Maintaining a balanced diet doesn’t just mean eating an adequate portion or serving from each food group in the food pyramid. Health professionals recommend that individuals keep pH balance in mind when choosing what foods and beverages to consume on a daily basis. Avoiding certain foods can go a long way in decreasing the potential for diseases and medical conditions like acid reflux to arise.

Classification

Food with a pH of 7 is considered neutral. Higher pH levels are classified as alkaline and lower pH levels are classified as acidic. Human blood typically ranges from 7.35 pH to 7.45 pH. While this falls just above neutral and within the alkaline classification, people shouldn’t eat a large share of acidic or alkaline foods. Striking a balance between the two groups is ideal for a healthy lifestyle and disease prevention.

Health Risks

Consumption of large quantities of acidic foods can lead to undue emotional stress, toxic imbalance and changes to naturally occurring immune system functions. Mineral absorption rate is compromised by the abundant intake of acidic foods and can cause a significant decrease in energy and cell repair. Cancer forming cells may increase as well as the likelihood of fatigue, disease and death.

Making a Change

Regulating your diet is the most effective method of adjusting your body’s pH level. People with high pH levels are prone to illness and should make every attempt to change their diet. By replacing some foods that are acidic with foods that are alkaline, you can ward off several harmful conditions.

Food Groups

• Vegetables: Instead of acidic olives and winter squash, try cucumbers and pumpkins.
• Fruit: Replace blueberries, cranberries and currants with strawberries, raspberries and raisins.
• Protein: Nix high fat animal protein like beef and pork and opt for almonds, whey, and chestnuts.
• Dairy: Products like ice cream, cheese and butter are highly acidic. Balance them with non-traditional products like lecithin granules, molasses and bee pollen.
• Sweeteners: Alkaline sweeteners such as Stevia, can be used instead of corn syrup and sugar.
• Alcohol and Caffeine: Beer, coffee, and most sodas have high acidic levels. Drinking water or vegetable juices are a much healthier option.

Acid Reflux and Diet

A perfect diet is not one that features alkaline foods only. It is essential to eat a variety of foods that will help the body maintain the appropriate pH balance. Knowing the types of food that will help to prevent acid reflux is very important. Eating foods that hinder the symptoms of acid reflux is one method of controlling this medical condition. Eating smaller portions throughout the day, limiting meals right before bed, and consuming more meals per day will decrease the occurrence of acid reflux. In general, the consumption of citrus, fatty foods, caffeine and alcoholic beverages should be closely monitored. Diet is an excellent tool for remedying acid reflux and should be taken seriously.

If you are having chest pain caused from hiatal hernia there are natural remedies you can take and things you can do to make the pain stop.

Your hiatal hernia is your acid reflux and heartburn symptoms gone wild.

Hiatal hernia is a perfect example of what can happen when you only treat symptoms of a simple acid indigestion.

Ignoring the cause of your hiatal hernia and chest pain is the same as only treating symptoms.

To stop your chest pain caused from hiatal hernia for good, you won’t need any medication; instead all you need is some real science.

That’s really all folk remedies and ancient healing wisdom is . . . science.

Medicine has become a political activity and doesn?t concern itself with nurturing a healing experience and often ignores real science. Tragically, today Big Medicine is driven solely as a profit generating machine . . .

Your hiatal hernia once began as a little heartburn, graduated up to chronic acid indigestion and now you’ve got some serious chest pain.

The chest pain from hiatal hernia is a dangerous thing, not only because it’s painful, but because it is inflicting harmful stress on all your organs and taxing your immune system.

If you’ve been eating a Western pattern diet for more than 30 years you can’t afford to expend anymore of your stored minerals and nutrients . . . which is what often causes acid reflux diseases and hiatal hernia in the first place. . .under-nutrition.

If the stress from your chest pain and pressure from the hiatal hernia persist you could end up with adrenal fatigue, a compromised immune system and other complications.

First thing you can do is put your hands over your head and take some slow deep breathes. If this helps move your arms in a circular pattern, like a windmill, breathing in and out as deeply as you can.

Next step up on your tip toes with your hands above your head, breathe in deeply and then as you exhale suddenly drop from your toes to your heels while bringing your arms down to your side. Repeat this process ten times.

If you are feeling relief from the chest pain, keep doing it until the hiatal hernia relaxes and the pain decreases enough to go for a nice walk. Get some fresh air, swing your arms and walk for about 20 minutes and rest.

To stop the hiatal hernia from causing more chest pain repeat as necessary.

You were born to heal,

Todd M. Faass

Health Advocate

When the lower portion of the esophagus, referred to as the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), relaxes at inappropriate times, this may prompt stomach acid, digestive juices and food particles to irregularly backup into the esophagus. A LES that frequently opens and does not close tightly increases the opportunity for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease or GERD to arise.

People that suffer from frequent heartburn, more than twice a week, are often unaware that they may be affected by GERD. As stomach acid seeps into your esophagus, this causes heartburn, the primary symptom of GERD. The occurrence of heartburn or acid reflux induces a burning sensation at the chest area that is irritating and painful. This sensation is usually followed by burping and hiccupping. Chronic heartburn may signal that GERD has developed.

Stomach acid or food that has traveled through the esophagus and entered into the oral cavity may be defined as regurgitation, another symptom of GERD. Producing a foul odor and bitter taste, this symptom can be unpleasant. Regurgitation forces acidic exposure in the mouth, which burns and tingles. Consistent regurgitation can become embarrassing in social settings.

Dysphagia is frequently associated with GERD. Difficulty swallowing solid and liquid foods is a sign of dysphagia . This creates an uncomfortable feeling while eating. Dyspepsia happens as a result of GERD and encompasses several ailments that include abdominal pain and nausea.

Habitual and lifestyle triggers of GERD:

• Consuming large meals promotes stomach pressure and causes the onset of acid indigestion.
• Eating less than two hours before bed can cause acid buildup.
• Vitamins and Medications: Using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen and naproxen, may aggravate GERD. Calcium, iron and potassium usage can also increase risk.
• Smoking exponentially enlarges the risk of GERD because this activity weakens the muscular capability of the LES and reduces the secretion of saliva, which counterbalances acid.
• Alcohol consumption worsens GERD symptoms due to the relaxing effect on the LES.
• Diet plays a massive role in GERD. Fatty and acidic foods are the biggest contributors to GERD. People are affected differently by certain foods. Common foods that promote GERD symptoms include garlic, caffeine and citrus.
• Hormone Replacement Therapy treatment can increase the likelihood of GERD symptoms in postmenopausal women.

Health conditions are linked to GERD.

• GERD may be hereditary. Many people are genetically predisposed to GERD and inherit physical problems that enhance everyday risk.
• Hiatal Hernia symptoms are similar to that of heartburn and take place when the stomach shifts and protrudes through the diaphragm.
• People with respiratory diseases like asthma are susceptible to GERD.
• Laryngitis, Sinusitis and chronic cough are also associated with GERD.
• Health Factors like obesity, pregnancy and diabetes increase vulnerability to GERD symptoms.
• Those suffering from GERD may worsen other pre-existing diseases and conditions.

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease can be very painful and debilitating. These common symptoms can guide you when trying to detect GERD. For additional information on gastro reflux symptoms, please visit refluxremedy.com and learn more about GERD.

Acid reflux is a condition that can be very painful and irritating. A backup of stomach acid in the esophagus is harmful, causing inflammation, heartburn, regurgitation and difficulty swallowing. If gastric acids continuously enter the esophagus, acid reflux disease may be the result. Heartburn, nausea, stomach pain, and regurgitation are all harmful symptoms of acid reflux. Diet is an important method for controlling acid reflux and its symptoms. In order to curtail your diet to treat and prevent acid reflux, you must understand which foods are suitable for you to eat, and in what amount.

Balance

The body needs a balance of acidic forming and alkaline forming foods to maintain proper nutrition and health. This goes beyond getting the perfect amount of vegetables and grain. Eating foods for reflux requires a serious consciousness of what foods are good for the body’s pH balance. The pH balance of the body is controlled through the regulation of hydrogen in the body. A large amount of hydrogen within your bodily fluids raises the chances of developing severe acid reflux. Acidic foods increase hydrogen bonds while alkaline abundant foods remove or neutralize hydrogen ions.

Common Misnomers

Acid forming foods are not necessarily foods that taste acidic. Foods that on the tongue may be alkaline and acidic, may have the opposite effect once the nutrients are extracted and supplanted in the bloodstream. A diet that is heavy in either type of food is unhealthy. Eating in moderation is the best bet. A balance of pH will allow the body to efficiently absorb nutrients, vitamins and minerals that are needed for superior health. Although citrus foods like lemons and oranges taste acidic, if eaten in moderation, they do not increase the level of acid in the blood or instigate reflux.

Action

Taking a serious look at your diet is probably the safest way to control acid reflux. Eating a large amount of vegetables is great for increasing alkalinity. Eggplant, broccoli, lettuce, onions, pumpkins and collard greens are just a few of the vegetables with high alkalinity. Oatmeal, white flour, corn, lentils and chick peas are acid forming foods. In general, eating lean meats, limiting fats and oils, and minimizing alcohol, are all great methods of reducing the symptoms of acid reflux disease. People who initiate a rounded diet plan can keep the symptoms of acid reflux at bay. Avoiding garlic and onions is wise, although their effects vary from person to person.

Future Risk

If reflux becomes a consistent problem, this can lead to more serious, life-threatening conditions. Minerals cannot be properly absorbed into the bloodstream if the acidity is too high. It is imperative that you recognize how diet relates to your struggle with reflux and use the natural tools to combat the problem. A diet that is high in fat can trigger heartburn, the leading symptom of advance acid reflux disease and Gastroesophageal reflux disease.

These are just a few of the foods that will help to guide your diet plan. For more information on foods for acid reflux, visit refluxremedy.com today.