Here's How Chewing Gum May Help with Acid Reflux

You can prevent or ease the condition with certain changes to your diet and lifestyle, such as knowing which foods to avoid with GERD (like high-fat foods, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol and citrus), according to the International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders (IFFGD).

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You can also manage your symptoms with natural remedies for heartburn, like eating smaller portions, sitting upright after meals and exercising.

Gum and Acid Reflux

"Studies and clinical reports have found that gum may actually help minimize gastric reflux, especially after eating a meal," says Kristi King, RDN, LD, senior pediatric dietitian at Houston-based Texas Children's Hospital, clinical instructor at Baylor College of Medicine and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Mint Chewing Gum for Acid Reflux

But not just any stick of gum will do — some varieties are worse than others. For instance, peppermint gum is not good for acid reflux.

In fact, King says any kind of mint could be a trigger. While there's no scientific evidence that peppermint or spearmint does cause acid reflux or GERD directly, "if you already suffer from GERD, it could potentially make symptoms worse," King says.

Why? According to the IFFGD, spearmint or peppermint can relax your LES muscle, the gatekeeper between your esophagus and stomach. If your LES doesn't close properly, stomach acids can seep back up into the esophagus.

But King says the jury is still out on whether mint gums have an effect on acid reflux. "Again, no scientific studies show that mint makes symptoms worse — only individual patient experiences reported," she says.

Mint is known as a natural smooth muscle relaxant, she says, which could include the esophagus. However, she says, not all research points to spearmint having any effect on the LES.

Ultimately, "nutrition is an individual thing," King says. "When it comes to spearmint gum and whether it's good — or bad — for reflux, you have to decide for yourself. It will just depend on your body, your symptoms and your tolerance."

Translation: If it is a trigger for you, it is best to avoid it.

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The worst and best foods for acid reflux can vary from person to person, so keeping a food diary to track symptoms and what you eat may help you identify your triggers, per the IFFGD. In general though, developing an acid reflux diet that includes plenty of fiber — like the fiber in the best fruits and vegetables for GERD — can help keep symptoms at bay.

Best Gum for Acid Reflux

If you want to chew gum to try and help reduce reflux, King says any sugar-free gum or flavor will do the trick. She says the sugar-free factor, though, isn't so much to help your GERD — "it's more to reduce exposure of sugar to your teeth and keep your dentist happy."

And chew on this: As you may have experienced, if you take medications to help alleviate your reflux, they can make your mouth dry, per the American Dental Association (ADA).

Chewing sugar-free gum is a good antidote for dry mouth because it accelerates saliva production. Saliva is good for your mouth, not only because it helps neutralize the acids from reflux, but because it also helps wash away bacteria that can attack your teeth and cause cavities.

Gum with bicarbonate may be another solid option when it comes to reflux relief. Here's what bicarbonate gum is: It's gum that contains a base (that is, a non- acidic substance) that your body also naturally produces to help keep its pH balance in check, per the National Kidney Foundation.

However, this study only included 20 people, so newer and larger studies are needed to explore the best bicarbonate gum for acid reflux.

Read more on: livestrong