Exactly why certain things send the diaphragm into a state of spasming is not entirely understood. However, Ali Seifi, a neuroscientist at the University of Texas Health at San Antonio, told The Washington Post that bread can be one of these things. ” … A large meal of dry foods such as pasta or bread can trigger a muscle in our belly called the diaphragm,” Seifi stated.
A number of factors may contribute to this. For one, Healthline explains that because bread is a dry food, it can tickle and aggravate our throat more so than soft foods. Soft foods are also easier to chew, and they tend to go down a little easier than dry foods. More chewing is involved with bread than, say, mashed potatoes, for instance. The more we chew, the more air we ingest, thereby increasing the likelihood of hiccups. We often consume dry foods in larger chunks, too. These larger pieces can cause abdominal bloating, which also primes us for the hiccups.