My girls used to like the Prego, but not my homemade sauce. I thought the Prego was vile, tasting mostly of corn syrup, but they loved it.

Anyway, I don't think it'll make a difference. All tomato sauces give me heartburn, as does anything with tomatoes and onions together. Also hot peppers, coffee with cream (but not black coffee, which I think is odd), raw garlic or large amounts of cooked garlic. Probably a bunch of other things I can't think of or haven't connected.

The only resolution was to chew Tums and drink Maalox. I graduated to Zantac, then Prilosec, now Prevacid. Ah well. Anyway, it doesn't matter if it's commercial sauce, homemade sauce, sauce from a restaurant, it all affects me the same.

Annie

Annie has it pegged, but you might try having DH take a Zantac/Pepcid/Tagamet 30 minutes to an hour before dinner and see if that helps.

My heartburn began with pizza. Tomato sauces from any source (home or store) aggravates. I was out for dinner and forgot to bring antiacid pills. The salad had a great deal of parsley. 2 helpings and no heartburn!

Here's an informative slide show for anyone interested.

http://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/ss/slideshow-heartburn-foods

Ellendi, are you sure that the pasta sauce is the problem and not the pasta??

I have all but eliminated my gut/ digestive problems since limiting carbs (which translates to much reduced intake of gluten).

Marinara sauce over zoodles (I cut them with a V-Slicer) is surprisingly good, much to my surprise. I would suggest that you try pasta sauces without the typical gluten heavy pastas/ breads complements just to make certain of what the real culprit is.

If he has recently gained weight, this could affect reflux, especially if he has any hiatal hernia issues, which many people do. (That said, I have battled HB since the age of 12, when I weighed 89 pounds. Runs in my father's family, regardless of weight or age.)

Strangely, the time I felt best was, as ci_lanteo suggests, when I went stone cold Atkins. HB all but vanished with the carbs. Processed tomatoes are some times a trigger, but more likely it is just the tomatoes that you "taste" when it kicks up. (Sorry to sound disgusting.). For me, red onions seem to consistently cause it. Not white or yellow, no matter the variety.

After a near 40 year struggle with it, I finally found a good gastroenterologist who 90% cured me by telling me to do three things: (1) get off Nexium, which was giving me early osteoporosis, and instead take only Zantac as needed, (2) drink club soda with every meal -- preferably straight from the can when etiquette permitted, and preferably the Whole Foods brand, and (3) sleep only on my left side. (I now special order WF club soda 12 cases at a pop.) My life has improved immeasurably, but getting off Nexium was hard and a bit painful until my stomach got adjusted. If your husband is getting HB more frequently, please do not let him take Nexium, or any proton pump inhibitor drug.

Okay, TMI. God luck to your husband.

Different tomato sauces affect me differently. Homemade ones can be just as rough or rougher than bottled ones. But a light homemade sauce that is mostly made from just canned tomatoes with little or no paste is easier on my stomach. It's a worth a try for your husband.

MizLizzie, why club soda?

I'm wondering if it's not just age. I too have been having the same issues as the poster - and others. I have a number of acqiends who also have these same issues... all starting around age 50.

grainlady: I've copied your post to this thread and will pass on to DD.

Something also to look at is whether there has been an issue with the healthy stomach bacteria. A lot of people who get incidental acid issues -- not long term or serious enough for get thee to a doctor -- seem to find relief from eating more fermented foods -- natural pickles, kimchi, etc., as well as unfiltered vinegar drinks with the mother. It seems counterintuitive to bring acid to acid, but it does seem to help a lot of people. I don't know for sure, but it looks like it helps recolonize the healthy bacteria.

plllog is right, and getting checked for h-pylori in the gut is wise, too, and much easier than it used to be. That can cause tummy trouble, too. Christine, old fashioned club soda is very base chemically -- has something like baking soda in it. So it washes acid down the esophagus, neutralizes what is in the stomach, and it will (sorry for the vulgarity) make you gently burp up any pressure in the stomach that might be bloating the stomach and forcing acid up into the esophagus. This can be a great relief if you have some hernia issues, which we often do as we age or gain weight. (I seem destined to do both!) One caveat with true club soda -- it does contain moderate amounts of sodium so can affect BP in some.

Thanks everyone for your comments. For DH, it is only when I use the Prego sauce. I use Trader Joe's Turkey Bolognese and he is fine with that.

Y'know, it might not be the tomatoes (acid). It might be the oil!

I think the resolution is simple, then. Don't use Prego! There must be an ingredient in the stuff that causes the reaction, but the only things I can find from the label are the very ambiguous "spices" and "natural flavorings". That could be anything from MSG to garlic to salt to corn syrup. Or, like me, it could be a combination of ingredients. Mine is tomatoes and onions, for others its garlic. I think that's going to be pretty hard to pinpoint.

Annie

Or possibly what is already in the gut. Often it is what is consumed earlier, like fats...cheese, bacon. Or some commercial breads, the gluten. Often our daily intake follows a pattern, often convenient or just comfort...'i'll have that burger from so-and-so because it is just what i want today'...then that sits with a later meal of pasta and just does not 'sit/mix' so well. Fats like cheese before acids, like tomato, can cause some to be sensitive. Pasta with sauce AND cheese, and a dairy like a cream tomato sauce with lots of fresh herbs can balance the gut. Even better a good dollop of active yogurt.

Sometimes a food can solve another foods issue without medications. A healthy active vinegar, a specific seltzer, a kiefer, fermented foods that seem can only be disruptive can often balance the erratic gut disturbances....at least that is some modern thinking rather than the thinking that they are THE disruptive acids causing the problem.

I drink seltzer with fresh ginger. Not had a commercial soda in 30 yrs. I can't tell you how many people think plain seltzer is horrible for the gut...not sure who started that one. But then again, i have it just once or twice a week, sometimes a few times a day....my body tells me. The past few weeks it has been a giant glass of water bedside...filled a few times...probably the cold weather outside and the forced air heat inside.

Reading this thread makes me soooo greatful l've never had the symptom of heartburn and been able to eat anything and everything... I'm truthfully sorry for those of you who can't ... Maybe it's all the variety of peppers I love and eat that have given me an iron clad stomach?

Digestive enzymes help me avoid heartburn & gas/bloating.