If you’ve had acid reflux, you know that it’s painful. Rather than suffering in silence, how about learning how to effectively handle the symptoms and bid farewell to the pain? Read on for top tips on controlling acid reflux.
Maintaining a healthy weight can help cure your GERD symptoms. All the extra weight on your esophagus can cause the muscles at the base to loosen, allowing acid up into your esophagus. When you lose weight and trim up, you’ll find your sphincter tightens and keeps acid where it belongs.
Plan your meal several hours before you go to bed. When you are upright, any food in your stomach and the gastric acid settles down in your stomach. If you lie down, your stomach acids can rise into your esophagus. Therefore, stay in an upright position for at least three hours.
Fatty foods are much worse for anyone who suffers from acid reflux than healthier options. When you eat fatty foods, the esophageal sphincter is signaled to relax. This causes acid reflux problems. They also promote weight gain, which can exacerbate acid reflux. Follow a healthy diet and lifestyle.
Drink liquids between meals rather than during them. This also helps you get rid of hunger pains. On top of that, drinking with food bloats your stomach, so drinking away from food is best.
For a good night’s sleep, consider putting a wedge under your mattress to raise your head up to keep acid where it belongs. If you do not have a wedge, anything that will lift the head of your bed will work. You can also use an electronic bed that elevates.
When you are done eating, pop some cinnamon gum into your mouth. The act of chewing causes increased saliva production. Saliva aids the neutralization of stomach acid. Also, people swallow much more often when they are chewing gum, and this will clear out any acid that is in the esophagus. You can also use gum that is fruity. Do not, however, chew gum with mint in it. Mint can actually cause acid reflux, so you may just be making things worse.
If you haven’t already quit smoking, do so now. Smoking causes and worsens acid reflux symptoms. Smoking reduces the production of saliva and slows down digestion, causing stomach acids to increase. This causes weakness of the esophageal sphincter. That’s why you need to butt out today.
Sometimes reflux symptoms are so painful you may feel like you are experiencing a heart attack. Extreme pains in the chest should never be ignored. This may be a heart attack. Talk to a doctor to learn how to handle the situation. Misdiagnosis would be horrible, and you don’t want any serious health issues.
Acid reflux disease can be aggravated by stress. Acid is produced when you put excess tension on your body. After each meal, do something you find relaxing. Do some meditation, yoga or deep breathing exercises.
Make sure your clothes are loose around your waist. Tight belts, pantyhose and waistbands are all of the usual suspects. Restrictive clothing can put your stomach under additional pressure. As a result, acid reflux can occur. Wear comfortable clothes, which help give your stomach breathing room.
What do you eat? How do you feel afterward? Trigger foods are common, and they might be the culprit. Once you’ve identified your trigger foods, you can avoid them and start to feel better.
Shed some excess pounds. Too much weight around your midsection can affect your acid reflux. Excess belly fat puts added pressure on the stomach, increasing the chances of reflux. Do some exercise to lose a few pounds and you will see a difference.
Do not exercise within an hour of eating your meal. Contractions of the lower stomach during exercise can cause undigested food to be forced upwards in the esophagus. Hold off exercising for at least a couple hours after eating.
Avoid drinking a lot of alcohol if you have acid reflux. Alcohol can produce excess stomach acid. If you must have alcoholic drinks, limit them to one or two per day, and try to identify a type of drink that doesn’t make your reflux worse.
Sometimes reflux symptoms are so painful you may feel like you are experiencing a heart attack. Don’t ever ignore chest pains. You very well could be having a heart attack. You should consider going to the ER or calling your doctor for advice. You could have a serious issue on your hands and not even know it.
You need to learn how pH levels in foods affect your acid reflux. Foods, such as lemons, are commonly considered to be an acidic food. However, after digestion, they have a high alkalinity. This can be quite confusing. You need to learn more concerning the pH balance of food when you have acid reflux.
When you have acid reflux, you can benefit greatly from raising the top of your bed up. You can do this by putting a brick under the headboard. You can also prop your head up with pillows. Ideally, the head of your bed should be a half a foot higher than the foot. If you elevate your head and chest, you could stop the rise of stomach acid while you sleep.
Cinnamon gum can greatly help with acid reflux. Chewing some gum will cause your glands to produce more saliva, which can neutralize your stomach acid. You also swallow more frequently. This helps keep your stomach acid where it belongs, in your stomach.
For example, if your problem only occurs after vigorous exercise, the solution may be simple. The solution is drinking more water. You need water to stay hydrated. Additionally, it will assist with digestion. Water can dilute the acid present in your stomach and make acid reflux less painful.
Drink fewer beverages during your meals. Drinking while eating just adds more stress to your stomach. This increased pressure in your stomach can cause acid reflux to occur. Instead only take tiny sips of water during the meal, and save drinking full glasses until between meals.
Lose weight to help prevent and lessen the effects of acid reflux. The most common situation leading to acid reflux is being overweight. By losing as little as 10 percent of your body weight, you can lessen the effects that acid reflux has on your system. Don’t be silly with excessive dieting schemes, instead reduce the size of your meal portions.
Avoid lying down after you eat. That’s because lying down impedes the digestion process, which causes acid reflux. Remaining upright aids in digestion. How long you have to wait post-meal will vary from meal to meal and person to person.
Avoid alcohol to rid yourself of acid reflux. Alcohol causes overproduction of stomach acid, which leads to the deterioration of your stomach lining as well as acid reflux. If you’re socializing with friends, limit alcohol consumption to remain feeling good.
Eat little or no spicy foods, especially in the evening. Mexican food is one to avoid, as it contains a lot of acid reflux causing ingredients. If you eat these foods, you may experience more severe acid reflux. You could also experience other symptoms as well, like dry skin.
Avoid laying down after a meal if you have acid reflux. When you lay down, your digestive tract can sometimes have difficulty with the food you have consumed. If you stay upright, the problems resulting from acid reflux can be avoided.
Don’t eat a lot before bed. Because of this, you must avoid eating for at least a few hours before bed. Excess acids that are caused by food breaking down may cause heartburn in a full stomach when you’re laying down.
Pop a lozenge made with slippery elm. These lozenges are made from slippery elm bark and will form a protective layer in your digestive tract. It can make your throat feel better and relieve the cough that often comes with reflux when you suck on the lozenge. You can find them at any health food stores and natural food stores near you.
Don’t eat any food less than three hours before you go to bed. As you eat food, your digestive tract kicks into high-gear. This will cause your stomach to produce digestive acids. If you do not eat before your bedtime, your stomach will produce less acid and be less full.
Were you already aware that food with acid and alkaline are unrelated to a food’s pH level? Acidic foods like lemons are very alkaline after they are digested. You may be confused by this if you have acid reflux. Learn the pH of foods if you have acid reflux.
Avoid acid reflux attacks by watching what beverages you drink and how much of them you drink. Try to steer clear of coffee, carbonated beverages and alcohol when you suffer from acid reflux. You should choose water as your beverage of choice as often as possible and avoid the above drinks if you suffer from this condition.
Don’t self-diagnose your acid reflux. When you have symptoms which seem like acid reflux, go to the doctor immediately. Sometimes the culprit is more severe, such as heart disease or peptic ulcers. Your doctor may run tests to see if it’s acid reflux.
Controlling your stress is an important goal for your everyday life. While stress doesn’t directly cause reflux, it may if you engage in harmful activities like drinking, overeating and smoking. All of these can worsen reflux symptoms. By reducing stress you can indirectly better your acid reflux.
Drink less during your meal. Drinking too much during meals actually puts more stress on your stomach. It adds pressure to the middle and can trigger your acid reflux. Therefore, try to drink between meals, and if you must drink during your meal, only take very small sips.
What you drink and how often you drink should be analyzed if you suffer from acid reflux. Are you accustomed to drinking lots of soda with every meal? If you want to cut down on your acid reflux symptoms, limit the amount of liquid you drink with meals.
Gluten can frequently trigger acid reflux. Wheat and barley should only be consumed at a minimum. Some grains can help digestion and contain necessary fiber. These include millet and quinoa.
Acid reflux symptoms can be aggravated by your consumption of alcohol. All types of alcohol can lead to acid reflux. While an occasional drink is fine, make sure to avoid drinking in excess to find the relief you are looking for.
Do not drink a lot during meals. Your stomach may become distended as you drink liquids and eat. A full stomach adds pressure to the lower esophageal sphincter. This muscle holds food in your stomach, which is where it should be.
There are medications you can help to get rid of acid reflux. There are many medications you can use against acid reflux, including prescription medication and over the counter treatments. Talk to a doctor if you want prescription medicine. Do not take someone else’s prescription.
Loose clothing is good to wear when suffering from acid reflux. Clothes that are too tight put too much pressure on your stomach and can worsen acid reflux. Try and stay in comfortable clothing at all times. It’s also advisable to be proactive and wear something loose fitting to a big meal.
When you are done eating, pop in a piece of cinnamon gum or a piece of fruit. When chewing gum, saliva production increases. When the saliva comes in contact with the acid in your stomach, it neutralizes it, preventing reflux. Avoid mint flavors since they can exacerbate reflux. Carry gum with you for eating on the run.
Make sure you are exercising on a regular basis. This can improve how you feel and allow your body to digest effectively. This in turn helps your body to not react so severely to certain foods. Regular exercise along with a balanced diet can go a long way to helping defeat acid reflux.
Now, you can use the tips above for helping to end acid reflux. Do not let acid reflux rule your life. Take control of the problem by following the tips presented here.
