Anything really tasty promotes heartburn

DALLAS, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Eating or drinking certain types of foods, such as milk, in an attempt to reduce stomach acid generally doesn't work, a U.S. digestive specialist advises.

Dr. Stuart Spechler of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas says doctors used to suggest milk as an antacid, but it's really a very poor choice.

"Most of the foods that we eat buffer acid, but they also stimulate the stomach to produce acid later," Spechler says in a statement. "That's why we don't recommend them as a specific treatment."

However, avoiding foods that historically cause heartburn -- anything fatty or chocolate -- is the better strategy, Spechler says.

Heartburn often is caused by reflux or backwash of acid from the stomach up into the esophagus -- the long tube that carries food from the throat to the stomach. A valve at the end of the esophagus is supposed to function as a one-way release, relaxing to allow food into the stomach and closing back up so food and acid in the stomach stay there, but a leaky valve will result in heartburn, Spechler says.

"Anything that tastes really good is likely to give you heartburn and the reason is the fat content," Spechler says.

"Fat does a lot of things that promote heartburn. It stops the stomach from emptying well, so now you have more material in the stomach that's ready to reflux. It also further weakens that leaky valve."