartburn and use feta cheeses or any type of goat cheese.

Grains definitely are a great choice to help reduce heartburn. They absorb liquids and that alone should make them a regular component of your meals. Cereals, and rice are healthy choices to eat regularly. Corn bread, pretzels and crackers are also good grains to eat while watching your risk of heartburn.

Cut way down on the sweets except for fat free cookies and jelly beans.

Smart food choices as opposed to giving in to your cravings are essential to fighting off that bad heartburn problem.