John Alexander doesn't get to chow down on chili dogs too often. That's because he's been living with acid reflux.
John Alexander: "You do feel the burning. It's basic heartburn, but what happens is after you've had it for so many years, it causes scarring to form in your esophagus."
Before finding relief through medicine and surgery, john's symptoms got worse around the holidays.
"I started to feel bad on Thanksgiving. And so when you're sitting around enjoying usually, for many of us, a huge meal, and I did, but what would happen is, about halfway through the meal, and what was happening to me a lot was I would have to regurgitate the food."
Changes in eating habits can make the holiday season feel more like "heartburn season." That's according to Dr. Nicholas Nickl, a digestive health specialist at the University of Kentucky. He says eating fatty foods--and more of it--can make reflux worse.
Nickl: "Chocolate, which is certainly a popular thing in the holidays, chocolate will definitely make reflux worse. Caffeine tends to make reflux worse, so that extra cup of coffee right after you've had a full meal with a glass of wine makes reflux worse..and then mints are one of those things that we happen to know makes reflux worse."
Now that John's condition is under control, he's looking forward to making the holiday rounds with all of his family.
John: "It does, it means that's one less thing you have to worry about going into the season."
For UK HealthCare, I'm Beth Goins.