Cure Your Acid Reflux Now Or At Least Reduce It

Cure Your Acid Reflux Now Or At Least Reduce It

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Acid reflux, or heartburn as it is often called, is the unpleasant and often painful movement of acids and foods from the stomach backing up from the stomach up the esophagus towards the mouth. This is called acid reflux, and can result in the stomach fluids actually filling the mouth for some people. This occurs when the muscle at the mouth of the esophagus, food pipe, does not contract to stop the stomach fluids moving upwards towards the mouth.

Obviously, if you are a frequent sufferer of acid reflux or heartburn, then you need to seek medical attention to see what is recommended by your doctor. Antacids will generally be recommended, probably in the form of prescription drugs, since people have often tried over the counter solutions before the trip to their doctor.

But are there natural acid reflux cures to help you? There are definitely some things that you can consider to help reduce, and even stop acid reflux before it does any more damage to your esophagus. The first thing to realize is that some foods cause there to be more acid in the stomach to process it. This leads to acid reflux, so by reducing the amount of these foods that you eat, you should be able to get your acids under control.

However, stopping greasy, fatty foods, as well as tomato based foods like pizza, may not be an option for you - this is after all your decision, as you have to live with the consequences. Caffeinated foods and drinks are best avoided, as is chocolate, peppermint and spearmint and also alcohol. Yes, having mints after your meal may not be helping you any, even though they do freshen the mouth nicely. If you are a smoker, then stop this habit. It is contributing to your acid reflux, as well as raising your risk of cancer!

Fruit and vegetables are good foods to eat, but if you are having a problem with acid reflux you may want to cut down on the number of acid fruits and vegetables that you eat, like oranges, or orange juice, grapefruit, and tomatoes.

Try to eat lower fat foods, and cut down especially on animal fats (saturated fats), by using skim or 1% milk, low fat cheese, and eating lean meats. In fact by reducing these animal fats, you will also be helping your cholesterol levels, but that's a whole other story!

But there are a few things you can do to lessen the effects. Reduce the amount of food you put into your stomach at any one time. This will lessen the work your stomach has to do, while relieving the pressure in the stomach which causes the stomach fluids to travel up the esophagus. By eating less at mealtimes, you will probably need to eat more often to make sure you get the necessary calories each day. However, if you are overweight, then losing some of those extra pounds is good.

Do not lay down after a meal, as this gives your stomach an easier time to release its fluids into the esophagus. Try to keep upright for at least 30 minutes after eating. You might want to sit upright, or go for a walk, remembering that exercising is good for your overall health.

Do not eat within 2 hours of going to bed, and if acid reflux is lowering the quality of sleep, consider investing in an acid reflux wedge pillow. These specially made pillows raise your body so that your stomach will always be lower than your esophagus, making reflux less likely. Rather than sleeping on your right side, try sleeping on your left, as this will reduce the pressure on the stomach and the muscle just above it.

As you can see, there are ways to reduce the amount of stomach acid you get, and by paying more attention to what you eat, and seeing whether it causes you acid reflux, you can control the amount of acid reflux you get. Because sleep is often impaired due to acid reflux, you can successfully improve your quality of sleep too. In other words, there are natural ways of reducing and stopping acid reflux, so it is up to you to decide which approaches you are going to take to reduce that acid reflux and let your esophagus heal.

About the Author:
With extensive knowledge on many topics, Steve Jackson has added acid reflux and its symptoms to his research. This led to him discovering that the use of a wedge pillow can reduce acid reflux at night time, but there are some things you need to think about before choosing an acid reflux wedge pillow. Look for more information here on => stopping acid reflux with more details given about these special pillows, as well as acid reflux.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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