There are certain foods that produce excess mucus. Excess mucus is a common cause of snoring. So, by virtue of the two previous sentences here are some foods to avoid if you want to remain snore free.
Foods That Can Cause Snoring
Can the foods you eat cause you to snore or make an existing problem with snoring even worse?
It sounds like a radical idea, but the answer to that question is yes and you need to be particularly careful about the food choices you make just before going to bed.
Snoring is the result of tissue vibration at the back of the throat.
During sleep, the tissue at the back of the throat relaxes.
The tongue relaxes as well and drops towards the back of the throat.
All this relaxing flesh obstructs airflow.
This causes turbulence and, due to its relaxed nature, the flesh of the throat starts to vibrate in an unpleasantly noisy way.
Anything that further impedes airflow has the potential to make the snoring situation worse. Mucus (phlegm) is one of the things that can do this. Avoid food that causes mucus.
What does any of this have to do with the food choices and what you make? Read on, you may be surprised at what you are about to discover.
Recommended Reading: From mouth guards, to tongue stabilizers to chinstraps – What is the best solution from the many snoring aids available?
Food, Mucus and Snoring: What You Need to Know
The body produces mucus all of the time. It’s not just a symptom of allergies and disease. Mucus production keeps us healthy. There is however a definite connection between snoring and allergies.
Problems only arise when mucus production rates become too high.
Allergies and diseases are two things that have the potential to make this happen. Certain foods can do it as well.
Mucus serves several purposes. You need it, don’t doubt it. Among other things, it coats the back of the throat and the nasal passages, helping to keep the tissue moist and clean.
Mucus also traps foreign particles such as germs, pollen, and dust. By doing so, it plays an important early role in the human immune system response.
Needless to say, the presence of extra dust or pollen in the atmosphere around us can make the body produce extra mucus. As can disease.
Certain foods are also capable of causing the cells that create mucus to go into overdrive.
This results in more mucus to impede airflow at the back of the throat and a greater risk of snoring.
What Foods Cause Snoring – Other Contributing Factors
It’s not just mucus that’s the problem. Certain foods can cause the muscles and flesh in the vicinity of the airway to relax more than normal.
Others can cause inflammation that may further impede airflow.
It’s also important to be aware of the role food allergies may play in snoring.
If you are allergic to a certain food, such as seafood or nuts, your past experiences will have made you aware of the problem and you will already be avoiding the problem foods.
However, if you have a mild food intolerance, you might not be aware of it.
Or if you are aware of it, and the symptoms are generally stomach and gut-related, you may be inclined to somewhat ignore it and then manage the consequences.
That’s all well and good. We all have the right to make our own choices in life.
The problem is, whether you are aware of it or not, even mild food intolerance can cause an excess of mucus to develop at the back of the throat.
8 Foods That Can Make You Snore (Don’t Eat them Before Bed)
1. Dairy Products
Milk, cheese, butter, and other dairy products encourage your body to produce extra mucus.
Some people also find dairy hard to digest.
Eating cheese at night may be particularly bad and, even if you are only slightly lactose intolerant, that will only go to make things worse.
2. Wheat
Eating wheat products during the evening is also a bad idea.
Wheat flour can trigger inflammation, set your mucus production into overdrive, and cause you to start snoring like a pig.
3. Sugar
Eating sugary foods is never a good idea. It encourages weight gain and is bad for the teeth.
Gaining weight is bad for many reasons and obesity is known to increase snoring