February 7, 2011
Gastric Reflux Natural Remedies
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.
Filed under Acid Reflux Remedy, Gastric Reflux by admin
GERD and heartburn tend to go hand in hand, although just because you have heartburn doesn’t mean you have GERD.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease is caused by a weakening of the muscles surrounding the esophagus and diaphragm that keep food flowing in one direction. When these muscles get too weak, food and stomach acids are allowed to flow up into the esophagus where they don’t belong. Prolonged, frequent, or chronic exposure to stomach acids can cause GERD and long term damage to the esophagus.
People who suffer from heartburn more than twice a week are often diagnosed with GERD. Other symptoms of GERD include regurgitation of bile, hiccups, belching and a general feeling of discomfort in the stomach.
Causes of GERD and Heartburn
GERD and heartburn tend to have very different causes. GERD is caused by aging, is a condition you are born with, or can be the result of a recent bad stomach bug that caused prolonged periods of vomiting or straining of stomach muscles.
Heartburn is caused by any number of things, including the food you eat, how much you eat, when you eat, your lifestyle, how much stress you’re feeling, what type of clothes you wear, and whether or not you smoke.
Help for GERD and Heartburn
Because heartburn is often the result of GERD, they can be treated in much the same way. If you have either GERD or heartburn or both, you should avoid foods that spurn heartburn for you. If you don’t know what those foods are, keep a log of what you’re eating and then you’ll be able to look back and point directly to what caused your most recent episode. Then, moving forward you can avoid that food.
You should also modify the amount of food you consume at any one time. GERD complicates the digestive process because of the weakened muscles, so eating less in each sitting makes digestion easier for your body. To compensate for the loss of food, eat more often.
Additionally, work towards de-stressing your life. While day to day activities cause normal amounts of stress, and sometimes it can’t be avoided, due to things like death, breakups, kids, finances, etc., you do have control over the way you respond to certain stress triggers. If you need help learning how to cope with life’s stressors without causing your body harm, consider seeing a therapist. They can help you learn healthy ways to purge stressful reactions from your life. Stress is known to result in too much acid in the stomach, causing heartburn and pain and doesn’t allow GERD to heal at a normal rate, so reducing stress can be extremely beneficial.
Another thing you can try is modifying when you eat. Take strides not to eat right before bed, as that gives food and acids easy access to your esophagus, especially where GERD and the weakened muscles meant to keep food down are involved. Try not to eat less than two hours before you lie down for a nap or get into bed and you should have better luck keeping GERD and its symptoms away.
GERD and heartburn are often closely associated with one another. For more information on these two conditions, how they’re related, and how you can naturally cope with them, visit refluxremedy.com today.
Filed under GERD Treatment, Heartburn Remedies by admin
January 21, 2011
Hiatal Hernia Symptoms
It’s important to know and be able to identify Hiatal Hernia symptoms so that the condition can be properly treated and prevented from escalating to a state of bleeding.
Symptoms of a Hiatal Hernia often closely resemble heartburn. They include a burning sensation in the chest, acid reflux (or stomach acids making their way up into your mouth), burping, hiccups and chest pain. However, this chest pain is different from the chest pain of a heart attack and it’s vital to differentiate between the two.
Hiatal Hernia chest pain is often the result of spasms due to the displaced stomach. The pain can be extreme, but it is often just pain, or pain accompanied by heartburn symptoms. The pain of a heart attack is often accompanied by shortness of breath and pain or numbness in an arm or hand. Knowing and understanding what these different symptoms indicate can be the difference between life and death. If you’re experiencing chest pain associated with shortness of breath, seek medical attention immediately.
Causes
A Hiatal Hernia happens when a portion of the stomach becomes displaced, and is forced through an opening in the diaphragm. Although it can be difficult to point to specific causes, some risk factors that may make you more susceptible to a Hiatal Hernia are smoking, obesity, and aging.
Hiatal Hernias that occur in younger children or infants are often a congenital condition that they were born with.
Solutions
Hiatal Hernias are rarely serious conditions, but shouldn’t be ignored. They can often be somewhat painful, and so should be dealt with promptly. Surgery is seldom necessary, as your body can often heal itself of a Hiatal Hernia. However, there are a number of things you can do to help speed the healing process up.
If you’ve been diagnosed with a Hiatal Hernia, eat smaller meals, but do so more often. That way you’re giving your body the same amount of nutrition, just over a longer period of time, so that it can better digest the food and extract nutrients from it without getting overly stressed. This helps reduce the impact of eating on your already strained digestive tract.
Also, don’t eat right before you lay down. This will help prevent food from gathering in your stomach, and moving back up into your esophagus where it can cause irritation. You really shouldn’t eat less than two hours before bed if you are battling heartburn or a Hiatal Hernia. That way you won’t have any food or acid lying in wait when you do decide to go to bed.
Additionally, quit smoking. Smoking is very detrimental to your health, including your digestive system. Quitting will help your body heal at a more natural rate, and will help prevent a future Hiatal Hernia from occurring.
You can also reduce stress in your life to help your hernia heal. Although stress can’t be directly blamed as a cause for Hiatal Hernias, it can certainly hinder your body’s ability to heal from one. It tends to cause an overproduction of stomach acid, which can irritate your esophagus and stomach, slowing the healing process. So, do things to help yourself relax, like getting a massage or adding regular exercise to your routine. These things will help you tom maintain a healthy mind and body.
For more information on Hiatal Hernia symptoms, visit refluxremedy.com today!
Filed under Hiatal Hernia by admin
January 12, 2011
Acid Reflux Food to Avoid
Acid reflux is a terribly common problem among people in today’s fast paced culture of high fat foods and things that can be eaten on the go. There are a number of acid reflux foods to avoid, and certain things that will help eliminate and prevent your heartburn.
First, let’s look at what acid reflux actually is and how it happens. Stomach acid helps to break down food in your stomach so that your body can extract the vitamins and nutrients it needs. Certain things like difficult to digest foods, stress, smoking, or lying down after eating can cause that acid to creep up into your esophagus. This causes pain, indigestion, burping, hiccups and can even result in damage to the esophagus if the reflux occurs frequently.
Trigger Foods
Everyone has their own foods that will set off acid reflux, however there are a few common triggers. These foods should be avoided to help prevent damage to the esophagus, and keep heartburn at bay. They include:
- Garlic
- Caffeine
- Alcohol
- Citrus (including juices that are high in acids)
- Onions
- Meats that are difficult to digest (like ground beef, marbled sirloin and chicken wings)
- Dairy
To help find out what your own triggers are, start a food journal. Keep track of what you eat, how much you eat and when you eat it. That will help you to better understand what sets your acid reflux off, and narrow down your specific triggers. Some of your food triggers may surprise you!
What you can do
Now, just because there are a ton of foods you should avoid doesn’t mean you need to go on an extreme, crash course diet. It’s always best to try to maintain a balanced diet, so things like dairy, citrus and meat that are part of a healthy diet should not be completely cut out. They should just be consumed in moderation, and possibly in tandem with other heartburn preventatives.
Heartburn Preventatives
Sometimes foods that are known to cause heartburn for you just can’t be avoided. Maybe you’re at a friend’s house and they cooked nachos for you with ground beef, onions, and a whole host of other heartburn triggers just waiting to settle into your stomach. So what can you do?
Try taking a papaya enzyme tablet after you eat. Papaya contains digestive enzymes that will help your body to digest foods and prevent acid buildup that causes reflux.
Try drinking a full glass of water after you eat. This will help dilute stomach acids and flush your digestive tract out so you won’t have to experience excess irritation. For more effective relief or prevention, try adding a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar to a full glass of water. This will help neutralize the acid in your stomach in addition to washing it away.
Eat an apple before or after your meal. Apparently the old adage “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” has some basis, as many people are finding success with this technique for keeping acid reflux at bay.
There are countless home remedies you can try to prevent and relieve heartburn. The Reflux Remedy Report promotes natural heartburn remedies and can help you prevent your acid reflux, as well as formulate a diet appropriate for acid reflux. For more information on acid reflux food to avoid and other preventative measures you can take, visit refluxremedy.com today!
Filed under Acid Reflux by admin