Do you feel a burning sensation in your chest after drinking coffee?
You are not alone.
What you are feeling is acid reflux, which many people experience. It might not be due to just coffee; spicy foods and alcohol can also cause this feeling. Some individuals only experience it now and again, whereas others experience it quite frequently and it can affect them during the day or night.
Unfortunately, even just the occasional cup of coffee can cause reflux, because of the acid in the caffeine. The organic acid in coffee beans is what gives it that tangy “hit” that coffee drinkers enjoy so much. Some people’s digestive systems cannot cope with these natural acids and can be left with a burning sensation, accompanied by belching and unpleasant acidic liquid that comes up from the stomach, through the esophagus, and into the back of the throat.
Personal Triggers
Identifying the triggers of your acid reflux will go a long way in helping reduce the effects. If possible, experiment with one possible trigger at a time. If you suspect that coffee is actually the cause, it doesn’t mean that you have to give it up.
Here are just a few things you can do to reduce and even prevent acid reflux.
- Look for coffee with a low acid content. These varieties have the same flavor but shouldn’t cause any discomfort to the drinker.
- Choose a dark roast coffee which will naturally have less acid.
- Find out where the beans were grown, as beans grown at low elevations will contain less acid.
- To lower acid but keep the great flavor, you can use a Coffee Tamer, which reduces the amount of acid by up to 90 percent.
- Adding a dash of salt will help neutralize the acid. Just a tiny pinch added to a dark roasted blend is the most effective.
Discovering which method will reduce your acid reflux will take some trial and error, and you may have to use a few approaches to have a significant impact.
But, if it means that you can continue to enjoy your daily cup of coffee, it’s certainly worth trying.