Cranberries and Reflux
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Reflux is complex.
Are Cranberries good for Reflux?
Reflux is when acid moves from your stomach (where it’s supposed to be) into your esophagus (where it’s not supposed to be). This causes pain.
There are many causes for this.
So asking any question on whether or not a food or a certain lifestyle change is good or bad for reflux really depends on what the root cause is.
Cranberries, when fresh, are an acidic food. But many people who suffer with Gerd have no problems eating cranberries.
If the root cause of reflux is ‘eating acidic foods’ then cranberries would not be good for reflux.
If the root cause of reflux was almost anything else, then I still don’t see how cranberries could be good for reflux.
It’s very rare (or nonexistent) to find foods that have certain properties in them that are able to physically stop acid from flowing back up into the esophagus. I also don’t know of any foods that are able to neutralize stomach acid the way medications do.
That being said, people are different and conditions in people are all different, and so it’s very possible that one particular food makes your reflux a lot worse and somebody else’s a lot better.
I don’t think that cranberries have any significant, medicinal properties in them to help with this issue.
Common Causes
The most common causes of reflux that I know are:
– Obesity or being overweight
– Drinking too much alcohol or smoking
– Stress like chronic and unconscious anger or frustration
– A very tight diaphragm muscle (which is usually caused by stress).
– Anterior pelvic tilt or any tight, sore muscles in the core or hip areas which will cause the body to put pressure on the stomach.
I’m sure there are others but if you start looking into some of these causes, you may make more of an impact on your reflux by managing those, rather than by trying to find specific foods to help you.
Hope this helps.
– Cranby
