Is your enemy acid reflux? Does the pain of heartburn keep you awake at night? Has acid reflux affected your esophagus so much that you writhe in pain? It is possible to manage acid reflux, and the information below will help you figure out how to do just that.
Slippery elm is an herbal supplement that can thicken the mucous membranes that line the stomach. This helps protect your stomach from the acid within. Most people take one to two tablespoons in a glass of water after eating and just before bed to get the most relief from the remedy.
Drink only a few hours before or after a meal. This will help you manage hunger, as it is likely that you are more thirsty than you are hungry. Additionally, you will help to minimize the amount of acid that is produced.
You are much less likely to have acid reflux if you are at your ideal weight. If you are overweight, your sphincter will allow acid into your esophagus. By losing weight and trimming your midsection, your sphincter will tighten up as well, which will help to prevent acid reflux.
Take the time to eat slowly. Don’t eat too much at one time. It may help your condition to eat smaller meals instead of eating until you are completely full. Make sure you taste every bite of your food and don’t rush the process. Eating too fast or when you’re really stuffed can worsen acid reflux symptoms. Put your fork down every time you take a bite to really slow your eating down.
To sleep well at night and prevent acid reflux, you may want to place a wedge underneath the mattress in order to keep your head raised. Other things you can try are books, blocks of wood or anything that can help angle your mattress up. Electronically controlled beds are optimal to use if you want to do this.
Stress can cause acid reflux. If you feel a lot of anxiety, the stomach generally creates more acid. Therefore, you should relax while eating and after each meal. Meditate, do some yoga, go for a walk or read a book.
Moderate exercise which keeps you upright can help immensely. This form of exercise can help you improve your acid reflux for several reasons. First, keeping upright aids in proper digestion. It also contributes to weight loss, which helps to prevent reflux. Even though it is essential to get regular exercise, you don’t want to be too hardcore about it, as this can indeed make your acid reflux worse, not better.
Acid Reflux
Our acid reflux can be triggered by specific foods. Fried foods, caffeinated beverages, alcohol, and even chocolate are common triggers for acid reflux. Additionally, acidic fruits and vegetables such as citrus fruits and tomatoes contribute to acid reflux. Triggers are different for everyone, and therefore you may require trial and error before knowing what causes your pain. Just avoid all these foods to be safe.
Eat small meals throughout the day. Eating larger meals can make acid reflux worse. A full stomach is under so much pressure that the contents can be pushed upwards. This helps the acid in your stomach get into your esophagus. Instead, opt for small meals about five times a day.
Smoking can cause serious problems if you suffer from reflux. When you smoke, nicotine stimulates the production of stomach acid, exacerbating the problem. Quitting cold turkey can make acid reflux symptoms worse. Take your time.
High-impact exercising can increase your acid reflux symptoms. When your abdominal muscles contract, you can end up having food from inside your stomach reach your esophagus. Wait an hour or more following a meal to exercise.
Moderate exercise often helps alleviate acid reflux. Make sure you keep it simple and at a moderate level for best success. Extreme exercise can actually interfere with digestion, worsening acid reflux symptoms. However, moderate exercise reduces reflux. These exercises will keep you upright, allowing gravity to facilitate your digestion. Exercise will also help you shed some extra pounds, another prime cause of acid reflux.
Elevate your bed’s head. You can raise your bed with bricks or wood blocks. You want the head to be six inches higher than the foot of the bed. If you elevate your head and chest, you could stop the rise of stomach acid while you sleep.
Wear Clothes
A food’s relative pH doesn’t really influence whether it will produce acid when you eat it. Foods you might think are acidic could be more alkaline after you digest them. It can all be quite confusing. Study food pH to help you understand.
Do not wear clothes that are too tight. Pantyhose, waistbands, tight belts, and skinny jeans are common culprits. Restrictive clothing can put your stomach under additional pressure. It may actually cause reflux to occur. Wear clothes that do not constrict you and that give your stomach room to breathe.
Stay upright after eating. Your digestive tract may not function as well in this position. If you stay upright, the problems resulting from acid reflux can be avoided.
If you suffer from acid reflux, avoid trigger foods. Some of the foods known to trigger reflux include mint, citrus, garlic, tomatoes, onions, fizzy drinks and caffeinated beverages. The trigger foods are different for everyone, so you must identify yours.
Do moderate exercise intended to keep you in an upright position. This will help you to push back acid into your stomach. Digestion is also improved significantly. Also, it can facilitate weight loss, which also improves acid reflux symptoms. While moderate exercise is beneficial for acid reflux sufferers, vigorous exercise can exacerbate your symptoms.
Do you realize that a food’s pH level has no impact on its ability to form acid in your stomach? For example, you may think lemons are acidic; however, they are alkaline once digested. This can be confusing if you have acid reflux. Get to know your food pH if you suffer from acid reflux.
For those who suffer from acid reflux, chewing cinnamon gum right after eating can help. When you chew gum, salivary glands begin working which helps to neutralize the stomach acid. Also, you will increase your swallowing frequency. Repeated swallowing helps keep the stomach acid and other contents inside the stomach.
Never diagnose acid reflux yourself. Do be mindful and identify symptoms however, so that you know when to go to a doctor. Watch out for stomach pains and regurgitations. Many other conditions, like ulcers and even heart disorders, mimic acid reflux disease. Your doctor has the ability to run tests that will help figure out if it’s really acid reflux.
Don’t recline post-meal. Gravity is a natural and free way to keep acid reflux under control. Each person will need to wait different amounts of time prior to lying down, so you just need to determine what works for you.
Try to eat your final meal about three hours prior to bed. For instance, if you eat at 7 P.M., don’t go to sleep until 10 P.M. A full stomach leads to pressure on the esophageal sphincter. This will cause your acid reflux to worsen.
Talk to your doctor about surgery if your acid reflux is getting out of control. Fundoplication is a surgery that creates a brand new valve, which helps keep acid out of your esophagus. This procedure is permanent and can even get rid of reflux completely.
To avoid acid reflux, you should eat slowly and take a break every couple bites to help your stomach digest properly. Relax and enjoy your food. Stop eating when you are satisfied rather than when you feel stuffed.
If you’ve got a few extra pounds, lose that weight. Losing your extra pounds will help reduce your acid reflux symptoms. It places unneeded pressure on the stomach, which leads to heartburn. Just losing a few pounds will help.
Do not smoke if you want to prevent acid reflux. One of the health benefits you receive when you quit smoking is that your acid reflux will improve. When you smoke, acids are released in your stomach. It also reduces saliva production. If you must smoke, try to avoid smoking within 2 hours of meal time.
Have you wondered how you can stop your suffering with acid reflux disease? Would you like to be able to sleep through the night? Use the advice above to help heal your esophagus. Now that you’ve learned how to control your acid reflux, you can get on with your life.
If you have acid reflux, then you know how hard it is to eat spaghetti and pizza. If you want to eat sauces made with tomatoes, put some sugar into your sauce to reduce acid. This sweetens the sauce and makes it better for eating.