If you constantly wake yourself or your family up with your snoring, you have probably tried many snoring remedies to stop the nightly racket. However, you may not have thought about how food affects your snoring. Many people don’t realize that food allergies, or even just mild intolerances can cause snoring by leading to a buildup of mucus in the nose and throat.
If you constantly wake yourself or your family up with your snoring, you have probably tried many snoring remedies to stop the nightly racket. However, you may not have thought about how food affects your snoring. Many people don’t realize that food allergies, or even just mild intolerances can cause snoring by leading to a buildup of mucus in the nose and throat.Your body naturally produces mucus as a way to line, moisten and cleanse your nasal passages. The mucus also traps foreign particles and helps prevent infections. When you eat certain foods, your body might send mucus producing cells into overdrive depending on the food. And too much of good thing always presents a problem. The excess mucus causes histamines to be produced, which increase blood flow that cause inflammation.
The Worst Foods for Snoring
These are the foods that cause snoring in most individuals:
• Dairy: The lactose found in dairy is a big culprit that causes people to snore loudly. Dairy encourages excess mucus production and also makes the mucus thicker and harder to loosen. So stay away from cheese, milk, ice cream, yogurt and butter before bedtime.
• Meat: Red meat, poultry, and especially pork can all cause people to snore because the high protein content triggers phlegm production. There are also substances found in some meats, like antibiotics and formaldehyde, that can cause excess mucus. You may want to choose organic meats and stop eating them a few hours before bedtime.
• Wheat: Sorry bread lovers, the processed wheat grain found in most breads and baked goods tend to cause heavy snoring. You can combat this by choosing gluten free bread, cereals, baked goods and sweets.
• Soy: If you think switching from cow’s milk to soy milk will help stop your snoring, think again! Soy is one of the worst food for snorers as it greatly increases mucus production. You can try other milk alternatives, like almond milk or lactose-free milk.
• Fruits and Vegetables: It’s important to get in your daily servings of fruits and vegetables, however try not to eat these foods right before bed. Bananas, potatoes, corn and cabbage are the biggest offenders.
• Sugar: Eating too much sugar can lead to many things, like diabetes and obesity, and it can also cause people to snore. Foods filled with processed sugars will turn acidic and lead to an overproduction of mucus.
• Alcohol: Consuming too much alcohol before bed will increase snoring because alcohol interferes with your breathing as you sleep.
What to Eat Instead
While it seems like the list above cuts out a lot of food, consider adding these to your diet as helpful snoring remedies.
• Onions: Adding onions in your daily diet leads to a host of benefits. Onions act as an inflammatory, a rich source of antioxidants and can serve as a decongestant. This will all help decrease your snoring.
• Green tea: Green tea is a great thing to drink when trying to stop snoring as it has decongestant properties.
• Honey and lemon: Adding honey and lemon to your tea can work wonders. Honey is a natural antiseptic and decongestant, too. You can even add thyme to the mix because combining honey and thyme will reduce mucus in your nasal passages.
• Turmeric: As a natural anti-inflammatory, turmeric is a great spice to add to your diet to help combat snoring.
When you are a chronic snorer, you and your loved ones will want to find any way to stop it. Try these diet modifications to see if you notice an improvement! And remember to consult with your doctor about these changes.
Sleep MD NYC will help you take control of your sleep. Our team of expert doctors and dedicated staff can help you get a better night’s sleep with state of the art technologies, therapies and snoring remedies. With multiple locations in New York City, Sleep MD NYC can help you with insomnia, snoring, and sleep apnea.
