Acid Reflux and Dairy

Acid reflux can occur in different people and occurs mostly after the consumption of certain kinds of foods. Sometimes, acid reflux is associated with certain kinds of diets. Some diets can cause reactions in the body, ranging from digestive issues to acid reflux. For example, lactose intolerance is caused by dairy and dairy products, spicy foods, and some other kinds of foods that can lead to heartburn.

In order to avoid such body reactions as digestive issues, heartburn, and lactose intolerance, you have to first identify those foods and meals or diets that can trigger these symptoms. After identifying these foods, avoid them completely in order to prevent the discomfort that comes with eating these foods.

In the case of acid reflux, lactose intolerance, or dairy does not directly trigger acid reflux or heartburn, but the other symptoms of lactose intolerance do, and they might either aggravate or not aggravate your symptoms.

According to the survey, people who had constant cases of heartburn were treated with heartburn medication to reduce the acids in their stomachs. However, after 4 weeks, only a little bit over half of them recovered. Some of them still experienced acid reflux. Another phase of research was then carried out on them, and this involved the use of the medications, coupled with the elimination of dairy and dairy products from their foods, and in less than 4 weeks, all the acid reflux victims experienced significant improvements in their health. This helped researchers come to the conclusion that there is a close link between gastroesophageal reflux disease and milk allergy.

Health Benefits of Dairy Products

Although dairy and dairy products provide numerous health benefits for humans, on the other hand, they can cause discomfort and allergies in certain people, especially in people who have lactose intolerance and those who developed milk allergies as a result of certain underlying illnesses.

These factors, however, do not change the fact that dairy is a highly nutritious food and is packed with lots of essential properties that are good enough for health.

The benefits of dairy include;

• Dairy and some dairy products are packed with probiotics
• These probiotics can also help in the promotion of digestion
• Dairy is also rich in calcium

These are enough reasons why you should not discard dairy yet, except you have allergies or you are lactose intolerant. Nevertheless, if you are not experiencing any of the following, eat dairy and dairy products can add some benefits to your health. Some dairy products like yogurts can supply your body with probiotics that can ensure the improvement of your gut health and also improve your digestive health.

According to research, probiotics have been linked to the following health benefits;

• Elimination of diarrhea and diarrhea symptoms
• Reduction of gastrointestinal cancer risks
• Reduction and treatment of gastric inflammation
• Reduction of irritable bowel syndrome

These are barely a handful of the benefits of probiotics. More researches need to be carried out to explore the numerous benefits of probiotics to health. These probiotics are naturally packed in dairy and dairy products, so why should you not eat them?

Despite these benefits of dairy, it is best to consult your doctor before eating dairy or anything that has probiotics in it if you have acid reflux. This would help you know if taking them would impact positively or negatively on your acid reflux symptoms.

Possible Side Effects

Some people experience grave side effects after eating certain foods, especially dairy. On the other hand, many people can eat dairy and dairy products and still not experience allergies or side effects.

Dairy allergy is most common in children, but some adults still experience it. This allergy can cause side effects and contribute to the severity of acid reflux in most cases. This is why it is advisable to monitor your children to know which of them experience severe reactions after consuming milk or any dairy product. Seek immediate medical guidance if you notice any symptoms and put stop feeding them with milk or dairy products. Rather, feed them with healthy dairy substitutes like soy.

Taking immediate preventive actions for acid refluxes triggered by dairy will help reduce risks of major health issues like anaphylaxis.

Anaphylaxis comes with symptoms like;

• Wheezing
• Hives and skin rashes
• Fainting
• Dizziness
• Vomiting
• Fainting
• Diarrhea
• Swelling of the tongue, lips, and throat

Healthy Dairy Substitutes for Acid Reflux Improvement

The first step to the reduction of dairy-triggered acid reflux is elimination. Although sometimes, people who have severe symptoms from milk or dairy products seem to lose interest in eating dairy or dairy products. This is why it is best to get yourself healthy dairy substitutes so that you will not lose out on the health benefits they provide.

Although some of the substitutes are always heavily processed. However, they are also enhanced with other healthy ingredients like nuts, fiber, and moderate amounts of fat.

Most dairy substitutes are made from the following;

• Soy; soy is one of the most common dairy substitutes. Children who have milk allergies are usually given soy as substitutes in most cases. Soybeans can be roasted and ground into powder, and then sieved. This process makes it come out as powdered milk which can be added to custards and teas for young children.
• Cashew; cashew is one of the most common and best nuts in the world. It has a very high nutritional profile and can be a great substitute for dairy, as it presents the essential nutrients required for the growth and development of the human body, as much as dairy and dairy products can.
• Rice; rice is one of the top grains in the world and has a commendable level of nutrients. Rice, when topped with stews, sauces, or vegetables, can help enhance the taste and nutritional value of the rice. This makes it a healthy substitute for milk.
• Flax; flax seeds are healthy seeds that contain a little bit of almost all the essential nutrients. They can be ground into powder to give you that milk satisfaction. Also, flax seeds contain properties that can promote your general wellbeing and supply your body with essential nutrients.
• Almond; just like cashew, almond is one of the best nuts in the world. It can be enjoyed in any form. It can be eaten as a snack. It can be ground into powder and sprinkled in sauces, teas, or custards. It contains nutrients that are beneficial to health, just as milk does.
• Coconut; the health benefits and nutritional profile of coconut cannot be over-emphasized. Generally, according to research, coconut milk, oil, and drink contain almost equal properties and nutrients as milk. This is why milk can be substituted with it. In addition, it is easy to switch if you were once a milk lover.

All these dairy substitutes would reduce the symptoms of acid reflux and completely eliminate lactose intolerance and milk allergies. They are also easy to consolidate into your diet. This makes them easy to switch into.

Cooking with Dairy Substitutes

The following are dairy products and procedures for making dairy alternatives that taste and smell like them.

• Buttermilk; mix one teaspoon of vinegar with one cup of soy milk. This blend can give you the exact feel and taste of buttermilk. This is one of the largest options for buttermilk. It can help in the reduction of symptoms associated with a dairy intolerance or acid reflux.
• Ricotta; to make an alternative of ricotta, crumble tofu and season it properly.
• Evaporated milk; to get a healthy substitute for evaporated milk, simmer any non-dairy milk until it has been reduced to about 50%.
• Sweetened condensed milk; mix evaporated non-dairy milk with moderate amounts of sugar. This combination will supply you with a feel and satisfaction similar to the one associated with sweetened condensed milk.
• Heavy cream; substitute heavy creams with full-fat coconut milk.
• Parmesan cheese; can be replaced or substituted with healthy nutritional yeast.

In order to avoid dairy products if you have allergies, acid reflux, or lactose intolerance, avoiding milk is a good first step to take. Also, these dairy foods can be substituted with non-dairy foods. Mixtures of certain ingredients can even give you the feel and satisfaction of certain dairy products without necessarily consuming dairy itself.

In conclusion, milk is healthy for everyone, and this is as a result of its nutritional contents. However, in the case of people with lactose intolerance, it can cause severe symptoms and indirectly worsen acid reflux cases. This is why healthy milk substitutes have been identified to replace milk and eliminate allergies and illnesses associated with milk in some people. However, before adopting any of the substitutes, it is best to consult your doctor first in order to know which of them would work best for you.