Acid reflux remedies: it starts with dinner.

Work dinner: charcuterie, risotto, steak, two glasses of red, pudding, coffee. By half eleven you're in bed, that familiar burn creeps up behind your breastbone, and in the dark you search "acid reflux remedies" on your phone.

I see it often in the people I work with. They hunt for the guilty food and cut out tomatoes. Meanwhile the huge dinner, the late hour and the gym straight after lunch all stay.

How to recognise it

• The burn rises. Up towards your chest, after meals, often worse when you lie down.
• Your stomach stays full. Heaviness, burping, dinner still sitting there.
• It often follows certain habits. Coffee on an empty stomach, a run after eating, the sofa after lunch.
• Your sleep is light. You toss, turn and wake, especially after a late dinner.

Why the acid rises

You need that acid. It digests protein and keeps bacteria in check. Your stomach protects itself with a layer of mucus and renews its cells fast. Your oesophagus, the tube food travels down, has no such protection, so it burns when acid gets up there.

A rich meal lingers. Fat and animal protein can keep your stomach busy for up to six hours; a light meal, about one. After a dinner like that at nine, your stomach is still working at half eleven, and you lie down.

Hard exercise on a full stomach. Blood goes either to digestion or to your muscles. Running or training straight after eating can set off reflux, and few people realise.

Coffee and tension. Caffeine steps up gastric juices, and heartburn is a typical effect. Stress upsets digestion too, and emails at the table give you both.

Acid reflux: what to eat and what to avoid?

Smaller, simpler plates eaten slowly count for more than any list. In the evening, avoid fatty meals above all, then whatever gives you heartburn.

A light plate in the evening. Fish or chicken, cooked vegetables, a drizzle of olive oil. Save fried food, cured meats and rich sauces for lunch, in small portions. Eating late? Better to leave something on the plate than fill up before bed.

The suspects, one at a time. Tomatoes, citrus, garlic, onion, mint, wine: they set off heartburn in many people, not all. Cutting them all at once tells you nothing. Drop one for a few days and see what changes.

Twenty minutes at the table. Fork down between mouthfuls, phone away. You chew more and feel full before your stomach is overloaded.

Coffee after food. Breakfast first; the last cup straight after lunch. If it still burns, cut back.

After eating, walk. Ten to fifteen minutes at an easy pace, and the sofa can wait. Train once you've digested. Leave three hours between dinner and bed, as I explain in the article on eating late at night.

Start tonight with dinner: a smaller plate, a slower pace, a short walk after. And keep notes for a week: that's how you spot what sets your heartburn off.