Stop Acid Reflux Blog

If you or someone you love suffers from heartburn, you know that it can be very disruptive to your daily life. Most heartburn sufferers say it stops them from enjoying food. Others say it keeps them from getting a good night’s sleep, it makes it hard to concentrate at work, and it interferes with family activities. Sound familiar? Don’t worry. Heartburn is a pain, but it can be helped.

Heartburn And Reflux For Dummies is the plain-English guide to relief for you if you’ve been recently diagnosed with heartburn or reflux, if you suspect you may suffer from it, or if you’re concerned about your loved ones. This comprehensive book shows you how to recognize symptoms, get an accurate diagnosis, and work with a physician to receive the most effective treatment available. You’ll see how to:

* Get your symptoms under control
* Find the right physician
* Reduce stress and fine-tune your diet
* Avoid medicines that trigger upset
* Decide if surgery is right for you

This friendly guide explains what the various forms of reflux are, as all too often reflux is either self-treated or mistreated and followed by serious complications. There’s detailed information on building a comfortable lifestyle by reducing stress, improving your diet, controlling portions, and timing your meals to minimize heartburn and reflux. Plus, this sensitive guide even covers heartburn in infants, children, and the elderly. You’ll also discover:

* How to heal the esophagus of inflammation or injury, as well as manage or prevent complications
* The latest information on prescription medications and side effects
* Healthy habits to adopt to reduce your pain triggers
* Helpful home remedies and alternative medicine
* The special risks and remedies for heartburn during pregnancy
* The side effects and complications associated with surgery

Complete with a catalog of heartburn medicines and a list of reliable Web sites for people with digestive disorders, Heartburn & Reflux For Dummies is your one-stop guide to stopping the hurt, starting to heal, and enjoying food again!

From the Back Cover:

Features the latest on medications and side effects

Map out a plan to stop hurting, start healing, and enjoy food again!

Had it with heartburn and reflux? This friendly guide helps you get an accurate diagnosis and work with your physician to receive the most effective treatment available. You’ll see how to time your meals and develop healthy habits to reduce your pain triggers, as well as explore home remedies and alternative medicine.

The Dummies Way

* Explanations in plain English
* “Get in, get out” information
* Icons and other navigational aids
* Tear-out cheat sheet
* Top ten lists
* A dash of humor and fun

Discover how to:

* Get your symptoms under control
* Find the right physician
* Reduce stress and fine-tune your diet
* Avoid medicines that trigger upset
* Decide if surgery is right for you

Heartburn & Reflux for Dummies
by Carol Ann Rinzler, Ken DeVault
ISBN: 0764556886

Everyone at some point in time has experienced some form of heartburn. Often, what we notice is a bitter, sour or acid taste in our mouths. At times, we may feel as if partially digested foods or liquids are moving from our stomach back towards our mouth. Sometimes we may also experience chest pain that increases when we lay down. Each of these is an indication of heartburn.

Before we move on, however it is important to note that heartburn is only an indicator of a potentially larger digestive disorder called acid reflux or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Acid reflux is neither a serious disorder nor life threatening. This is especially true for those who only experience it occasionally. There are nonetheless millions of Americans that encounter the discomfort associated with acid reflux monthly, weekly and for some daily.

But what causes acid reflux? Well, when we eat, food moves from the mouth through the esophagus and into the stomach for further digestion. At the end of the esophagus there is a circular band of muscles that relax and allow food and liquids to pass into the stomach. It then tightens and prevents foods and stomach juices from traveling back up into the esophagus. If, however, food or digestive juices escape the stomach and travel back up the esophagus, irritating the esophageal lining, this is when many people experience heartburn.

For some, acid reflux is due to a mechanical disorder where the sphincter muscle at the end of the esophagus becomes weak or doesn’t close correctly. This can cause them to experience acid reflux when lying down as well as when standing up. In addition to mechanical issues that can cause the sphincter muscle to relax, alcohol, smoking, prescription medications and certain foods such as chocolate, onions, spicy foods and mints can also lessen the gripping power of this muscle.

Other reasons people experience acid reflux includes eating large meals. A large meal increases the pressure on the stomach. This pressure can cause stomach contents to literally be pushed out of the stomach and back into the esophagus. In addition, lying down right after a large meal increases your chances of experiencing acid reflux because digestive juices can more easily move in the wrong direction. Pregnancy and obesity can also increase abdominal pressure and increase your risk of experiencing acid reflux as well. Other digestive disorders such as a peptic ulcer or insufficient digestive enzymes in the stomach can also cause stomach acid to build up and back up into your esophagus.

In addition to heartburn, individuals with acid reflux can experience difficulty swallowing, a persistent sore throat or feeling a lump in the throat, coughing or wheezing. In more severe cases, the individual may regurgitate blood or notice that their stool is black, which can indicate that it contains partially digested blood.

Recommendations for Wellness

Eat a number of smaller, more frequent meals instead of one or two large meals daily.

Avoid lying down right after eating. Give your body a couple of hours to digest the food you’ve just eaten.

If you experience acid reflux at night, elevate your head or the head of your bed 4-6 inches.

If you are overweight, begin a diet and exercise program to help you shed a few pounds.

Take a good look at what you are eating. If you are consuming chocolate, alcohol, fried or fatty foods, foods flavored with peppermint or spearmints or acidic beverages such as certain juices, coffee, tea and carbonated beverages, they may be contributing to your acid reflux and should be avoided.

If you are taking prescription medications or suffer from a peptic ulcer, discuss your concerns with to your doctor to help you rule them out as the true cause of your acid reflux.

Reduce your stress level. Sing, dance, meditate, practice deep breathing or do yoga to help your body relax. This will help to reduce the pressure on your stomach.

Carminatives such as chamomile, fennel, ginger, peppermint and sage can work to sooth stomach muscles, increase the secretions of digestive juices as well as promote bile flow.

Similarly, digestive bitters improve digestion through enhanced secretion of digestive juices

Soothing herbs such as aloe vera, marshmallow and slippery elm have traditionally been use to combat the irritation often associated with heartburn.

If you feel as if the foods you are consuming are not being digested properly, try taking digestive enzymes before each meal to help break down foods in the stomach and improve digestion. Food enzymes come in many forms. There are broad spectrum food enzymes that can help to digest proteins, carbohydrates and fats. There are also specialized enzymes that help digest specific types of foods such as fats, proteins and milk.

© Copyright Body, Mind & SoulHealer 2004. All Rights Reserved.

About the Author

Dr. Rita Louise, PhD is a Naturopathic Physician. Author of the books “Avoiding the Cosmic 2×4” and “The Power Within: A Psychic Healing Primer”, Dr. Rita Louise, Ph.D. a can help you identify what is really going on and provide you with straightforward guidance and advice. She can be reached by calling 972-475-3393 or visiting her website at http://www.soulhealer.com.

Most people have digestive problems that create a variety of illness that we see as they age. The main problem is with the food that they eat. As has already been said many times, we eat more junk, processed, and packaged food than our stomach can digest. We eat more meat and protein then we should. We drink more unusual drinks that are mainly sugar.

We need to eat more live vegetables and fruits. This will minimize any acid reflux problem you might have.

Your body is designed to be electrically balanced. This is done by eating both acid and alkaline foods. If you eat too much acid food or alkaline food you move towards illness. Acid reflux is one of these illnesses.

When too much acid food is eaten, the stomach can’t digest it. completely. The excess undigested food turns into acid waste. This waste causes stomach spasms or twitching that causes an increase in stomach gas that pops open the valve between the esophagus and stomach.

Acidic stomach content is sucked into the esophagus causing a burning sensation in the chest and throat. This is acid reflux or heartburn.

Acid Reflux Remedies

Here are three acid reflux remedies that you can start using right away to decrease the effects of acid reflux

* Digestive enzymes – Just before you eat, take some digestive enzymes. There are a variety of types that you can buy in a health food store – cost is about $15.00. Digestive enzymes will help you digest your food in the stomach and lessen the work the stomach has to do. But don’t take enzymes if you have an ulcer.

* Drinking water – When eating your meal, don’t drink any cold liquid. Cold liquid in the stomach decreases the digestive activity and your food will take longer to digest. It is best not to drink any water with your meal since this decrease the strength of your hydrochloric acid. If you have to drink water to clear your throat use water at room temperature.

* Vegetables – Eat vegetables with lunch and dinner and decrease the amount of meat and protein you eat. Don’t over eat since this puts an extra load on your stomach and you may not be able to digest all this food. Try eating your vegetables raw when possible since this gives you extra enzymes and plenty of minerals. Any time you eat bread eat it with some vegetables. Bread is hard to digest and the added fiber helps its digestion and helps to move it through the colon faster.

Just doing these three suggestions will help you improve your digestion and help to relieve your acid reflux. Concentrate on changing your eating habits and the types and quantities of food that you eat, if you want to stop the effects of acid reflux.

About the Author

Rudy Silva has a degree in Physics and is a Natural Nutritionist. He is the author of Constipation, Acne, Hemorrhoid, and Fatty Acid ebooks. He writes a newsletter call “natural-remedies-thatwork.com.” More remedies and information on acid reflux go to: http://www.acidreflux-relief.info

If you have acid reflux or heartburn, using natural remedies to rebalance your stomach is what nature intended. Listed are four natural remedies that you can use to rebalance the acid in your stomach

Cinnamon

Cinnamon has many medicinal uses aside from being great for various pastries. It has an antiseptic effect and has been historically used for colds and flu’s. It has fighting power against Candida albicans and has the ability to settle acidic stomachs.

Here’s how to use cinnamon for an acid stomach or heartburn:

·Toast raisin bread
·Butter the raisin bread
·Sprinkle cinnamon on the bread
·Sprinkle cardamon on the bread

When you eat this toasted bread, chew slowly and completely before swallowing to allow the digestive juices in your mouth to start breaking down this food.

Cardamon, which is found in India, has been used successful in treating Celiac disease, which is an intolerance to gluten found in most breads.

Grapefruit Skins

Here is a way to settle your acid reflux stomach with grapefruit. Use only organic grapefruit for this remedy. Here’s what to do:

·Grate the entire outer skin of an organic grapefruit
·Spread them out on a flat dish to dry
·Allow them to get crinkly dry
·Store them in a glass jar or zip lock bag

Whenever you get an upset stomach, acid reflux or heartburn start chewing and eating these strips of dried grapefruit. These strips will settle out your stomach. Eat only a few of them and test to see how many you need.
Romaine Lettuce

Romaine lettuce can be used to eliminate an acid reflux or heartburn condition. This lettuce is high in minerals and is highly alkaline.

Here’s what you need to do:

·Buy an organic romaine lettuce head
·Wash in distilled water
·Cut up the leaves and place them in a blender
·Add cold distilled water to make a slurry
·Add a slight amount of honey to give it taste

Drink a 4-8 oz to get relief from your acid reflux or acid stomach

Mace, Nutmeg, and Slippery Elm

Here is a natural remedy that uses mace and nutmeg, which has a history of treating indigestion, acid stomach, heartburn, acid reflux, stomach gas, and vomiting.

Here’s how to use it with half and half and slippery elm root herb. Slippery elm herb can be purchase in any herb store in powder.

·1 teaspoon of slippery elm bark
·a pinch of nutmeg
·a pinch of mace
·add distilled water to make a smooth slurry
·heat a pint of half and half to boil
·pull half and half from stove and add herb slurry
·stir in herb slurry

Allow this mixture to cool. Drink up to ½ cup at a time. Store the unused portion in the refrigerator. When drinking the next cup, warm this mixture up.

Acid reflux and heartburn require alkaline nutrients to provide relief. These 4 natural remedies, when prepared properly, will give you the relief you need from these conditions. Try them; you will be surprised on how well they work.

About the Author

Rudy Silva has a degree in Physics and is a Natural Nutritionist. He is the author of Constipation, Acne, Hemorrhoid, and Fatty Acid e-books. He writes a newsletter called natural-remedies-thatwork.com and his information on other topics can be seen at: http://www.acidreflux-relief.info

Here is a list of natural remedies that you can use when you have acid reflux or heartburn. No need to use antacids, which have unwanted side effects and contain aluminum, which has been associated with senility and Alzheimer’s disease.

Anise, peppermint, and lavender

Here’s a tea that you can make to help you with acid reflux or heartburn. It will help you reduce the amount of acid you have in your stomach. Mix together equal amounts of aniseed, peppermint and lavender. Make an infusion of this tea:

* boiling 2 ½ cup distilled water
* pour this water over a teaspoon of the herbal mixture
* let this tea sit for 3- 5 minutes
* strain the tea and add a little bit of honey if you like.
* place this tea in a thermos

Drink up to 8 oz in the morning and 8 oz in the evening to get relief of acid reflux.

Aniseed or anise – is a powerful herb that helps in digestive conditions and has many other benefits for your body. Use only the ash-colored anise called green anise, European anise or sweet anise. There are two other types of anise, star anise and caraway, which should not be used here.

Peppermint – is another powerful herb for stomach conditions or heartburn. It helps in digestion, stomach distension, cramps, ulcers, and gas.

Lavender – known for it scent has enormous healing activity for your body. Is also an excellent stomach aid. It is useful in reducing acid in the stomach.

Betain, Pepsin, and Papaya digestive enzymes

As you get older, your stomach weakens in its ability to produce hydrochloric acid to digest protein. It is undigested protein that leads to acid reflux or heartburn. Use digestive enzymes that contain Betain, pepsin, or HCl with each meal to make sure you digest all of your protein.

Papaya digestive enzymes, which contain papain, are also excellent for protein digestion and you can use them with each meal. Use 500mg or more of papaya enzymes per meal.

Pineapples

Pineapples are a store house of enzymes and contain bromelain, an enzymes that reduces protein. Pineapples support digestion, reduce inflammation, and supports wound healing. The fresh juice has a high level of enzymes that will help you stop your acid reflux.

You can also buy bromelain as tablet and take 200 – 500mg per meal.

Chicory Root

Chicory comes from a family of bitter herbs that contain endive and escarole. Boil 1 ½ cup of chicory root for 5 - 10 minutes. After it colds to room temperature, drink this tea to correct acid reflux or heartburn.

Adding these herbs to your salad will also have benefits in preventing acid reflux. Eating those foods that are alkaline is the best way to avoid acid reflux and heartburn.

Using the remedies listed here will give relief from your acid reflux. But more importantly add a salad to your diet everyday and you will have less acid reflux in your life.

About the Author

Rudy Silva has a degree in Physics and is a Natural Nutritionist. He is the author of Constipation, Acne, Hemorrhoid, and Fatty Acid e-books. He writes a newsletter called natural-remedies-thatwork.com and his information on other topics can be seen at: http://www.acidreflux-relief.info

Are you aware that medicines are not the only way to control heartburn?

Fact: About 15 percent of adults have heartburn once a week, and 7 percent have it daily.

Question: My son had an upper GI that indicated the sphincter at the bottom of his esophagus isn’t working. When he lies down after eating, he gets a horrible taste in his mouth, and he usually vomits. The options presented to him are medicines or surgery. Any advice you can give is appreciated. — B.H.

Answer: The sphincter (SFINK-tur) muscle at the bottom of the esophagus is a circular muscle that is in a state of constant contraction. It keeps stomach acid and digestive juices from entering the esophagus, a place where those corrosive fluids irritate and cause the pain of heartburn. Only when a person swallows does the sphincter relax to allow food to pass into the stomach.

Heartburn, or GERD — gastroesophageal reflux — as it is officially called, can cause a bitter taste in the mouth, can cause coughing, can lead to hoarseness and can even precipitate asthma attacks. The disagreeable, burning pain behind the breastbone is only one of its symptoms, albeit the most common one.

Your son has a third option — changing those things that encourage the upward spurting of gastric juices. Smoking is one of those factors. If he smokes, he has to stop. Obesity is another. Weight loss is a surprisingly effective way to combat heartburn. He should not lie down after eating. He should put 6-inch blocks under the bedposts at the head of the bed so gravity can keep stomach juices in the stomach while he sleeps. He should eat very slowly and should cut back on the amount of fluid he drinks during a meal. Meals should be smaller, but he can eat more frequently so long as he keeps his eyes on the calories.

He must greatly limit or eliminate fats, fried foods, caffeine-containing foods and beverages, chocolate, peppermint, citrus fruits, tomatoes and any other food that causes him trouble. He should go easy with alcohol.

If the above changes don’t bring about relief of symptoms, then the next step is medicine. There are many that slow or suppress stomach-acid production, and they can generally be relied on to control acid reflux.

(Info from http://sun.yumasun.com/artman/publish/articles/story_16960.php)

Acording to a new study, causes of acid reflux are questioned.

Acid reflux is common and one of the most frequent causes of indigestion. Typical symptoms include heartburn, excessive belching, and respiratory problems in some cases. Smoking and a high salt intake significantly increase the risk of acid reflux say researchers according to a new study.

Results of the study showed that people who smoked every day for more than 20 years were 70-percent more likely to have acid reflux than non-smokers.

Those who routinely added salt to meals were also 70-percent more likely to have acid reflux than those who did not. In addition, those who ate salted meat or fish three-or-more times a week were 50-percent more likely to have acid reflux than those who never ate these foods.

However, researchers say they found that some lifestyle factors seemed to protect against acid reflux. Regular consumption of high fiber brown bread and 30 minutes of strenuous exercise at least once a week both cut in half the risk of developing acid reflux. Heavy coffee drinkers (around seven cups a day) were also about 40-percent less likely to develop acid reflux than those who drank one cup or none a day.

(info from http://www.medindia.net)

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) can lead to erosive esophagitis - a painful and worrisome condition that occurs when acid erodes the lining of the esophagus.

Professor Joachim Labenz, of Jung-Stilling Krankenhaus, Siegen, Germany said heartburn - the primary symptom of GERD - should not be ignored because symptom severity did not necessarily reflect disease severity.

“GERD is usually treated without knowing if erosive esophagitis is present or how severe the disease is, so the best approach is to treat it with the most effective medicine across all disease severities,” Professor Labenz said.

GERD is a common condition that can significantly impair quality of life. Heartburn, the primary symptom, is regularly experienced by 20-40 per cent of adults in Western countries13 and some estimates suggest erosive esophagitis may be present in up to 65 per cent of GERD sufferers.14

“Many people rely on over-the-counter medicines to treat GERD symptoms, however these medicines are inappropriate for healing of erosive esophagitis and people should see their doctor if they experience symptoms more than twice per week,” Professor Labenz said.

Get the acid reflux relief that you need today. If you’ve tried all the conventional methods for treating acid reflux without results, don’t despair. There are many alternative methods of treatment that may provide you with acid reflux relief.

When stomach acids get into the esophagus you experience indigestion. This is called acid reflux. The acids are pushed upward. This should not be the normal flow of stomach acids. They should stay within the stomach. When they don’t, they begin to eat away at the lining of the esophagus. This is the burning sensation that millions of people experience as acid reflux.

The most effective method of treatment is eating healthy and exercising regularly.

Fact: Almost eight in 10 heartburn sufferers experience symptoms at night.

The American Gastroenterological Association recently gave these suggestions that will help to spend a good night:

Eat your big meal at lunch instead of at night. That way, your stomach won’t still be working on that big meal when you go to bed. It may also be helpful to eat four or five smaller meals a day instead of three larger ones.

Eat at least two-to-three hours before bedtime or taking a nap. If you take naps, try sleeping in a chair. Lying down with a full stomach can cause stomach contents to press harder against the lower esophageal sphincter, increasing the chances of refluxed food.

Avoid foods that are known to lead to heartburn. These include chocolate, peppermint, fried or fatty foods, coffee, carbonated beverages, alcoholic drinks, citrus fruits and juices, tomato products, pepper, vinegar, ketchup and mustard.

Chew gum. It boosts saliva production and allows quicker and more efficient neutralization of acid in the esophagus.

Sleep with your head and shoulder on an incline. With the head higher than the stomach, gravity helps keep stomach contents where they belong — in the stomach. Elevate your head with pillows or a specially designed wedge.

Sleep on your left side. Studies have shown that this position aids digestion and helps with the removal of stomach acid. Sleeping on the right side has been shown to worsen heartburn.

(Info from Nancyann Rella - http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/feeds/hscout/2005/06/03/hscout525769.html)