Acid Reflux is a very common ailment. Fifteen percent of infants and children have acid reflex. That percentage grows as you get older. It is estimated that 65% of adults over the age of 40 have suffered from acid reflux at least once a week. In the United States, at least 20% have experience acid reflux and GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease). Those who get GERD are usually overweight and obese. Smokers and second-hand smoking can also cause GERD.

What you eat matters. Waking up in the middle of the night with acid reflux because of the food you ate early that day is not something you want. Popping antacids and guzzling down Pepto-bismol is not the highlights of being alive. What causes acid reflux is depended on what goes into your stomach and how your digestive system reacts to it is something those with acid reflux needs to be keening aware. Based on scientific research and nutritional dietaries, these are the best foods to soothe your stomach.

1. Ginger

According to a review study from Nutrition in Clinical Practice, ginger is among the best herbal remedies to avoid acid reflux. It has exceptional soothing and calming effects on your esophagus and can treat acid reflux quickly. The best thing about ginger is that it has anti-inflammatory properties, and it is a commonly used remedy for gastrointestinal issues, particularly GERD.

It is interesting to note that the anti-inflammatory nature of ginger is what helps you with reflux. But that’s not all because ginger has another vital component that alleviates reflux symptoms. It is called melatonin. Have you ever heard of it? Melatonin is generally known as the sleep time chemical produced by our bodies. But when there are very low levels of melatonin in the body, stomach acid increases, which isn’t too ideal for you. Melatonin reduces gastric acid and prevents the laxing and loosening of the LES. You can consume ginger in almost any form, such as diced, shaved, or sliced. You may also include this highly beneficial root in your tea or smoothies to attain maximum health benefits.

2. Oatmeal

Oatmeal is one of the best superfoods you can have in breakfast to kickstart your day on a positive and healthy note. Oatmeal is whole grains that don’t cause acidity in the stomach. Another critical effect of oatmeal is that it absorbs acidity. This means, if you consume oatmeal with cranberries, which are one of the most acidic berries around, it will absorb the acidity, and the meal’s acidity content will be neutralized.

That’s one of the reasons why oat milk is one of the popular breakfast options among consumers these days. It is not an allergen and has impressive anti-inflammatory qualities, which helps ease the digestion process and alleviates acidity. You can add rolled oats to your smoothies, or another good way to incorporate oatmeal in your diet is to make dairy-free overnight oats, which is a common breakfast staple in the world.

3. Almond Butter

As we mentioned earlier, compared to peanut butter, which is a highly acidic meal option, almond butter is a better and healthier alternative. If you weren’t a fan of almond butter, it is high time you switched to this low-fat breakfast option. This nutritious nut butter contains a lesser amount of saturated fat. So, it won’t make your LES as lazy when it passes through the esophagus as peanut butter would do.

Almond butter is an excellent source of good fat and what makes it even better is that it is a plant protein. Hence, it has plenty of magnesium, calcium, and vitamin E compared to peanut butter. Almond butter is a better choice as an independent snack option or even as a dip for fresh fruits and vegetables. Furthermore, you can blend it with smoothies and even use almond butter to thicken soups and savory recipes. It could serve as a base for nut butter sauce as well.

4.  Raw Spinach

Spinach is one of those foods full of nutritional value and is readily available around the globe. You might not have any idea about the health benefits raw spinach entails. One of the main benefits of eating raw spinach is that it is among the most alkaline foods out there in the market. Alkaline foods are essential for you to consume because these encourage the much-needed pH balance in our bodies.

One cup of raw spinach contains a staggering 181% of our daily vitamin K requirements. When you eat spinach, its alkalinity level combined with the goodness of vitamin K allows the neutralization of stomach acidity. But, to avail of its effectiveness, you need to consume spinach in its raw form because after you cook it, it becomes highly acidic and can even cause acid reflux instead of preventing it.

5. Watermelon

Watermelon is yet another tasty acid reflux preventer that offers a wide range of other health benefits apart from keeping your body hydrated during the summers. Watermelon usually has an alkalizing effect on our body and is known for reducing the acidity levels in our system. You may already know that to prevent acid reflux, we’ve got to keep LES functioning proactively. So, can watermelon make this happen?

Certainly, it can! In fact, in addition to positively impacting the functioning of LES, it also improves the kidneys. That’s because watermelon has plenty of H2O, a substance all body organs need to help us survive. It is due to the enormous quantity of H2O that watermelon acquires its anti-inflammatory properties. Furthermore, the pigment through which watermelon gets its beautiful pinkish-red hue can enormously improve your heart, eyes, brain, and bone health.

6. Lentils

Many of us avoid eating lentils in favor of processed, fried foods, which is a wrong dietary choice as it increases the issue of heartburn/acid reflux. If you really want to cure your digestive system and prevent acid reflux from impacting your health and well-being, start consuming high-fiber foods such as lentils.

Don’t scratch your head. The common perception must mislead you that lentils can cause bloating, heartburn, and bloating. But that’s only a half-truth, as you don’t know the facts behind this notion. Lentils cause gas and acid reflux when they are cooked the wrong way. If you want to obtain all the benefits of lentils, don’t cook them with spices or seasonings because these are the real culprits behind acid reflux. Lentils are no less than a superfood. Beans, peas, chickpeas, and all other members of the pulse family are rich in minerals, antioxidants, vitamins, fiber, and plant protein, apart from being naturally gluten-free.

7. Kale

Kale is yet another underrated leafy veggie that is a powerhouse of nutrition and can be a great helper with acid reflux. Though you may not get that toned abs with kale, you can treat digestion-related issues with kale. On the alkaline scale, kale is similar to spinach. But it also offers many other health benefits that even spinach doesn’t.

Kale is among the most versatile foods in your pantry. You can mix them up in smoothies as a quick and nutritious breakfast option or include them in wraps, sandwiches, and salads because that’s how you can obtain all the nutrition from this beneficial veggie. It is also one of those foods you can consume late at night because it doesn’t aggravate acidity and never causes heartburn. Kale has a high amount of skin-supportive vitamin C and A, bone-supportive vitamin K, immune system, and overall health-protective antioxidants, and is a natural detoxifier.

8. Bone Broth

How can we undermine the health benefits of collagen-rich bone broth? Many people believe that bone broth only helps with skin elasticity and cold/flu, which is incorrect information. Bone broth is one of the most potent liquids you can have to keep your body and mind healthy. Collagen itself offers a varied range of health benefits other than tightening the skin. Such as it eases joint pain and fends off gut inflammation.

That’s one of the main reasons behind nutritionists and medical experts suggesting bone broth to treat acid reflux. You should start sipping bowls over bowls of bone broth if you frequently experience acid refluxes. Bone broth has a remarkable healing impact on every body part that’s hard to attain from any other kind of soup.

9. Celery

We usually consider celery a potent option for salads and juicing and seldom take time to focus on its many health benefits. You would be surprised to know that celery offers similar health benefits as watermelon, and in fact, it has almost the same alkalizing effects on our body as watermelon does.

But that’s just the starting point of the wide range of health benefits of celery. It allows our body to stay hydrated, which not many veggies can do. Believe it or not, celery is made of over 90% water and is one of the few veggies out there that aren’t acidic. If you cannot drink plenty of water every day, try including celery juice in your diet plan as it will keep you hydrated and ease acid reflux symptoms too. It also suppresses hunger pangs. So, no matter what time of the day it is, you can grab a celery stalk and munch on it to satisfy untimely hunger.

10.  Pineapple

Bromelain makes pineapple a strong contender on this list of foods that keeps acid reflux at bay. Want to know what is Bromelain? It is an enzyme found in abundance in pineapple, and it is this enzyme that gives pineapple its reflux fighting powers. Bromelain has anti-inflammatory properties that help with digestion and reduce acid reflux symptoms successfully. Moreover, pineapple has a high amount of fiber and water, so it gets digested easily and doesn’t put an extra burden on our stomachs.

Moreover, pineapples can offer a massive boost to your metabolism. All you have to do is eat a bowl or cup full of freshly cut pineapples to attain all the health benefits of this delicious tropical wonder. Bromelain also has alkalizing agents that further help with acid reflux, and it also cures injury-related pains, skin bruising, swelling, and other issues. But, keep in mind that pineapple juice or pasteurized pineapples aren’t as effective in treating acid reflux, and only freshly cut pineapple chunks would do the trick.

11. Radishes

Radishes aren’t one of the widely popular veggies around, but there’s no doubt that these are highly nutritious foods that are low in calories and keep us healthy and energetic. People often avoid eating this root vegetable because of its slightly spicy flavor. However, this flavor is what helps us with heartburn and acid reflux.

That’s right, folks. The characteristic flavor of radish comes from the high amount of mustard oils that the veggie contains, and these oils are excellent in curing heartburn/acid reflux. Moreover, its low-calorie red bulbs are rich in a range of chemicals that encourage rapid and smooth digestion, minimizing the chances of an acidic uproar around your chest and throat. It is one of the few veggies used in almost every culture for its healing properties. It can quickly alleviate gas, heartburn, and stomachaches as well as keeps our gallbladder in optimal health.

12. Broccoli

This probiotic-rich veggie is yet another member of the green family that makes it to our list due to its never-ending range of health benefits. The list of broccoli’s health benefits is virtually endless. In addition to offering you good bacteria to improve gut functioning, it has antibiotic properties and prevents gastric acid from affecting your LES.

Furthermore, broccoli boosts the immune system because it has a high amount of zinc, beta-carotene, and selenium. It fights against diabetes with its low sugar content and reduces the risk of heartburn and heart diseases as it is high in folate, fiber, B6, and lutein. As far as acid reflux is concerned, broccoli is one of the tastiest remedies you can try in salads and sautéed vegetables as it is high on the pH scale, which means it’s not at all acidic. But, keep in mind that broccoli has a high quantity of fiber, so it can cause indigestion and gas issues in people who experience digestive problems.

13.  Fermented Foods

Fermented vegetables include pickles, kombucha, kimchi, and sauerkraut. These and many other fermented veggies can naturally improve the acid levels in your stomach. Because of their probiotic effects, fermented foods can improve digestion and reduce inflammation by fighting harmful bacteria that may become a problem because of low stomach acids.

Apart from increasing stomach acids to make digestion rapid and smooth, fermented foods helps our stomach in increasing the number of gut-friendly bacteria to facilitate optimum absorption of nutrients from foods and encourage healthy digestion. Fermented foods taste good and are excellent in improving digestive and gut health, both of which lead to the prevention of acid reflux and heartburn. Fermented milk is another good option to treat acid reflux. Research has revealed that probiotics found in fermented foods protect the stomach lining and thwart spewing.

14. Papaya

Last on our list is another tropical fruit- papaya. Well, papaya is a superfood bursting with health-friendly nutrients that are hard to obtain from other foods. Such as, papaya contains a highly crucial enzyme called papain, which is responsible for improving our digestion and helping our body absorb protein appropriately and in larger proportions.

In addition to this, papain can alleviate acid reflux and other symptoms associated with GERD. This juicy fruit is high in taste and nutritional value and prevents acidity because of papain. You can eat it any time of the day because it doesn’t cause any side effects like gas or bloating if eaten at night, which usually happens with apple or guava, etc. It also clears our digestive system from toxins and cleanses our body because of the high amount of carotene and vitamin C.