How Holistic Remedies for Acid Reflux Can Eliminate Heartburn
There are two ways to approach the elimination of acid reflux and heartburn.
The first is to take medication, either over the counter or prescription, to stop the heartburn symptoms and give your system time to heal.
The second approach is to use natural, holistic remedies for acid reflux, to permanently eliminate the root cause of your symptoms.
Acid reflux can be caused by many different things.
You may have a hiatus hernia or other physical abnormality.
Your lower esophageal sphincter (LES) may be weakened by alcohol, smoking or a Candida yeast infection.
Or you may be eating or doing some things that make acid reflux more likely.
If you choose to go the holistic route, there are many simple food related and behavioral changes you can make to relieve the pain of heartburn.
Food: helpful or harmful? The short answer is "yes.
" There are foods that can make heartburn worse such as acidic fruits, ground beef, tomatoes and tomato sauce (yes, pizza), carbonated beverages, certain spices, high fat foods, white sugar and white flour.
And there are foods such as apple, almonds and ripe banana that actually help relieve heartburn.
Food and pH: What's pH got to do with all of this? There is a pH scale that rates acidity 0-14.
A low number means a substance is more acidic.
A higher number means it's more alkaline.
Stomach acid ranges from 1 to 3.
A pH of 7 is neutral.
For example, some fruits, such as apples (3.
6), are more acidic than coffee (5.
1).
But apples are not usually on the list of foods to avoid.
If you eat more than one type of acidic food at a time, the combination may be more than your system can handle.
Also, some foods change after they are digested.
Alkaline foods: You would think that lemon would be harmful to your system, but once it's digested, it actually turns alkaline.
That is what is meant by an alkaline diet...
not the acidity of the food in its natural state, but what happens after it's digested.
Milk is considered soothing to the stomach, but it has been shown to increase stomach acid.
In people with low stomach acid, apple cider vinegar actually makes heartburn pain go away.
So things are not as simple as they may first appear.
Almost anything, including water, can irritate wounded tissue as it passes by.
Physical activity: Sometimes it's what you do that encourages heartburn.
Tight clothing, eating a few big meals rather more frequent small ones and lying down or exercising immediately after eating, can all cause heartburn to increase.
Wait 2-3 hours to lie down after you eat to give your stomach a chance to empty.
If you exercise, do it before you eat or several hours afterward.
Walking is a good exercise if you suffer from heartburn.
Any exercise that causes stomach acid to bounce around, like jogging or biking, or squeezes your stomach muscles, like weight lifting or yoga, may be problematic.
There's a lot to learn about acid reflux and heartburn and everyone's body is different, but there are holistic remedies for acid reflux and complete programs to help you eliminate the cause of your problem.
The first is to take medication, either over the counter or prescription, to stop the heartburn symptoms and give your system time to heal.
The second approach is to use natural, holistic remedies for acid reflux, to permanently eliminate the root cause of your symptoms.
Acid reflux can be caused by many different things.
You may have a hiatus hernia or other physical abnormality.
Your lower esophageal sphincter (LES) may be weakened by alcohol, smoking or a Candida yeast infection.
Or you may be eating or doing some things that make acid reflux more likely.
If you choose to go the holistic route, there are many simple food related and behavioral changes you can make to relieve the pain of heartburn.
Food: helpful or harmful? The short answer is "yes.
" There are foods that can make heartburn worse such as acidic fruits, ground beef, tomatoes and tomato sauce (yes, pizza), carbonated beverages, certain spices, high fat foods, white sugar and white flour.
And there are foods such as apple, almonds and ripe banana that actually help relieve heartburn.
Food and pH: What's pH got to do with all of this? There is a pH scale that rates acidity 0-14.
A low number means a substance is more acidic.
A higher number means it's more alkaline.
Stomach acid ranges from 1 to 3.
A pH of 7 is neutral.
For example, some fruits, such as apples (3.
6), are more acidic than coffee (5.
1).
But apples are not usually on the list of foods to avoid.
If you eat more than one type of acidic food at a time, the combination may be more than your system can handle.
Also, some foods change after they are digested.
Alkaline foods: You would think that lemon would be harmful to your system, but once it's digested, it actually turns alkaline.
That is what is meant by an alkaline diet...
not the acidity of the food in its natural state, but what happens after it's digested.
Milk is considered soothing to the stomach, but it has been shown to increase stomach acid.
In people with low stomach acid, apple cider vinegar actually makes heartburn pain go away.
So things are not as simple as they may first appear.
Almost anything, including water, can irritate wounded tissue as it passes by.
Physical activity: Sometimes it's what you do that encourages heartburn.
Tight clothing, eating a few big meals rather more frequent small ones and lying down or exercising immediately after eating, can all cause heartburn to increase.
Wait 2-3 hours to lie down after you eat to give your stomach a chance to empty.
If you exercise, do it before you eat or several hours afterward.
Walking is a good exercise if you suffer from heartburn.
Any exercise that causes stomach acid to bounce around, like jogging or biking, or squeezes your stomach muscles, like weight lifting or yoga, may be problematic.
There's a lot to learn about acid reflux and heartburn and everyone's body is different, but there are holistic remedies for acid reflux and complete programs to help you eliminate the cause of your problem.
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