Reflux triggers, spotted before you buy
Reflux triggers are individual. The evidence for any universal list is weak, so Munchable never tells you a food is off limits. It tells you which common triggers are in the packet, and lets you learn your own pattern.
Why there is no definitive trigger list
The 2022 American College of Gastroenterology guideline makes only a conditional recommendation on trigger foods, at low certainty. In plain terms: some people reliably react to some foods, the overlap between people is poor, and blanket elimination has never been shown to work well.
That is why Munchable caps reflux at a caution and never issues an avoid on this condition alone. A flag means "this contains something a lot of people react to", not "do not eat this".
The triggers Munchable looks for
The commonly cited ones, plus fat. Fat matters mechanically rather than as an irritant: a high-fat meal slows how quickly the stomach empties, which raises the odds of reflux afterwards. That makes it one of the few reflux signals a label can actually measure, so Munchable reads it per serving where the serving size is on the pack.
Finding your own pattern
Because reflux is so individual, the useful workflow is not avoidance but attribution. When a product flags and you tolerate it fine, you have learned something. When one flags and a bad evening follows, you have learned more. Munchable shows the specific ingredient behind each flag so there is something concrete to test, rather than a vague sense that dinner was to blame.
What Munchable reads off the label
- Chocolate and cocoa
- Mint, peppermint and spearmint
- Tomato, including concentrates and purees
- Citrus and citrus juices
- Onion and garlic
- Chilli, pepper and other heat
- Caffeine and carbonation
- High fat per serving, which delays stomach emptying
How certain is this?
Trigger foods are individual and low-certainty; reasons are worded as common triggers, never absolutes.
The rule set behind this page is versioned (0.1.0-draft) and cites its basis: ACG 2022 clinical guideline (conditional, low certainty). Every verdict is produced by those fixed rules, never by a language model.
Ingredients Munchable flags for this
Each one has its own page with the answer at the top, because the amount and the position on the label decide how much it matters.
- Does alcohol cause reflux?
- Does beer cause reflux?
- Does caffeine cause reflux?
- Does carbonated water cause reflux?
- Does cayenne pepper cause reflux?
- Does chili pepper cause reflux?
- Does chocolate cause reflux?
- Does cocoa cause reflux?
- Does cocoa powder cause reflux?
- Does coffee cause reflux?
- Does curry powder cause reflux?
- Does dried tomatoes cause reflux?
- Does garlic cause reflux?
- Does grapefruit cause reflux?
- Does guarana cause reflux?
- Does harissa cause reflux?
- Does hot sauce cause reflux?
- Does ketchup cause reflux?
- Does lemon cause reflux?
- Does lemon juice cause reflux?
- Does lime cause reflux?
- Does mate cause reflux?
- Does mint cause reflux?
- Does onion cause reflux?
- Does orange cause reflux?
- Does orange juice cause reflux?
- Does peppermint cause reflux?
- Does spearmint cause reflux?
- Does tea cause reflux?
- Does tomato cause reflux?
- Does tomato concentrate cause reflux?
- Does tomato puree cause reflux?
- Does tomato sauce cause reflux?
- Does wine cause reflux?
Recipes that suit this pattern
Each one is run through this condition's rule set before it ships, at the strictest setting the app offers, with the fat and fibre worked out from the quantities rather than asserted.
- Ginger chicken rice bowl (25 minutes)
- Herby baked cod with crushed potatoes (35 minutes)
- Chicken and rice soup (35 minutes)
- Gentle rice congee (50 minutes)
- Courgette and parmesan rice (30 minutes)
- Roast carrot and ginger soup (50 minutes)
- Overnight oats with strawberries (10 minutes)
- Scrambled eggs with chives (10 minutes)
Questions
Will it tell me a food is safe for reflux?
It will tell you that it found none of the common triggers it looks for. Reflux is individual enough that this is the honest version of a green light, and Munchable words it that way.
Does it cover meal timing or portion size?
No. Munchable assesses what is in the packet. Timing, portion size and lying down after eating matter for reflux and are outside what a barcode can tell you.
The bit we have to say
Munchable is a wellness tool, not medical advice. It does not diagnose or treat anything and is not a substitute for your doctor or dietitian. It warns about the allergies you list when the product data names them, but it never tells you a product is free from one, so always read the physical label.
Try it on your own shopping
Five scans a month are free, across all seven conditions. See the other six.
Check it in the shop, not at home
Point your phone at the barcode and Munchable reads the ingredients list for you, before it goes in the basket.