We all know we should be eating breakfast, but there are so many conflicting opinions about what to eat that sometimes it can get a little overwhelming. And when your stomach is upset after eating, it’s easy to blame it on what you ate for breakfast. But indigestion can also be caused by some of the foods that are commonly included in a typical meal (and not just because they’re “bad”). So here are common breakfast mistakes that might cause acidity.
What is heartburn?
When you have acidity, the pancreas and other organs in your digestive tract are unable to break down food properly. This originates gas and bloating, which can lead to uncomfortable symptoms.
Heartburn is not a disease but rather a symptom of another problem like heartburn (acid reflux) or GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease).
Breakfast foods that lead to acidity
Skipping breakfast
It’s one of the biggest blunder people make when it comes to their health, but for most people, it’s a hard habit to break. Skipping breakfast is bad for your body in a number of different ways.
Not only does skipping breakfast help weight gain, overeating later on in the day, and acidity– all things we want to avoid — but it can also lead to other health problems like depression and anxiety.
Drink coffee on an empty stomach
If you’re a coffee drinker, be aware that chugging coffee on an empty stomach can be a reason for heartburn. Coffee is a diuretic and will make you urinate more than usual, which in turn leads to dehydration. This is why coffee tends to make people feel hungry—they need to rehydrate with food or water before their bodies start craving it. Caffeine also stimulates the body’s nervous system, making it harder for the stomach and intestines to process foods properly. As a result, your body may not have time for digestion before it goes into overdrive trying to eliminate everything from your system quickly just so it doesn’t end up sitting around in your gut too long.
Eating hurry
The biggest mistake people make when they eat breakfast is eating in a hurry. There are many reasons for this. Some people have to rush to work, and some have kids and need to pack their child’s lunch or get ready for school. Whatever the reason may be, it’s important that you take your time when eating breakfast.
Instead of eating a big meal in one sitting, divide the food into several smaller portions and eat them over an hour or so. If possible, try not to have breakfast while driving or watching TV because this can slow down digestion and create acidity problems later on in the day.
Avoid carbohydrate-rich food
Carbohydrate-rich foods are good for energy. Carbohydrates are the body’s first choice for energy, and we need an adequate supply of carbohydrates to meet our daily needs. Carbohydrates provide 4 kilocalories per gram (17 kilojoules per gm), compared with protein and fat, which both provide only 3 kilocalories per gm (14 kilojoules per gram).
Foods high in carbohydrates include bread and cereals (particularly refined ones), pasta and rice dishes, potatoes or french fries, potato chips, and other salty snacks made from starchy foods like cornflakes.
Consuming these foods may create acidity because they contain large amounts of rapidly absorbed sugars that help sudden increases in blood glucose levels. This trigger the pancreas to release insulin into the bloodstream to reduce glucose levels back down again. High levels of insulin can trigger digestive enzymes that break down proteins into amino acids that can be absorbed into your bloodstream through the wall of your intestine.
Don’t eat breakfast on time
If you are one of the people who eats breakfast on time, you are likely to experience heartburn and bloating. This happens because your body has not yet started to digest food after a long period of fasting. When you eat at a specific time every day, such as 7 am, your body gets used to this schedule and is ready for digestion of food at that particular time each day. If we change our eating habits from one day to another, our body becomes confused and can’t prepare itself for a proper digestion process. The result is bloating or acidity.
Don’t Drink enough water
Drinking water before, during, and after meals is a good way to ensure you are getting the right amount of fluid into your body. You should also be drinking plenty of water between meals to keep yourself hydrated throughout the day.
If you’re not drinking enough water it could trigger heartburn because you don’t have enough for proper digestion processes. If you’re dehydrated then the food won’t be able to move through your digestive system as easily and this can lead to constipation or other problems such as bloating and gas. Drinking plenty of water helps flush out toxins from your body too so that they don’t build up in your digestive tract causing discomfort when they get absorbed through the gut itself (which would make acidity worse).
Drink fruit juice
Fruit juice is high in sugar, calories, carbohydrates, and other substances that can create acidity problems. The problem with fruit juice is that it’s not just the sugar (which can be a problem) but also the water content. Drinking too much fruit juice will fill your stomach up very quickly because of its high water content, which makes it difficult for your body to digest properly.
In addition to this issue with digestion, many people make the mistake of drinking fruit juice when they are hungry instead of eating food first thing in the morning. Eating foods such as cereal or toast will help regulate your blood sugar levels so you don’t feel hungry again soon after having breakfast.
Eat processed food
Processed food is high in sodium, sugar, and preservatives. And, as you may have guessed, these ingredients can lead to heartburn.
Processed food also has a high glycemic index (GI) which means that it causes a spike in blood sugar levels after eating it. This spike can create insulin resistance and weight gain if your diet contains too many such foods or drinks over time.
If you eat processed food on a regular basis then you could be at risk of obesity, heartburn, and acid reflux as your body struggles with the large number of processed foods that are full of chemical additives like artificial sweeteners (e.g., aspartame).
Eat sugar-rich food
Sugar leads to acidity because it is a source of energy for the body and stimulates the production of insulin. The pancreas releases an excess amount of insulin, which causes the liver to produce more bile (a liquid that helps digest food). Bile is then released into the small intestine and mixes with digestive juices from your stomach. This combination breaks down your food so it can be absorbed into your bloodstream. When too much sugar enters your body, there will not be enough time for the digestion process which causes heartburn or other digestion-related problems like constipation or diarrhea, etc.
Conclusion
Now that we’ve covered the main breakfast blunder that can originate acidity and how to avoid them, let’s look at some tips for eating a better meal. As with any meal, quality is key. The best breakfasts will include a variety of whole grains, fruits, and veggies, as well as healthy fats like nuts and seeds. A good rule of thumb is to avoid processed foods as much as possible.
