The condition acid reflux, commonly referred to as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), has a number of symptoms. If these symptoms persist, this can lead to scarring of the esophagus lining, irritation, inflammation, ulcers and even cancer of the esophagus.

Symptoms

Symptoms of acid reflux can vary from person to person.

• Heartburn: Heartburn is a main symptom of acid reflux. A burning feeling in your chest and throat can signal that you have heartburn. Heartburn that takes place three times a week or more is a sign of GERD.
• Dysphagia: Difficulty swallowing is the hallmark of dysphagia. Those suffering from dysphagia feel as though food is stuck in their throat or neck.
• Regurgitation: Vomiting or constant burping are characteristics of regurgitation. When acid refluxes and makes its way to the mouth, this can leave a sour taste in your mouth.
• Nausea: Having an upset stomach can point toward acid reflux. Feeling uneasy or unsettled in your stomach can be a reflection of the stomach acids that have exited to the esophagus.
• Sore Throat/Hoarseness: Neck and throat irritation is common and can cause you to have a sore throat or become hoarse.

Causes

There is more than just one cause for acid reflux. Most of the common causes have the same negative effect on the lower esophageal sphincter or LES. The LES is the entrance point for foods after you chew and swallow. When the food goes down the esophagus, it must cross through the LES to reach the stomach. An LES that is weakened does not effectively safeguard your esophagus from coming into contact with gastric acid and bile.

• Alcohol Consumption: Drinking alcohol can irritate the esophagus and increase the burning sensation caused by heartburn.
• Smoking: Smoking diminishes the strength of the LES which is needed to block stomach acid.
• Hiatal Hernia: A shift in stomach and esophagus placement can make the LES weak and allow acid to reflux.
• Pregnancy: Extraordinary hormone levels and a compressed stomach can cause acid to reflux

Home Remedies

There are several nontraditional cures for acid reflux that consist of natural ingredients.

• Ginger tea or root is great for naturally absorbing stomach acid and has a soothing effect.
• Apple cider vinegar, although it has an acidic pH on its own, is not acid forming once digested. Apple cider vinegar has an alkaline quality after it is broken down in the stomach.
• Fennel seed is a natural herb that aids the digestive process by regulating stomach spasms that may contribute to GERD.
• Aloe consumed as a juice is great for acid reflux because it relieves heartburn and settles the stomach.
• Papaya contains an enzyme that naturally helps to digest your food, preventing the stomach from having to produce a lot of gastric acid.
• Drinking water frequently can help to neutralize stomach acid as well.

Handling your acid reflux can be a challenge if you don’t have all the tools for treating this disease. For more information on homeopathic cures for acid reflux, review the Reflux Remedy Report or visit www.refluxremedy.com today.

There are plenty of ways to naturally cure heartburn, the question is, which way is right for you? You may need to try a combination of changes and remedies to find something that works, but the key is to keep trying until you do find something that helps.

Feeling the Burn?

If you feel the burn of heartburn pretty regularly, routine changes may be the most effective way to proactively cure your heartburn for good.

The first thing you may want to check is the levels of stress in your life and how you deal with them. Life is stressful, and sometimes you just don’t have the luxury of removing those stressors. There could be a death in the family, relationship problems, troublesome teens, layoffs at work, financial woes, and any number of issues that don’t go away simply because you wish them too. So, it comes down to a matter of how you deal with them. Chronic stress not handled properly can cause a whole host of medical problems, including heartburn, so dealing with this common problem is an excellent way to rid yourself of heartburn and be healthier in mind and body. Try things like yoga, meditation, regular massages, or exercise. If that doesn’t work, you may want to consider speaking to a therapist. They can help you learn better techniques to deal with your stress, and thus keep stomach acids from getting out of control.

Other things you’ll want to look at is what type of food you’re taking in, how much of it you’re consuming, and when you’re eating it.

First of all, what you eat can have a major impact on your heartburn. Things like onions, garlic, acidic fruits like oranges and lemons, and caffeine are all common heartburn starters. Pay close attention to what sets your heartburn off and then modify the amounts of those foods that you consume.

Second, don’t eat quite so much in one sitting. Spread your meals out across the day so that you get the same amount of food, but over a longer stretch of time. That way your stomach isn’t frantically trying to digest one huge lump of food. It can calmly process small bits of food all day long, keeping you acid free, the only way to be.

Third, make sure you’re eating at appropriate times, especially if you’re snacking more to adhere to the last suggestion. Stop your food consumption no less than two hours before you go to bed. That way food and stomach acids will be better kept down in your stomach where they belong.

Put Out the Fire

If you’re looking for a more reactive approach to stemming your heartburn, there are quite a few things you can try that you might even be able to find in your pantry right now.

• Ginger- tea or candied
• A glass of water
• A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar mixed with a glass of water
• A quarter cup of aloe vera juice
• A handful of almonds
• An apple after meals
• Papaya after meals

For more tips and tricks to naturally cure heartburn, read The Reflux Remedy Report at today!

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.

Pregnancy often brings a number of ailments, including heartburn, that has the soon to be mother reaching for natural solutions so that she can find relief without harming the baby. If you’re looking for a natural treatment for pregnant women with heartburn, you’ve come to the right place. There are a number of things you can do naturally to help relieve your heartburn without harming your baby. Here are just a few:

Heartburn tends to plague pregnant women, so in anticipation of that take simple steps to avoid heartburn before it starts.

• First, try not to stress. Yes, pregnancy is a stressful time. Will the baby be healthy? Will we be able to financially handle this child? Will we be good parents? Will we be able to properly provide for this child? And on and on. However, stress can cause all kinds of problems, some more severe than heartburn, like early labor. So, relax. Get a massage, go for a walk, curl up with a good book, just take some time for yourself. It will help you reduce your heartburn and keep the baby safe.
• Second, avoid foods that are known to cause heartburn. Your specific pregnancy may bring special triggers to you, but some common ones are garlic, onions and citrus fruits and juices. Caffeine and alcohol also cause heartburn, but hopefully you’re already modifying your intake of those chemicals due their potentially harmful effects on the baby.
• Third, try not to eat too close to bed time. Although pregnancy cravings can be intense and demand food at strange hours, try to control what you eat and when you eat to avoid a bout of heartburn. Lying down too close to eating allows food and stomach acids to meander into your esophagus, which causes heartburn pain. Eating at least two hours before you lie down can help prevent this. If a craving is just too strong to resist, try propping yourself up with a pillow to help keep your digestive tract aligned and make it more difficult for acids to move upwards.

If you already have a bad case of heartburn, don’t despair! There are a number of things you can do that will naturally help neutralize the acid and relieve your pain.

• First, try the simplest solution. Drink a glass of water. This will help flush your digestive tract and dilute excess acids in your stomach that might be irritating your esophagus.
• Ginger has long been used to help settle upset stomachs. So, try a glass of ginger tea, or eat some candied ginger to help soothe your heartburn.
• Apples have also been found recently to help some people get over their heartburn pain. Just one after a meal can help provide relief from acid indigestion pain.
• Apple cider vinegar can also help to neutralize acids in your stomach. All it takes is a tablespoon diluted in a full glass of water to help alleviate heartburn pain.

The Reflux Remedy Report contains these and many other holistic tips for reliving your worst heartburn symptoms. Log on to refluxremedy.com to see additional natural treatments for pregnant women with heartburn.