The 10 Worst Foods for Acid Reflux

Over-the-counter pharmaceuticals aren’t the only way to control acid reflux—diet modifications can make a major difference, too, explains Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Molly Pelletier…

How much you eat matters: Overeating can exacerbate acid reflux symptoms, which can include a burning sensation in the chest, nausea, sore throat, difficulty swallowing and more.

When you eat matters: Eating within the two to three hours before you lie down in bed could cause problems.

What you eat and drink matters: Certain foods and beverages tend to trigger acid reflux symptoms, and despite what some people think, acidic foods are not the only ones that cause problems.

Here’s why certain foods are especially likely to trigger acid reflux symptoms, plus 10 of the worst things to consume if you suffer from acid reflux…

Why Certain Foods Trigger Acid Reflux

Acid reflux, also commonly called heartburn and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), is caused by stomach contents making their way up the digestive system into the esophagus and potentially even into the throat. These parts of the digestive system are not designed to handle this acid or the enzymes from your stomach.

The lower esophageal sphincter—a band of muscle located between the stomach and esophagus—is supposed to prevent stomach acid from rising up, but this sphincter sometimes fails to function robustly. Consuming certain foods and beverages tends to leave the lower esophageal sphincter too loose to do its job properly. Other foods can irritate esophageal linings already inflamed by stomach acid or trigger acid reflux symptoms in other ways.

Top-10 Acid Reflux Triggers

Foods and beverages that are especially likely to cause problems for acid reflux sufferers …

1. Alcohol contributes to acid reflux for multiple reasons—it loosens the lower esophageal sphincter, as described above…some forms of alcohol are acidic, so they add to stomach acid issues…and people who have been drinking are prone to ill-considered dietary decisions. Helpful: Some alcoholic drinks tend to be worse for acid reflux than others. Wine drinkers might lean toward lower-acid wines such as gewürztraminers (white wine made from grapes grown in the Alsace, Austria and Germany’s Rhine Valley) and merlots (red wines made from grapes found in the Bordeaux region of France)…and stay away from more acidic varietals, including sauvignon blanc, reisling, chardonnay, pinot noir and Italian wines. Liquor drinkers might lean toward clear liquors (vodka and gin) and away from drinks that contain mixers such as soda or citrus juice that are themselves acid reflux triggers. Moderation is key, and alcohol should always be paired with food—avoid drinking alcohol on an empty stomach.
2. Spicy foods, such as chili peppers, chili powder and hot sauces, cause problems for many acid reflux sufferers. Spices can irritate throat linings that already are inflamed due to repeated exposure to stomach acid. They also might boost stomach acid levels, though there is some debate about this.
3. Citrus fruit beverages, such as orange juice, grapefruit juice, lemon juice and lime juice, contain citric acid and increase acid levels in the stomach. Consuming citric acid also inflames throat linings, which are already irritated by acid reflux. Even eating citrus fruits themselves may cause problems for some acid reflux sufferers—but a single piece of fruit doesn’t contain enough citric acid to necessarily cause significant issues for everyone. Related: Tomato juice and tomato sauce can cause acid reflux issues as well. While tomatoes are not a citrus fruit, they are somewhat acidic.
4. Coffee and tea can cause acid reflux problems because caffeine loosens the lower esophageal sphincter…and because both caffeinated and decaf coffee and many types of tea are acidic. Helpful: If you’re looking for a coffee alternative that’s unlikely to trigger acid reflux symptoms, options include Teeccino, an herbal coffee substitute (Teeccino.com)…DAYES, which uses a fermentation process that greatly reduces coffee’s caffeine content and acidity (DayesCoffee.com)…and chicory coffee, which is made from a caffeine-free, low-acidity root rather than from coffee beans. If you’re looking for a caffeine-free, low-acid tea, options include most chamomile, fennel and sage teas. Mint teas are caffeine-free and often low acid, too, but mint isn’t a good choice for acid reflux sufferers (see below).
5. Chocolate contains chemical compounds that loosen the lower esophageal sphincter.
6. Carbonated beverages, including soda, sparkling water and beer, can cause acid reflux symptoms. Drinking bubbly beverages increases gastric pressure, putting added strain on the lower esophageal sphincter and potentially interfering with its ability to keep stomach acids contained. Carbonated beverages also tend to be slightly acidic, and some are caffeinated.
7. Garlic and onion both relax the lower esophageal sphincter. Helpful: If removing garlic and onion from your recipes takes away too much of the flavor, consider cooking with herbs and spices that are less likely to cause acid reflux, such as dill, parsley, cilantro, rosemary or sage.
8. High-fat foods take a particularly long time to digest, which increases the odds that the stomach will still be full of acid when you lie down in bed, even several hours after eating. That’s a problem for people whose lower esophageal sphincters don’t function properly, because when they lie down, gravity can no longer help keep stomach acid down where it belongs.
9. Mint, such as peppermint tea, appears on many lists of healthful foods and beverages. Mint does indeed have lots of health upside…but for acid reflux sufferers, it also has a big downside—like many of the other items on this list, mint loosens the lower esophageal sphincter.
10. Heavily processed snack foods, such as chips, pretzels and cookies, are poor choices for acid reflux sufferers even when the snack food selected does not contain any ingredients that are considered acid reflux triggers. Why? Processed snack foods are designed to make it very difficult to control portion size—eat one potato chip, and it’s difficult not to eat many more…and overeating is very bad for acid reflux regardless of what is being eaten.

Best Foods for Acid Reflux

If you suffer from acid reflux, any food you eat can potentially trigger unpleasant symptoms—but some foods have substantially lower odds of doing so than most. Among the best foods for acid reflux sufferers…

High-alkaline fruits and vegetables can help offset the acidity of stomach acid—alkaline is the opposite of acidic. Alkaline fruits include bananas, cantaloupe and honeydew. Alkaline vegetables include cauliflower, broccoli, beets, asparagus, carrots, leafy greens and many more. Vegetable consumption also tends to help people maintain regular bowel movements—keeping things moving digestively is correlated with lower acid reflux risk.

Foods high in vitamin B seem to be beneficial for acid reflux sufferers—especially vitamin B-12. Taking common heartburn medications including H2 blockers and proton pump inhibitors on a regular basis has been linked to lower-than-normal vitamin B-12 levels, and consuming B-12–rich foods can make up for this. These foods include eggs, nutritional yeast, dried seaweed, fortified low-fat milk and non-dairy milk, and seafood including clams, mussels, mackerel, sardines, tuna and trout. Caution: Red meat often contains significant amounts of B-12, but it can create more acid reflux issues than it solves because it’s difficult to digest.

Omega-3–rich foods have anti-inflammatory properties that can somewhat calm the uncomfortable esophageal inflammation caused by acid reflux. Seafood including mackerel, sardines, tuna and salmon are excellent sources of omega-3, as are chia seeds, walnuts and flaxseed. Similar: Other foods and beverages that have anti-inflammatory properties include ginger tea, turmeric tea, strawberries and blueberries. Each of these can have different effects on different people, however, so discontinue use of if they seem to increase, rather than decrease, your throat irritation or other acid reflux symptoms. 

Fennel seeds and fennel tea lower the odds of acid reflux symptoms by stimulating digestion and reducing indigestion. Alternatives: If you don’t care for the flavor of fennel tea, other acid-reflux–friendly tea options include ginger tea, dandelion tea and chamomile tea.

High-satiety foods—foods that make people feel full fast—are a great choice for acid reflux sufferers because they reduce the odds of overeating. Eating too much is a very common acid reflux symptom trigger. High-satiety foods include oatmeal, potatoes, legumes, turkey, chicken, tofu and many types of seafood.