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.

Gastric reflux happens when acid is allowed up into the esophagus, resulting in heartburn pain, belching, hiccups and sometimes acid in the mouth, which leaves a bitter our sour taste behind.

Causes

If you understand what causes gastric reflux, you can be better prepared to deal with the problem naturally.

One cause is certain types of food. Things that are hard to digest like whole milk and ground beef, acidic foods like lemons and oranges, and some vegetables like onions are very common causes of reflux and heartburn. You may react differently to these common foods, and might even have some not so common triggers of your own. It can be helpful to keep track of what you eat, so that the next time you have a flare up of gastric reflux you can identify its cause, and then avoid that food, eliminating your reflux at its root.

Another cause of gastric reflux is certain types of vitamins. Things like iron and calcium are particularly difficult to digest, so the body creates additional acid in an attempt to break them down, which causes pain and reflux. If you need these supplements, try to find more easily digestible ones, or simply add additional dairy or red meat to your diet to get them naturally.

Stress is another culprit for gastric reflux. Reducing your stress levels can greatly reduce the occurrences of gastric reflux in your life. Stress causes the body to overproduce acids, which again causes pressure to build and pain to result.

Additionally how much you eat can result in gastric reflux. Would it be Thanksgiving without heartburn after the meal? Yes, it would. Thanksgiving and special occasions aside, eating large meals on a regular basis can make digestion difficult for your body. So it deals with it the best way it knows how, by producing more and more acid to help break the extra food down. Of course, this extra acid comes with a side of reflux and pain for you.

Solutions

Aside from handling the aforementioned causes, there are a number of things you can do to naturally address gastric reflux, especially if it’s already in full swing.

One of the easiest ways to literally wash your gastric reflux away is by drinking a glass of water. This helps to flush excess acid out of your digestive tract.

Another method you can try is drinking a quarter of a cup of aloe vera juice. You can even do this before a meal if you suspect the meal might stir up trouble for you later in the evening. Use caution when applying this method though. Make sure you drink aloe vera juice and not gel. There is a difference! Gel is not meant for consumption and can have some adverse effects on your digestion. Only drink aloe vera juice that is labeled for consumption.

Things like apples and almonds have also helped dissolve the acids in some people’s stomachs.

Even papaya can prove very helpful when combating gastric reflux. It contains a digestive enzyme that helps the body break down the food you consume, and keeps acids from building up, which keeps gastric reflux pain at bay.

For more gastric reflux natural remedies, visit refluxremedy.com.

If? you are one of the millions of American’s who suffer from acid reflux? disease, it is not news to you that a diet high in acidic foods will only irritate your condition and cause your symptoms to be more severe. There are many natural ways to help alleviate the symptoms that accompany this condition, and changing your diet is one of them. Knowing the difference between alkaline and acidic foods is a great way to help incorporate nutritional foods into your diet and a great resource for self managing your acid reflux.

An alkaline food is technically any food which is not acidic and whose pH level is greater than seven. Basically it?s any food low in acid. Not only do these foods help to neutralize some of the natural acids in your system, but they also have some other great health benefits for you to consider. Alkaline foods include almonds, grapes, cantaloupe and mangos among others.? Maintaining a diet that is roughly eighty percent alkaline based foods and only twenty percent acidic will help your body to better process the raw nutrients that are found in the foods you eat.

Maintaining a balanced diet can also increase function in your muscles and joints as well as improving oxygen levels. You may also see improvement in the regulation of blood sugar and this diet change can also help those suffering from high blood pressure. There are plenty of foods in this category that you can eat freely without worries of excess acids. These foods include most types of meats, most vegetables and leafy greens. Also, most foods that are high in fats such as seeds and oils are low in acid, and when part of a balanced diet can help manage acid reflux..

Acidic foods, although more condition-irritating than alkaline based foods, are still necessary for our body’s proper function. Essential fatty acids and other beneficial types of acids can be found in some foods and are helpful to the body. Overall however a diet that is high in acidic foods (these are any foods with a pH level lower than seven) can wreak major havoc on the body and can consistently irritate acid reflux.

Some of the more dangerous foods include citrus fruits, anything with caffeine and alcohol.. Most dairy products are also considered acidic and should be consumed sparingly. Also, with pH levels higher than twelve, condiments such as mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup are also considered mostly basic despite their slightly acidic taste. They are safe to use sparingly. You can never have enough resources when it comes to managing your problems with acid indigestion and heartburn. Knowing the difference between alkaline foods and acidic foods is just one of these methods. If you would like to learn more techniques for managing this condition naturally and safely you may want to consider reading Bob Barton’s Reflux Remedy Report. It is full of valuable information for managing your indigestion symptoms in safe and natural ways.

I?ve written about the dangers of antacids before, the fact that they are a cheap shot at satisfying an immediate need for relief. The real problem you should be concerned about isn?t just the unfriendly metals and the long term side effects they cause, but that you are not addressing the simple root causes of acid reflux and heartburn.

I know it?s unpleasant and even alarming to have digestive acids rise up into your throat and mouth. But frankly you could be doing more harm than good popping those little flavored after dinner mints. The cost of what you?re doing is far greater than the money you paid for your quick fix. Fact is there are available to you inexpensive ?quick fixes? that do not contradict your body?s underlying needs.

Your body needs to maintain a precise balance of many things digestive acids are one. The best way to allow this healthy balance is to help your body?s natural pH (potentate of Hydrogen) balance. You can determine your pH yourself by testing your saliva and urine with litmus paper. It is vital your body keep a pH near 7.4, that?s slightly alkaline. Lower than pH 7 is considered acidic.

I?m not referring to your stomach acid . . . pH refers to your blood, body fluids and tissues. Please don?t confuse the two. If your body?s pH is acidic it means you are retaining cellular wastes. This imbalance eventually affects every system in your body, including stomach acid reflux and digestion. The trick is everything you eat makes your whole body either more acidic or more alkaline.

For instance, if you eat a diet rich in minerals found in green leafy vegetables, the minerals (electrolytes) act as electrical conductors in the water making up more than 80% of your body. Either this cellular water is full of life giving minerals, or it is full of disease forming wastes and toxins.

It is interesting to note that yeasts, fungi and parasites as well as viruses and cancers thrive in an acid pH environment. Having too much metabolic (cellular) waste in your system also reduces oxygen levels and raises carbon dioxide, which they also need to thrive.

Knowing which foods to eat can have an impressive affect on your acid reflux as well as over all health. That?s why this is so important to understand that ignoring what seems to just be bothersome heartburn may lead to other serious problems as well.

A healthy pH level will improve your digestive health by allowing good microorganisms to grow. You?ll find these same beneficial organisms in yogurt and kefir as well as other naturally fermented foods. But you need to discover how to help your body produce these good bacteria.

The other thing that confuses many people is that ?certain? highly acidic foods will produce healthy alkaline levels. Citrus fruits are a prime example. Another great example is raw apple cider vinegar. You wouldn?t think so but these are powerful alkalizers.

Did you know that if you eat peeled apples that you?ll probably get heart burn? Yet eating the whole apple can cure it. The reason is simple, you see there exists in nature an ?enzyme? for every thing you eat, there?s enzymes for protein, carbohydrates and sugars.

Without these enzymes you can?t digest your food. The enzymes to unlock the nutritional benefits inside an apple are hidden within the skin of the apple . . . quite ingenious isn?t it?

Millions of people that suffer needlessly from recurrent acid reflux do not have too much stomach acid in truth they have an enzyme deficiency. Your pancreas is an organ that helps the digestion of foods by producing key enzymes and like any organ depends on a balanced pH level also.

Another factor is that poor digestion and diet can lead to a B vitamin deficiency which can cause a hydrochloric acid (HCL) deficiency (low stomach acid). Contrary to popular belief ?low stomach acid? can cause acid reflux, because food is not digested and therefore presses on the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES), the flap that keeps stomach acid and bile down.

When someone has an HCL Deficiency, their body is deficient in mineral salts (electrolytes) that are needed to produce stomach acid. You see, the good news is minerals like potassium not only support the healthy production of stomach acid but also is also necessary to maintain a balanced pH level of the blood.

I hope now you see that popping antacids is NOT the answer to your acid reflux, heartburn and acid indigestion problem. Addressing the root cause takes some reasoning but it?s worth the effort.

Live well,

Martin Jacobse
Medical Investigator

P.S. To find out more about natural health remedies for heartburn and acid reflux download Barton Publishing’s Reflux Remedy Report.