Causes of Acid Reflux

Though acid reflux is prevalent in thousands of people the causes for the disease tend to vary from person to person. What may send your insides blazing may be a walk in the park for another sufferer of acid reflux and vice versa. The key to determining and tackling the causes for acid reflux would be to determine your specific triggers and take the necessary precautions to eliminate the triggers from your lifestyle thus improving (or eliminating) acid reflux altogether.

If you are unfamiliar with what is happening to your body before and during acid reflux here’s a little bit about what you should know–Acid reflux occurs when the acids in your stomach make way to your esophagus causing a burn that is referred to as heartburn. This heartburn can be felt in the throat (esophagus area), the chest and often times reaches down into the abdomen.

There is a small circular ring known as the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) that is located at the top of your stomach and at the bottom of the esophagus. The key to avoiding acid reflux all relies on the efficiency and functionality of this ring. The ring is a muscle. The job of this muscle is to close immediately after food or drink passes through, leaving the esophagus and making way to the stomach. If this muscle neglects to close or if this muscle opens too often the acids in the stomach have room to escape the stomach area making way to the esophagus causing acid reflux.

There is another way for stomach acids to reach the esophagus. This is by way of a stomach abnormality knows as a hiatal hernia. A hiatal hernia occurs when the LES and the upper part of the stomach moves above the diaphragm. One job of the diaphragm is to serve as a muscle that separates the stomach from the chest thus keeping stomach acids in the stomach. If you are suffering from a hiatal hernia, stomach acids can move into your esophagus causing a burning sensation and other acid reflux symptoms including regurgitation, nausea, bloating, burping, dysphagia (a narrowing of the esophagus), hiccups and weight loss.

You may be unaware but there is a possibility that there is something that you are doing that is causing acid reflux to take place. Here are a few tips on things that may need to be altered to eliminate the disorder:

• Try eating smaller meals instead of larger meals. Smaller meals are more easily broken down by the acids in the stomach.
• Drink lots of water. Eliminate drinks that are alcoholic or carbonated. Water does an excellent job at stabilizing the stomach acids and aiding in digestion. If you are already experiencing acid reflux symptoms, water may be used to soothe the burn in the esophagus.
• Don’t eat too close to bed time. Eat at least two hours prior to bed time. This allows sufficient time for your body to digest foods.

Diet can directly affect acid reflux. Alter your diet, alter your life. For more information on acid reflux causes visit refluxremedy.com.