Acid reflux can make you feel miserable. All that pain and burning is enough to drive anyone crazy. Acid reflux is a common condition, but there are many ways to avoid it. You do not have to sit back and let it take over, you can stop it.
You should drink when your meal concludes and not while in the process of eating. This also helps you get rid of hunger pains. Your stomach won’t become distended if you drink between meals.
Certain particular foods help produce acid reflux in your esophagus. Common foods that cause reflux are chocolate, caffeinated beverages, and fried foods. Citrus fruits and acidic vegetables like tomatoes are also well known culprits. Triggers vary by person, so you should learn from your own experience as to what does and doesn’t cause you problems. Avoidance of all of this list would be your best bet.
After eating, avoid lying down for two to three hours. Lying down allows acid to climb up your esophagus. You can provide your esophagus with relief by sitting or standing.
Keep cinnamon gum on you at all times, and eat a stick of it after every meal. Chewing promotes saliva production. The benefit of saliva is that the stomach’s acid can be neutralized. You will also find that you swallow more, clearing acid from the esophagus. You can also try fruity flavored gum. Chewing minty gum is not a good option since it can relax your esophagus and cause acid reflux.
Consume small meals, and do so frequently. If you eat one to two larger meals daily, this may boost your chances of developing acid reflux. If your stomach is too full, it will exert pressure on the sphincter that separates the esophagus and the stomach. This will cause acid reflux. The excess stomach acids will enter the esophagus, and the result will be heartburn. Small meals will prevent this cause of your symptoms.
Are you aware that the tendency of food to form acid is unrelated to the pH level in food? While you may think citrus fruit is highly acidic, the truth is that some of it ends up rather alkaline once digested. This can be confusing when you have acid reflux. However, if you have acid reflux, you need to educate yourself on food pH.
Your acid reflux will benefit from you attending to regular exercise. The best types of exercise to try are low impact, such as walking, cycling or water aerobics. Your body is in an upright position and gravity will help aid digestion and keep your food in your stomach where it belongs.
You must not self-diagnose when it comes to acid reflux. Discomfort and regurgitation are serious symptoms and should be presented to a physician. There are many other conditions, including ulcers and heart disorders, that have the same symptoms as acid reflux disease. Your doctor may run tests to see if it’s acid reflux.
Make sure you do not eat during the three hours prior to getting into bed. So eating at 8 if you go to bed at 11 can help you avoid acid reflux. If you lay down and your stomach is full, your LES muscle will have more pressure on it. This leads to the unpleasant effects of reflux.
Acid reflux should not be taken lightly. The feeling alone is bad enough, but it can also become much more severe if nothing is done about it. Now, you have the knowledge to stop it in its tracks. Take the knowledge you have gained here and use it to stop letting acid reflux impact your health.