Reflux happens when the lower esophageal sphincter does not do its job well. This muscle is supposed to block stomach acid from going where it does not belong, in the esophagus. The LES should allow food to leave the esophagus by contracting to open, and then contract to close tightly right after. Acid in your esophagus can be damaging. The esophagus will become inflamed and irritated. Constant reflux can lead to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and even cancer of the esophagus.

Heartburn is a likely symptom that you will have if you have reflux. Dysphaia, or difficulty swallowing, will make eating foods unpleasant because of the feeling that food is stuck in your throat. Another symptom of reflux is regurgitation. This happens when food and acid is brought up to the mouth from the stomach, giving your mouth a nasty sour taste. Other symptoms like nausea and chest pain can occur but are less common.

If you have reflux there are several steps you can take to treat this disease. Some holistic remedies can discourage reflux from occurring or treat symptoms that have already been experienced. Natural remedies are the safest line of defense against reflux, GERD, and many other physical ailments.

• Aloe has many healing properties. When juiced and consumed, liquid aloe can reduce reflux symptoms. Aloe juice is a neutralizing force in the stomach and decreases irritation in the esophagus.
• Water can neutralize stomach acid too. Water dilutes gastric acid and makes it less acidic and corrosive. Drinking water before and after a meal is a great way to minimize the acidity of acid produced to digest that specific meal.
• Papaya enzymes are great for digestion. These enzymes assist the body with digesting foods naturally, therefore telling the body that a smaller amount of gastric acid should be generated to digest that meal.
• Ginger has multiple purposes and is a great remedy for reflux. Drink ginger tea or eat ginger root to calm your stomach when you have dysphagia or nausea. A settled stomach will reduce your discomfort.
• Eat meals several hours before you plan to go to sleep. Eating before bed is a bad idea. When you put food in your mouth and chew, the body begins to make gastric acid in preparation for digestion. Eating, then lying down for bed encourages the newly produced acid to slip by the loosened LES.
• Try eating smaller meals. Instead of eating three large meals per day, eat five smaller meals. Large amounts of food put stress on the stomach and increases stomach acid production. The presence of a lot of stomach acid can contribute to reflux.
• Eat foods that are right for you. Your body may react negatively to certain foods and cause acid to reflux. The most common food triggers for reflux are caffeine, garlic and onion. Reducing the amount of alcohol you digest can reduce reflux too.

These are just a few of the ways that you can treat reflux. For more information on these and other treatments and remedies, visit www.refluxremedy.com.

Feeling a burning sensation in your throat could mean a couple different things. Regardless of the cause, feeling burning in your throat is very painful and unbearable. One of the main reasons that people experience burning of the throat is because of heartburn. Heartburn is a primary symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and acid reflux. Having heartburn does not absolutely indicate that you have GERD, but it is a very common sign. Frequent heartburn is probably a more accurate sign that you have GERD.

Acid reflux and GERD is caused when the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) is not working exactly as designed. The LES is a muscle that is circular that wraps around the bottom base of the esophagus. This muscle is supposed to let food into the stomach. If a LES is not working correctly, this can fail to stop acid in the stomach from getting into the esophagus. Stomach acid is caustic because this is what is used to digest the food we eat. Foods cannot fully decompose and go through the digestive process without gastric acids. This is the only way that food can become beneficial to our bodies. Without stomach acid, we could not utilize the nutrients found in food.

Stomach acid’s corrosive nature works well in the stomach because the stomach is built for that kind of exposure. The esophagus however, is not. The esophagus is not prepared to handle contact with stomach acid because it is more sensitive to the substance. Acid in the esophagus and throat is uncomfortable. The acid causes swelling, bruising and inflammation, creating a burning feeling that is annoying, uncomfortable and inconvenient. Stomach acid in your throat will make your breath smell and have a sour or bitter taste.

In addition to the burning sensation of the throat, heartburn has other symptoms. Chest pain, sore throat, hoarseness and chronic cough are a few. People that suffer from burning of the throat probably suffer from burning in the chest too. The stomach acid that burns the throat also burns the esophagus, which is located in the chest cavity. This location makes the chest feel soreness.

Considering that the burning pain you feel may be as a result of acid reflux disease or GERD, to relieve yourself of this sensation, there are some things that you can do. Try to drink as much water as possible. Water will help to dilute and weaken the acid. To prevent heartburn from occurring, eat less fattening foods and meals without caffeine, alcohol and garlic. Consuming smaller meals will decrease acid creation in the stomach. Figure out which food causes you to have heartburn, the main symptom of acid reflux. Try not to eat these foods too much. Digesting aloe juice, papaya and ginger are also ways to keep acid reflux at bay so that the burning sensation will not occur.

If you are experiencing burning of the throat and want to find out about how you can treat and prevent this, review The Reflux Remedy Report today.

Developing a digestive disease can take a toll on your body. Since digestion is needed to sustain life, any problems in this area can have an overwhelming impact. Gastrointestinal reflux disease (GERD) is a common type of digestive disease. GERD should not be taken lightly. Contracting GERD directly correlates with the status of the lower esophageal sphincter. A malfunctioning LES greatly contributes to the development of GERD. The LES is an important part of the esophagus and can be found at the bottom near the stomach. The LES helps two digestive organs to link and work together, the stomach and esophagus. For food to get to the stomach for digestion, the LES has to open for passage. Normally, the LES will close tightly after the food has entered, but in some cases, it does not. This kind of LES can be classified as weak.

Having a weak LES is problematic because stomach acid has no barrier that stops it from getting into the esophagus. Stomach acid bounces around the stomach and is particularly mobile when you lie down and bend over. When you stand erect, the stomach acid will remain relatively in place even with a weakened LES. Once you become vertical or move about, this is when the acid can splash within the esophagus and even reach the mouth.

To prevent GERD, you should try to do three main things.

1) Regulate the development of gastric acids.

GERD may affect you because of the accumulation of a large quantity of gastric acid in your stomach. This makes it easier for acid to escape. There are things you can do to stop gastric acids from being excessively produced. To reduce production of acid, try to eat smaller meals more frequently. Larger meals require more acid. Papaya has an enzyme that is a natural digestive aid. Eating papaya can help the stomach to break down foods without need for as much acid. If you have diabetes, the way your body digests foods can complicate GERD. You may be able to rid yourself of diabetes with diet and exercise.

2) Keep the lower esophageal sphincter strong.

Lifestyle behaviors can weaken the LES. Smoking and drinking alcohol are not good for strengthening the LES. Smoking and drinking exposes the esophagus to toxins that make it weak. Don’t eat foods that trigger reflux. Fatty foods, garlic, onion and caffeine are common causes of reflux.

3) Help the lower esophageal sphincter.

Conditions like obesity and hiatal hernia contribute to GERD. Carrying abnormal fat deposits around the stomach puts pressure on this organ. The stomach may not be able to occupy its normal space because of obesity. A stomach under pressure will likely expel gastric acid to the esophagus. Do your part by eating right and working out. Hiatal hernia is what happens when the stomach and LES move above or beside the diaphragm. This awkward position makes GERD possible. Although hereditary for some, risk factors for hiatal hernia include lifting heavy items, smoking and drug use.

If you would like to learn more about GERD, visit www/refluxremedy.com for more information.

Acid reflux has several medical names such as heart burn, acid indigestion and gastro-esophageal reflux disease, regardless they’re all associated with STRESS.

Everyone loves stress don’t they? NOT.

Stress is stressful. Just the thought of being stressed out stresses me out . . . at least it used to. I’ve learned how to not sweat the little stuff in life in order to better enjoy the bigger, more important things . . . like my health.

Acid reflux is unnatural; it’s what happens when you do unnatural things, but in a way I guess you could argue that it’s a natural response to an unnatural act.

Acid reflux is your inner intelligence getting back at you for not going with the flow. Seriously, we humans really do take everything for granted. Your mind/body is the most intelligent representation of Mama Nature’s handy craft in the entire world, and look what we do to ourselves.

We stress ourselves out in so many ways it’s not funny one bit.

We have dumped industrial pollutants into our oceans, lakes and streams. We’ve spewed noxious gases into the air . . . we stress out the world.

Then we take living soil, rich with more than 72 trace minerals and burn it up with chemical fertilizers until our foods have nothing but nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium . . . we stress out our food.

The result is biological stress caused from under-nutrition. It takes a bushel of tomatoes to equal the nutritional value of an heirloom tomato from 100 years ago.

Then we stress ourselves out . . . with radiation from the thinning sky, cell phone transmissions and nuclear fallout to boot. Add to that our desperately paced lifestyles, racing us around 24/7 just to pay the bills . . . it’s no wonder millions of people have acid reflux and acid reflux associated diseases.

Up to 44% of the United States adult population experience acid reflux, heartburn or acid indigestion at least once per month, 14% weekly and 7% daily. Acid reflux is one of the most common disorders today and it’s all from a dysfunction between the throat from the stomach.

When people are stressed in America, they eat more, or they eat the wrong food and often eat it at the wrong times. All this triggers acid reflux because the food isn’t being digested so it places stress on the barrier between the throat and the stomach called the diaphragm. Once the stomach is stressed from all the undigested garbage food in it and the diaphragm is stressed from the pressure forcing it up toward the throat . . . acid reflux happens.

You have a flap-like valve called a Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES), which normally keeps acid reflux separate from the throat. However, once the food pressure becomes great enough it warps this flap-like seal allowing stomach acid to reflux upward into your throat, lungs, sinus cavity and mouth . . . which stresses you out even more.

Bottom line acid reflux patients who are stressed report chronic acid reflux symptoms. Psychological factors may play a critical role, especially for patients without inflamed throats. There are further studies on understanding the brain/gut relationship and how a person’s perception of stress helps trigger acid reflux.

Considering all forms of stress and its relationship to acid reflux clearly shows that less stress equals less acid reflux.

You were born to heal,

Todd M. Faass

Health Advocate

Source: http://www.cns.med.ucla.edu/Articles/PatientArticleFl99GERD.htm