Eating heavy meals or spicy foods can lead to acidity. (Source: Getty Images)
Skipping meals or eating certain foods can lead to acidity at times. Also known as heartburn, acid reflux leaves a burning sensation in the lower chest area, when the stomach acid moves up into the food pipe.
According to WebMD, some of the common risk factors for acid reflux are eating large meals, lying down right after a meal, obesity, drinking certain beverages like carbonated drinks, coffee or tea, smoking, eating foods like citrus fruits, tomato, garlic, onion or spicy foods, and taking certain medicines like aspirin, muscle relaxers or blood pressure medication.
Apart from heartburn, other common symptoms of acid reflux are bloating, burping, nausea or dysphagia (the sensation of food being stuck in the throat).
Celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar recently shared some easy food hacks to prevent acidity, a common problem among people. She stressed that one should avoid taking long gaps between meals. “Eat on time, respect your hunger signals and your satiety signals,” she said in an Instagram video. She further advised the following hacks:
1. Start your day with black raisins, soaked overnight, after drinking a glass of water. This also helps with premenstrual syndrome (PMS), bloating and indigestion.
2. Have curd with soaked poha at around 11 am (in case lunch gets delayed) or around 4-6 pm. In a bowl, put soaked poha, curd and some black salt, and mix well before eating.
3. Mix some gulkand (sweet preserve of rose petals) in a glass of water and sip through the day. You can have this post-dinner if you are suffering from insomnia along with acidity. People can break their fast with a glass of gulkand water during Ramadan, suggested Diwekar. It is also a good drink to beat the heat.
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Watch Rujuta’s video:
Follow these tips and observe the effects.