What can of food will be good for me?

I'm sorry you have heartburn and palpitations! As everyone reacts to trigger foods differently, I'd recommend referring to a low fodmap diet. It eliminates certain oils, fibers, and dairies that our bodies have a harder time digesting and processing. I hope you've been feeling well as of late and have a better grasp on what foods do and don't trigger you! Thank you so much for sharing with us and I hope you're feeling well today. Wishing you a gentle and symptom-free day ~ Sawyer (team member)

The best place to find some reliable information on the low FODMAP diet is on the Monash University site. If you google "monash university low fodmap diet" you should find that easily/

Low Fodmap foods can definitely help gut symptoms. It might be worth trying. Since I got IBS, a number of the low Fodmap foods have become my staples, except now I have been able to introduce some high Fodmap ones as well.

You should really get a dietician's help, if: you can afford a dietician/ you get referred to one by your doctor. If you don't, there is a risk you may get malnourished. Either that or you will have to do so much work and research of your own.

It might be that some of the low Fodmap foods might not suit you. I found that. Yet some of the ones on the "high" list did, even from the beginning! The aim is really to construct the healthiest diet you can as an end result, which is just right for you. Even if you have some intolerances or sensitivities to certain foods.


Sometimes I get heart palpitations too. That can feel a little weird, but it's not necessarily anything dangerous. But if it troubles you you should see your doctor.

That's so true, about low stomach acid, Karina. In winter 2021 I suddenly developed heartburn plus a really weird sensation in my lower esophageal sphincter, like it was unstable somehow, and I kept getting indigestion.

I did the "baking soda" test (even though I have since heard it's unreliable) and with that, the baking soda and water is meant to make you burp within (I think) a couple of minutes if you have normal stomach acid. It took me AGES to burp! Over 8 minutes both times I tested..
I then heard it's not a reliable test. But I didn't want to go down the testing HCL route (taking hydrochloric acid supplements) that freaked me out slightly.

So then what I decided to do was get some stomach bitters anyway.
The Swedish bitters I checked contained senna. Not a good idea for my IBS-D. So instead I bought some bitter herbs at a herbalist's (Wormwood, Angelica root, Gentian, orange peel, and cinnamon) You may prefer other "bitters", it depends what suits you and what is safe for you, please check first! And made my own bitters. I also ate Manuka honey medical grade.
It took about 4 months for those heartburn symptoms to go away but they haven't come back again since.

Yes, Yarrow is a good herb to include in bitters if you like it.
There are a number of others besides the ones I said I used.
Even peppermint is classed in herbalism as a "bitter" !


The baking soda test is easy to do. Dissolve 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda in a little water. You don't need too much water. A small wine glass full is usually enough) Drink that on a completely empty stomach first thing in the morning. You should burp within 3-5 minutes, but the timing differs with each page I read about it ! Some say 2-3 minutes. Some say a little longer !

If you do, your stomach acid is normal. If you burp almost instantly, your stomach acid is high. If you burp later than 5+ minutes, or not at all, stomach acid is low.

I don't know precisely why it's not always 100% accurate but apparently it isn't. I read a blog about a year ago where a man did this test and didn't burp for something like 20 minutes. So all his family members tried it too, wife and teenage kids. No, they didn't burp, or at least not for ages either and they all had excellent digestion with no health problems.