Tea is a very popular warm beverage that people enjoy around the world. It’s very low in calories, comes in different flavors, and is very easy to prepare and personalize according to your preferences.
Some people even drink tea to ease some health issues, including heartburn. But can drinking tea truly help you with acid reflux symptoms?
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Is Tea Good For Heartburn?
Tea has some potential benefits for people suffering from acid reflux symptoms like heartburn, but it all depends on the type you choose. Some tea kinds are more acidic than others, increasing your likelihood of experiencing heartburn. As a result, make sure to avoid the acidic ones and choose the ones leaning towards being alkaline.
Don't know what to drink? Check out these articles: 20 Most and Least Acidic Juices and 20+ Alcoholic Drinks Ranked by Acidity Level
Is tea acidic?
Most teas have a pH level above 7.2. Tea is mildly acidic, depending on the variety you choose.
Black tea tends to have a much lower pH level than green, chamomile, mint, or fennel teas.
Generally, the sourer the tea tastes, the more acid-forming properties it has.
The acidity of the tea also depends on other factors like how long you steep the bag in water, how diluted it is, and what you add to it.
For example, tea with lemon, flavoring, milk, or sweeteners is much more acidic than plain varieties.
All bottled types of tea are very acidic and often loaded with sugar and preservatives. These may not only worsen your heartburn but also negatively impact your health.
Consuming too much sugar leads to weight gain, which worsens the symptoms of acid reflux and GERD. So try avoiding bottled teas as much as possible.
Can tea help with heartburn?
All types of tea are made using hot water. Drinking water, in general, helps soothe your esophagus and stomach and reduce inflammation, preventing heartburn and other symptoms of acid reflux.
Because of that, drinking some tea when you feel the burning sensation in your chest might be a good idea.
But make sure to wait until it cools down, as extremely how water can irritate your stomach even more.
What’s more, drinking tea, as opposed to coffee, doesn’t seem to worsen your acid reflux symptoms.
Studies show that both regular and decaffeinated tea doesn’t increase your likelihood of developing heartburn as long as you’re healthy and don’t suffer from GERD.
Tea might aggravate some symptoms in those with pre-existing acid reflux or GERD, so it might be best to limit how much tea you consume in those instances.
Is tea good for you?
Tea is very low in calories and helps you stay hydrated. It comes in various flavors, which can make drinking enough water every day much easier for people who don’t like the taste of plain water.
Staying hydrated is not only important for your health but may also aid in healthy weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight.
This is because it contains bioactive compounds that boost your metabolism, increasing how many calories you’re burning.
Freshly brewed herbal teas are rich in antioxidants that help flush out free radicals from your body.
This prevents oxidative stress and damage to your cells, lowering your risk of various health conditions such as diabetes and even some types of cancer like breast, lung, stomach, pancreatic, and colon.
Antioxidants also reduce the risk of various neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Some studies also indicate that regular consumption of black and green tea can lower your risk of high blood pressure, particularly in those prone to hypertension.
High blood pressure is closely linked with several cardiovascular conditions, including strokes, heart attacks, and heart disease.
Because of that, it’s important to keep your blood pressure levels stable, and drinking tea can help you do just that.
Additionally, drinking white tea provides you with a lot of anti-inflammatory and antibacterial benefits.
This helps reduce your risk of various health conditions as well as boost your immune system.
What’s more, mixing white tea with peppermint tea might further enhance these effects, as the compounds found in these two varieties of tea get mixed together.
What type of tea is the best for people with acid reflux?
Green tea seems to be the best and least acidic type of tea. It’s much higher in antioxidants and beneficial compounds than black tea, so it can reduce inflammation and improve digestion.
This, in turn, can prevent acid reflux symptoms like heartburn from occurring or make them less severe.
Green tea also has a much smoother taste than black tea, making it easier for your esophagus and digestive tract.
Another good type of tea to ease your acid reflux is kombucha. This fermented type of tea is acidic, but it contains many antioxidants and compounds that help protect your digestive system from damage and inflammation.
This can potentially limit how often you experience acid reflux symptoms as long as you drink it in moderation and prepare it in a healthy way.
On the other hand, adding milk to your tea can aggravate your heartburn. This is because milk is rather acidic and adds fat and calories to your tea.
Drinking and eating fat-rich beverages and food has been linked to a higher risk of weight gain, which increases the severity of your acid reflux symptoms, including heartburn.
As a result, your best choice is to drink plain tea without milk and sugar.
What’s more, studies show that regular consumption of peppermint tea worsens your acid reflux and causes more severe heartburn.
Drinking peppermint tea every day irritates your digestive tract, including the esophagus, making your heartburn worse and inflaming your stomach.
Because of that, it might be best to avoid drinking peppermint tea, especially if your acid reflux is severe as it is.
Conclusion
Drinking tea can help soothe your stomach, improve digestion, and reduce the symptoms of acid reflux in some people.
But, as with everything, your body might react differently to tea. So make sure that your stomach tolerates it before making it a regular part of your diet.
In any case, tea is rich in beneficial compounds, which improve your health, making it a great addition to a healthy diet.