Even if you can't make it through the day without a cup (or three) of coffee, you may want to rethink the kind of coffee you enjoy. Otherwise, you could pay a painful price for your caffeine jolt. That's because coffee is one of the foods that can give you acid reflux , which may cause an unpleasant feeling called heartburn.
Heartburn occurs when the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), the muscle that sits at the bottom of your esophagus, relaxes and allows undigested or partially digested food and liquids to travel from your stomach back toward your mouth. Because those substances have mixed with the gastric juices in your stomach, they can cause a stinging sensation in your throat and chest as the acid irritates the lining of your esophagus. (Here's what it really feels like when you