How To Eat On Holidays To Prevent Heartburn? – Dietetics – Articles |

‘Post-holiday’ heartburn

After hours in the kitchen and running around the galleries looking for gifts, you will enjoy lounging on the couch in front of the TV, even if it was supposed to be your 20th time with the movie ‘Home Alone’. Finally, you will also be able to try all the delicacies that were waiting in the fridge. Unfortunately, sometimes such an idyll does not end with a happy end. There is a burning sensation in the esophagus and a feeling of fullness. Heartburn often occurs after overeating, but also after eating sweets, processed fatty foods, drinking coffee, and sour and spicy foods. Holidays are perfect for this ailment. How to prevent it?

Don’t delay going to the doctor. Untreated reflux disease can lead to a number of health problems, such as dysphagia or narrowing of the esophagus.

Ways to deal with heartburn

Heartburn affects people of all ages. It is professionally referred to as reflux disease, i.e. a chronic multifactorial disease in which both genetic and environmental factors may play a significant role in the etiology. Studies from around the world on various populations indicate that the risk factors for heartburn include: age, high body weight, smoking, low physical activity and dietary mistakes. The role of diet has not yet been elucidated, and research results are conflicting. Therefore, we cannot talk about them with certainty. You’ve probably heard of miraculous remedies for heartburn more than once, which may not have worked for you. You should be aware that some of the repeated advice will not be universal. A large-population study published in the journal of the British Society of Gastroenterology ‘Gut’ provides an insight into the real factors influencing lifestyle on the occurrence of reflux:

• Smoking. It found that people who smoked cigarettes daily for more than 20 years had 70 percent. a higher risk of developing acid reflux than people who only smoke for a year, not every day. You can think about quitting smoking in advance, but every moment, even the upcoming Christmas, is a good excuse.
• Alcohol. Alcohol consumption did not play a significant role in triggering heartburn. This has been found to be a moderate risk factor in this case. Nevertheless, try to minimize the amount of alcohol you drink, especially when combined with Christmas delicacies.
• Sun. The risk of heartburn increases with the dose of salt in your meals. People who ate well-salted meals at least three times a week had 50 percent greater risk of heartburn. What’s more, people who do not use salt while preparing meals prevent heartburn in as much as 70%! So don’t overdine the festive meals. If you are worried about the dissatisfaction of the household members, put a salt shaker on the table, and best to convince them to limit salt. If you don’t know how to deal with salt, read the article by Katarzyna Pałubicka.
• Coffee and tea. It turns out that tea has no effect on the occurrence of heartburn. Coffee, on the other hand, is of little importance in this case. It’s best to check how coffee works for you. Probably nothing will happen after one afternoon Christmas coffee. 
• Dietary fiber. As the proportion of dietary fiber in the diet increased, the likelihood of heartburn decreased. It also turned out that people who replace white bread with wholemeal bread (up to 70%) also have a lower risk of this ailment. Wherever you can, try to alternate cleansed whole grains when preparing your holiday meals. Use wholemeal flour, brown rice, wholemeal bread etc.
• Physical exercise. People exercising cardio (e.g. running) only once a week for 30 minutes. have a significantly lower risk of developing reflux. So organize a collective walk during the holidays. It will benefit all household members.

Research published in the Gastroenterological Review in October this year confirmed that the symptoms of reflux disease are more common after fatty, fried, sour, spicy and sweet meals. At the same time, eating 1-2 meals a day, daily consumption of peppermint tea, and eating one large meal in the evening instead of lunch and dinner were identified as risk factors. So even if you are already looking forward to the big feast on the first day of Christmas, don’t save on meals. Eat breakfast and a snack as normal, then there is a chance that you will eat less caloric dishes. Also try to minimize the amount of fried and vinegar dishes on the Christmas table, You can bake the carp in the oven, sprinkle the herring with lemon and serve it with the dumplings without the fried onion.

If you suffer from GERD, avoid eating onions, fizzy drinks, tomato juice, and citrus juices – they can worsen your symptoms.

Of course, this is the case for most of the respondents, but it is not certain that it will be no different for you. Individual predispositions play an important role here. You probably already know exactly what is harmful to you and what you can eat without restrictions. There is no need to cheat, however, the most common harm is unhealthy products: processed, salty, with a minimum amount of fiber, sweets. So, excluding them from your diet will have wider health benefits.

If you already have heartburn, see the article on the acid reflux diet for some basic advice on reducing symptoms.

The title photo is from: Tracy Hunter / Foter / CC BY

Photo from text is from: Sir. Mo / Foter / CC BY