Acid Reflux

Acid Reflux occurs when the tube that you uses to intake the food from the throat to stomach is not strong enough to handle the acid. The food intake by you is digested by the stomach with the help of an acid produced and stored by it.  The stomach walls are built strong enough to store that acid without causing damage.

For unknown reasons when acid flows back into the esophagus from stomach it creates heartburn, which is widely considered the first symptom of acid reflux or HERD.  It leaves a constant chest burning sensation.  You may find these acid reflux symptoms occurring to everyone once in a while, but when it happens regularly over a period of 2 to 3 times in a week with no visible relief even after medication, then you have acid reflux or GIRD.  A change in diet intake can give you relief to an extent from acid reflux attack, but if it reoccurs then one needs medical attention.

The main cause of acid reflux attack is when the lower esophageal sphincter which is a divider between stomach and esophagus giving up at inappropriate times, thereby not blocking the entry of acid into esophagus.  This stomach acid when flows back into the esophagus, it cuss severe heartburn right in between the chest.

The worst case scenario in Acid Reflux

If not treated appropriately, acid reflux attack for a prolonged period can wear out the inner protective lining of esophagus.  Doctors call this erosive esophagi.  A doctor can find out whether you have this condition through a simple endoscopy.  He can also treat you for this acid reflux condition depending on the extent of damage.

There are a lot of advices out there for people who suffer from acid reflux or heartburn about what they should not do. There are always a bunch of food items you are not supposed to eat. Here we are discussing a few things you can do and reduce your acid reflux problem.

It is known to be beneficial to sleep on the left side of your stomach than your right side. Sleeping on you left side is better for you not to experience acid reflux symptoms like heartburn.

If you make it a habit to sleep with your head in an elevated position that would reduce heartburn during your sleep. This can be achieved using one or two extra pillows.  If you can afford it, getting a bed that can be raised, a bed similar to the ones used in hospitals would be a great idea. If not, you can raise the head side of your bed with blocks of wood or some thing similar.

Eat any time you feel like eating. But make it very small portions. If you skip food in between for so long, you will end up eating a big meal in the end and it is going to cause the worsening of your acid reflux condition. Any person who tries to avoid meals in between for whatever reasons may end up over filling your stomach when you finally have food. This must be avoided at all cost.

In between meals, it would be helpful to you make it a habit of chewing gums. This would create a lot of saliva in your mouth and this can wash down any left over acids from your esophagus and throat. Saliva is alkaline in nature and is going to neutralize the acids to some extent. When choosing chewing gums avoid mint flavored ones. Mint is known to worsen acid reflux condition in many people.

Instead of chewing gums, you can suck on cough drops like halls or antacids, and they will provide you with the same effect.

Drinking water can dilute the stomach acids and can be helpful in reducing your heartburn condition.

It is an absolute no no to hit the bed right after a big meal. You need to walk for a little while before you go to sleep. The ideal case is to sleep only four hours after having your dinner. So have your dinner earlier around 5 or 6 O’clock, as was the practice of yesteryear.

Good News for Acid Reflux patients

Acid Reflux is a medical condition which if diagnosed in time can be treated.  Contact your doctor or contact Mandarin Health Consultants for further advise and guidance on overcoming your acid reflux condition.

Acid Reflux Symptoms

The stomach of a human body contains acidic juices like hydrochloric acid, pepsin and sometimes bile juices from the liver. These are supposed to enhance the sterilization and digestion process of the food that we eat and drink to release energy.

Hydrochloric acid also prevents the generation and growth of harmful bacteria's in the stomach and the intestine and hydrochloric acid is highly corrosive. However, our stomach is meant to handle this acid as the stomach contains a protective acid proof lining.

Now the LES i.e. lower esophageal sphincter doesn't have any acid proof lining. LES is the muscular valve that allows the ingested food to reach the stomach and then close the esophagus .Now, when the LES fails to close tightly or malfunctions and relaxes more often it causes GERD as experienced by people in the form of heartburn.

It is found that 300 million of the world population suffers from this disease and it still is a mystery why.50 million of the Americans suffer from heartburn once in a month And 25 million of them experience gastric esophageal reflux  on daily basis.

In spite of this huge estimation of population that suffers from acid reflux attack there are no known nutritional or alternative therapy to successfully prevent it. Doctors can maximum use the pharmaceutical drugs to treat the acid reflux symptoms and not the disease.

Though we would think the main cause of acid reflux attack is what we eat and drink, the fact is little different as it is also about how we eat and drink. This can be proved by the fact that many of us being different individuals find it difficult to digest some food.

The food travels from the mouth down to the stomach via esophagus with help of LES which opens up to let the food into the stomach. After which the LES constricts and closes to restrict the reverse flow of food from the stomach.

Acid Reflux - Causes or Reasons

When we eat food as a part of normal digestion the food chewed is passed on via the food pipe or esophagus to the stomach for further digestion aided by the acidic juices present in the stomach. These juices are not supposed to be in the esophagus but in the stomach which is meant to handle these juices for digestion of food.

Now when these acidic juices flows back to the esophagus it causes a burning sensation in the center of the chest also called heartburn leading to the phenomenon causing acid reflux.

To explain reasons for development of acid reflux further, acid reflux or gastroenterology reflux disease[GERD] occurs when the gastric juices flows reversely into the esophagus from the stomach .This happens due to the inability of lower esophageal sphincter valve to close properly once the partially digested food from mouth goes to the stomach via the esophagus for further digestion.

The lower esophageal sphincter [LES] is a valve made up of a band of muscles .This valve separates the esophagus from the stomach and closes itself once the food reaches the stomach so as to prevent the reverse flow ogf gastric juices from the stomach to the esophagus and prevents causing acid reflux attack. If this phenomenon occurs occasionally as in everyone causing heartburn it's O.K. However, it becomes a cause of concern if it starts occurring more than occasionally resulting in the Gastric esophageal reflux disease or causing acid reflux attack or GERD. That is when the lower esophageal sphincter relaxes more frequently and irregularly it causes GERD in the form of chronic heartburn.

Acid Reflux - Remedies, Medication, Self Care

Remedies;; As we have mentioned earlier infant acid reflux clear up on their own with the growth of the baby.  Also simple changes in feeding techniques help in further controlling of the situation. These include more frequent but smaller feedings, holding the baby in little upright or inclined position while feeding and letting the baby burp frequently while feeding. While breast feeding avoid cow's milk or other related food.

Switch the brand if you feed your baby on formula foods. Aggressive treatment may be needed for severe cases of infant acid reflux. Medication;; Doctor's may prescribe infant doses of medications that are used regularly for adults if the baby is really uncomfortable. These may include H-2 blockers like cimetidine [tagamet] or ranitidine [zantac], proton pump inhibitor such as oesomeprazole [nexium] or omeprazole [Prilosec].

However a 2006 study shows that these medications despite claiming to be safe for use in children and infants may increase the risk of intestinal and respiratory infections in otherwise healthy children and infants.  Alternative methods;; if the baby isn't growing as expected alternate high calorie food or feeding tube is required for the baby.

Surgery;; In very rare cases baby may need to undergo Fundoplication where the muscle that relaxes to let the food in to the stomach and closes to inhibit the revert of the food to the oesophagus, is wrapped and tightened surgically.

However this is done only if the infant acid reflux is interfering with baby's overall growth and is causing breathing problems because though it may treat the infant GERD but may lead to severe complications like constant gagging while feeding.

Self regulated care techniques;; First of all keep your self calm and relaxed before and during each feed and feed the baby before it gets frantic. Next try and feed the baby in upright position and every 15 to 30 minutes while feeding put the baby in sitting position to let gravity help in keeping the food contents where it belongs that is the stomach. Try a front pack a backpack or an infant chair. Try not to juggle your baby while the food is settling.

Acid Reflux Causes Remedies

my doctor or no one could help me guide me what to do. I had to find a way my own. I have become so dedicated to solve this problem and studied and did many researches on this. I tried to find out some naturalistic treatment for that I did many searches on natural remedies that can actually cure the acid reflux. Tried all the possible treatments available and remedies to acid reflux causes.

With my investigations I found that the remedial methods to acid reflux condition are very simple. By little change in your life style and with some natural remedies one can absolutely defeat the acid reflux syndrome, with out any drug.

The first cause for this condition to occur is due to a damaged esophagus. So avoiding the food that caused the damage can heal the esophagus. Some quick and simple thing that every one can practice to avoid such acid reflux condition is loosing weight, doing proper exercise, drinking plenty of water and elevating the head at night using an acid reflux pillow.

There are many natural ingredients available at any health store, which can be used during the recovery period from this acid reflux syndrome. Herbs like elm and marshmallow have great healing effects. Aloe Vera juice, licorice and natural honey have wonderful soothing effect on esophagus and also help in healing process.  These can act great as remedies to acid reflux causes.

Taking dinner at least three hours before going to bed can wonderfully reduces the chances of acid reflux problem. Chewing gum between meals can also reduce the stomach acids and if you really want to have the pasta with tomato sauce, there is always baking soda as a last resort.

Eat in smaller quantity with increased frequency. Have four or five small meals every day. My day stars with Katuscha Twig tea. Then some fruits like bananas and melons. I take several snacks of walnut, almonds and more fruits. My lunch include salads made with grilled chicken breasts or tofu mixed with hearts of romaine, tossed with a light lemon and chive vinaigrette

Acid reflux cure by drugs or by surgery

Recent series of reports provided by the federal agency states that to cureacid reflux or gastro esophageal reflux disease using medical doses of drugs may be equally useful rather than jumping on to surgery.

The report states that around 7 to 10 % of the American adult suffer from the heartburn caused when stomach acid enters the esophagus and the condition increases with age and may result in long term and serious damage to the food pipe.

The survey conducted to determine the effectiveness of acid reflux cure drugs over surgery or vice versa for GERD was done by the agency for healthcare research and Quality and the treatments were compared in chronic uncomplicated cases of acid reflux. This particular condition is comparatively a mild version of acid reflux which needs lifelong control though it may not necessarily lead to anything like esophageal cancer.

The report that was prepared after 8 months of extensive studies done worldwide states that few drugs like AcipHex, nexium, prevacid, prilosec etc and protonix that comes under the term proton pump inhibitors may be as effective in providing immediate relief from pain due to acid reflux condition heartburn and also heal the esophagus in due course thereby improving the health. That is they may be as effective as a surgical method where the stomach area close to the lower esophagus is wrapped around to control the reverse flow of the acid.

However, the report also suggests the overall ineffectiveness of another class of acid reflux medicine called H2 receptor antagonists in treating GERD. Some of these drugs are available over the counter are Axid, pepcid, tagamet and zantac. The reports also discovered that though surgeries are done to treat GERD completely wherein the need of the drugs to curb them is completely erased, the story is altogether different. It was found that anywhere between 10 to 60 % of the GERD patients including infants had to revert back to oral medication within an year or so of the surgery done to treat the disease.

After these astounding results a new drug-benefit program is getting launched mandated by the congress, the sole purpose of which would be to figure out more and more alternative methods of treating common illnesses among the elderly including acid reflux and explain them in a simpler language.

Dr. Carolyn Clancy the director of the research centre states that the purpose is not to tell the people or gerd patients what to do but to give them various suitable treatment options to choose from.

Nine more reports related to effective treatment methods will be prepared and this will include processes like breast imaging for cancer detection and detecting the effectiveness and safety of the medications that are used to treat even arthritis and joint disorders.

Medicines recommended for acid reflux - Acid Reflux medication

For a persistent condition stronger antacids like Mylanta II, Maalox II and riopan are suitable. These antacids should be taken at least half an hour before taking food and sleeping.

Given below are various types of medication to help in acid reflux;;

Proton pump inhibitors;; These help in reducing the acid production in the stomach and also control the reflux of acid in to the esophagus from the stomach.

Histamine Receptor blockers;; They too help in reducing the stomach acid.

Prokinetic or motility drugs;; These help in closing the esophageal sphincter muscle more tightly.

Omepraxole and lansoprazole;; They heal the inflammation caused by acid reflux in the esophagus.

Acid reflux drugs - Silent killers

The drugs Nexium, Prilosec, Prevacid and Protonix are called proton pump inhibitors. They can be used only for maximum of eight weeks continuously. It is written on the package too. Even though the doctors knew this they simply allow or encourage the patients to take it on a regular basis. Unfortunately no studies are done on the side effects it can cause on a long run. However we know there are potential side effects. The symptom relief does not rule out serious stomach conditions.

The most known side effects are headache, diarrhea and abdominal pain. As a whole body the effects are:

Enlarged abdomen, allergic reaction, asthenia, back pain, chest pain, chest pain substernal, facial edema, peripheral edema, hot flushes, fatigue, fever, flu-like disorder, generalized edema, leg edema, malaise, pain rigors;

Cardiovascular problems: flushing, hypertension, tachycardia;

Endocrine problems: goiter; Gastrointestinal bowel irregularity, constipation aggravated, dyspepsia, dysphagia, dysplasia GI, epigastric pain, eructation, esophageal disorder, frequent stools, gastroenteritis, GI hemorrhage, GI symptoms not otherwise specified, hiccup, melena, mouth disorder, pharynx disorder, rectal disorder, serum gastrin increased, tongue disorder, tongue edema, ulcerative stomatitis, vomiting;

Hearing problems of acid reflux drugs: earache, tinnitus; Hematologic problem: anemia, anemia hypochromic, cervical lymphoadenopathy, epistaxis, leukocytosis, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia; Hepatic problems: bilirubinemia, hepatic function abnormal, SGOT increased, SGPT increased;

Metabolic/Nutritional side effects of GERD drugs: glycosuria, hyperuricemia, hyponatremia, increased alkaline phosphatase, thirst, vitamin B12 deficiency, weight increase, weight decrease; Musculoskeletal problems: arthralgia, arthritis aggravated, arthropathy, cramps, fibromyalgia syndrome, hernia, polymyalgia rheumatica;

Nervous System/Psychiatric problems: anorexia, apathy, appetite increased, confusion, depression aggravated, dizziness, hypertonia, nervousness, hypoesthesia, impotence, insomnia, migraine, migraine aggravated, paresthesia, sleep disorder, somnolence, tremor, vertigo, visual field defect;

Reproductive side effects of acid reflux drugs: dysmenorrhea, menstrual disorder, vaginitis;

Respiratory problems: asthma aggravated, coughing, dyspnea, larynx edema, pharyngitis, rhinitis, sinusitis;

Skin and Appendages deseases: acne, angioedema, dermatitis, pruritus, pruritus ani, rash, rash erythematous, rash maculo-papular, skin inflammation, sweating increased, urticaria;

Special Senses problems: otitis me

Urogenital problems: abnormal urine, albuminuria, cystitis, dysuria, fungal infection, hematuria, micturition frequency, moniliasis, genital moniliasis, polyuria;

Visual Side Effects of acid reflux drugs: conjunctivitis, vision abnormal.

Endoscopic results which were reported as adverse events are: duodenitis, esophagitis, esophageal stricture, esophageal ulceration, esophageal varices, gastric ulcer, gastritis, hernia, benign polyps or nodules, Barrett's esophagus, and mucosal discoloration.

PPI drugs actually stop the proton pump, which produces stomach acids required for digestion. Human body requires this stomach acid for proper digestion and assimilation of food. It is an essential function of a human body.

Natural way of healing acid reflux

In allopathic treatment it cures only the symptoms instead of the disease. These recommended medicines only hide the symptoms of acid reflux disease from the body. People are not aware about the truth in the medicines, which temporarily gives relief to acid reflux problem. Medicine manufactures will wind up if they solve acid reflux completely from the body.
Instead of the use of prescribed medicines the natural approach cures the actual situation without any of the side effects. Many kinds of the natural treatments and medicines are available for acid reflux symptoms, and that too at comparatively lower prices.

Medical community is always opposed to the natural approaches to treating diseases, as it is a business of billions. The allopathic medicine manufactures, hospitals and insurance companies will never like to loose these big business opportunities. People also consider the success of treatment in the amount of business they can do. So the pharmaceutical companies run their business with our money.

Lot of natural remedies are easily available, herbs like marshmallow and slippery elm will help a lot to recover from the acid reflux. Also natural juices like licorice, aloe vera and pure honey can calm the esophagus and the stomach from acid reflux problems.

Alkaline products are the best remedy of acidity. Saliva is a good alkaline substance, which is produced mostly when chewing. So chewing gum after meals is so good to decrease the acidity. Taking dinner minimum three hours earlier than sleeping is good to eliminate the acid reflux throughout the night.

Food is so important in natural approach. Daily four of five little meals with regular menu are so useful to control the acid reflux. Try to start day with kukicha twig tea, then eat fruits like melons and bananas as breakfast and several snacks of walnuts, almonds and other fruits. Having a lunch consisting of grilled chicken breast salad or tofu with hearts of romaine, with little lemon and chive vinaigrette is also useful for reducing the acid reflux.

Try to select the food, which not increases the acid reflux when your esophagus is still aggravated, and make sure your food contains alkaline stuff or food with less acid. Also try to learn to cook regular foods with good absorption and low acidity. Meals like pasta primavera, sautéed white fish with crushed potatoes and baked chicken breasts on mushroom are tasty and easy to cook also.

An easy remedy for acid reflux problem

Factors involved in our eating like the time when we eat, the number of times we eat, what type of food do we eat, the surroundings where we eat etc are a major part of acid reflux problem and indigestion. This is also known by the names gerd or heartburn. You may think that I am being overly simplistic about this. But that is not the case. As people tend to differ from person to person, they need to eat food appropriate to their body.
Some of the food items, which you consume, can cause the worsening of your acid reflux condition. The way these food items change from person to person can change from person to person. Some people may find it difficult to digest raw tomatoes whereas some others will find the same difficulty about raw bell peppers. Either of these groups may not have any problems with the other food item. So these reactions are subject to change depending on the person who is the acid reflux sufferer.

Now you need to find out the products you can eat and those you cannot by trial and error method. Then there are some products, which are known to cause acid reflux for every one. Any food product, which causes your LES to relax and let the stomach acids to travel upwards, needs to be avoided to the maximum. Even when you consume any of these products you should keep the amount to a minimum. LES is the muscular wall which divides the stomach from the esophagus. Any time LES is not working properly, your stomach acids and pepsin can go all the way up to your throat and cause acid reflux.

The stomach acids are pretty strong in nature and can be compared to the acid, which we find in your regular car battery. These acids are an integral part of digestive process. These acids are responsible for controlling any harmful bacteria, which may live in your digestive system. They help in breaking down the food particles and thus helps the body in absorbing the nutrients. As such the consumption of any medicines, which totally stops the production of these acids is not good for your body. These medicines are known as proton pump inhibitors (PPI drugs) and can cause problems in digestion of food and the following absorption of nutrients in to the body. An increase in the growth of bacteria also is possible.

Sharp edged food products like corn chips or crackers may cause scratches on your LES and esophagus. If you consume acidic foods like raw tomato under this condition that can cause acid reflux and the acids can worsen these scratches. A lot of acid reflux problems are caused this way. You can totally avoid this by taking the proper precautions.

Natural therapies for acid reflux

Take 2 tablespoon of ACV thrice a day .After a heavy meal a stronger concoction with less water is ideal.

Another recipe given by Ted included baking soda in acid cider vinegar as he says its much better than acv alone.

Mrs. Simon Kider says; I had been suffering from heartburn for a week now and it was becoming a cause for concern for my husband and my children, I had 6 ulcers a couple of years ago. However I  didn't want to go for standard medication for gastro treatment that includes lansoprazole as I was fully aware of the side effects as well. So I was keen to go for homeopathy as I also felt my gastric

problem was due to my hyperfocussed nature at times that made me forget that I was hungry. And after visiting your website that was little confusing at times, I prepared mixture of the Acv  adding baking soda and 2 tbspn of aloe juice,

1 tbspn of organic honey and 1 tbspn of virgin coconut oil both  melted with water. Here virgin oil is used to make the drink more potable. And there was a miraculous relief from heartburn within 24 hours. Though there was a mild side effect of gas. I just want to know whether this is due to virgin oil or may be because I mixed all of them in a blender. Or is it that I have to know whether I can have it before or after my meals. Overall a good site for helping me .thank you.

food causing acid reflux

Avoid Food and Beverages That Cause Acid Reflux, Change Your Lifestyle The lack of food makes people hungry. If the food intake do not contain the right amount of vitamins, minerals etc. sufficient to make the body strong and healthy, children could become malnourished. There are healthy food items. And then there are junk foods too. Junk stands for waste. But they are tasty and so people opt for them a lot. You will be asked to avoid certain food items if you are diagnosed with certain medical conditions. A patient with acid reflux has to do the same as well. GERD, commonly known as acid reflux, is caused by the acidic stomach fluids traveling upwards in to the esophagus as a result of the improper functioning of lower esophageal sphincter. If acid reflux is not treated properly, you could be looking at serious complications.  Various kinds of food to be avoided to keep acid reflux at bay.

The symptoms of acid reflux are sour taste, burning sensation in the chest or upper abdomen or on your throat's back, excessive belching, breathing problems, throat congestion, difficulty in swallowing food and bad breath.

If you suffer from these symptoms then the chances are that you have acid reflux. Check with a doctor to get a correct diagnosis and to know the severity of the problem.

The following food items are known to cause acid reflux:

- chocolate
- coffee
- spearmint and peppermint
- alcoholic drinks
- fruit juices
- fatty foods and fried foods
- onions
- citrus fruits
- spicy foods
- tomato-based products
- caffeinated drinks

The best method to tackle acid reflux is to change your diet or avoid certain food items. You are going to miss these foods in the starting, but you have to think of the future with severe acid reflux if you continue to eat all these food items

pregnancy acid reflux

Keeping Pregnant Women Safe From Acid Reflux It is common for women to feel heartburn during pregnancy. This could be because of several reasons. During pregnancy there is an increase in hormone levels in woman's body. This results in the softening of joints and muscles. This will cause the opening of lower esophageal sphincter (LES) in your stomach and stomach fluids will go up the esophagus. Changes in woman's body and the baby's position in her stomach causes more pressure in stomach. so there is a higher chance of acidic fluids from stomach to go up through LES. Some of the methods which would help the woman in reducing the acid reflux problem are: • Remove items like chocolates, spicy foods, juices, citrus fruits, mustard, tomatoes, products based on tomato, fatty foods, fried foods and seasonedfoods from your menu. These are known to increase acid reflux. Clarify with a doctor to get a complete list foods that reduces and increases acid reflux and reduce the problems associated with acid reflux.

• Caffeinated drinks like tea, coffee and soda should be avoided. They are known to cause the LES to open up and this result in increased acid reflux.

• Do not use alcoholic beverages. They also tend to relax LES and results in increased heartburn.

• Take small portions as they digest better instead of a big meal.

• Eat slowly, chewing the food well. This will help digestion and hence less acidic fluid generation in stomach.

• Leave a gap of at least three hours between dinner and bed time.

• A pregnant woman needs to drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water a day in equal intervals between meals. Drinking water with a meal is going to add pressure to stomach and will increase heart burn.

• While sleeping, keep your pillow elevated by six to eight inches. This way gravity will keep the acidic fluids in your stomach and not in esophagus. Your doctor could further inform you in relieving night time heartburn.

• Wear comfortably fit clothes. Tight clothes will increase pressure on your stomach and will lead to increased heartburn.
• If you have to do some thing on a bent position, bent your knees; not your stomach. Less pressure on your stomach means less heartburn.

• Always sit straight in a comfortable chair. Never slouch.

• Control your body weight at a healthy level. Over weight people will have more stress on their stomach and will result in increased heart burn. check with your doctor to know what is your ideal weight and try to maintain it at or around that range.

• A pregnant woman should not be smoking as it could cause several problems during pregnancy. One among them is the pain of heartburn

Two Natural supplements to bring Acid Reflux under control

In the modern world, medical treatment of any problem is dependent on the pharmaceutical companies. Drugs help to cure some diseases. But there are other efficient natural remedies as well. Modern medicine is more interested in treating the symptoms rather than getting rid of the problem.

Acid reflux has three types of medical cures. The most common one are antacids. They cancel out the acid in your stomach and provide you some quick relief. The chemicals contained in it like aluminum, sodium etc, are not good for your body. The second category of medicines is called H2 blockers. Their purpose is to reduce the production of stomach acid and is helpful for longer-term relief. Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI) is the last type of medicines for acid reflux, which stops the proton pumps in your stomach and thus stops the production of hydrochloric acid.

The most commonly used acid reflux medicines are PPI drugs which has its share of side effects. As they stop the production of stomach acid, they are not really safe. Production of acid is a part of the human body function. These acids have an integral part in digestion and absorption of food in to the body. If this process is hindered that is going to adversely affect the functioning of human body. As such any one who is regularly using these drugs are going to be malnourished.

People tend to go for the short cuts of life, when in fact common sense tells them to do otherwise. Doing any thing as natural as possible is the best way to do it. There are two cheap supplements available, which can reduce acid reflux problems in a short time. You need to take them together. They are digestive enzymes and probiotics. These natural supplements are pretty cheap when compared with drugs and should be better for your body. As they are natural, there are no side effects for them.

Probiotics are a group of helpful microbes, which can keep the digestive system in great shape by controlling the naturally existing flora there. Lactobacillus acidophilus, is the most popular one among these, and is naturally found in yogurt. You may buy it in supplement form as well.

The minimum count of live microorganisms to be present in a quality probiotic capsule is five billion. L rhamnosus, L. acidophilus, L. bulgaricus and S. thermophilus must be present in it. These are all helpful bacteria and can leave you with a healthy colon and immune system. If you consume digestive enzymes at the same time, they would keep you from the problems associated with acid reflux.

Different glands present in the digestive system produces digestive enzymes. These enzymes are responsible for breaking down the food particles and thus enabling the absorption of food in to the body. Different enzymes handle different food items. Braking down of lactose is taken care by lactase, proteins are handled by protease and pepsin, and vegetable starch is handled by diatase.

Infant Acid Reflux Diagnosis

Screening and diagnosis of infant acid reflux is required by the doctor if there is a suspicion of a serious condition. It's based on the severity of the baby's symptoms and physical examination. And for such cases the tests may include;;

Lab test;; Here the baby's urine and blood samples undergo varied tests to determine any other possible cause of recurring vomiting and weight gain. Esophageal Ph monitoring; Here a tiny tube is inserted through the baby's mouth or nose to detect the acid level in the esophagus. The tube is attached to a device that detects the acidity level.

For this procedure a baby may be required to be in the hospital for next 24 hours. This helps to find if disturbances in sleep, irritability etc are caused by the acidity in the baby's esophagus. Upper GI series;; In this case a series of X-rays called upper gastrointestinal [GI] series are performed to rule out the problem or obstruction in the gastrointestinal tract.

The baby is given to drink a white chalky liquid called barium that provides a clear picture of the X-rays of any problem area by creating a coat around the stomach.

Upper endoscopy;; To rule out or detect the problem in the esophagus as inflammation [esophagitis] or narrowing [stricture] a special tube is inserted by the doctors through the baby's mouth to reach the small intestine via esophagus and the stomach. The tube is also attached with a camera and light. Any sample to be tested is also taken with the help of this procedure. Upper endoscopy is done under general anesthesia for the baby.

Acid Reflux Disease and Esophageal Cancer

This fluid is mostly acid with some pepsin and bile. All the above contents of the fluid are dangerous to the sensitive esophageal tissues of which acids are most harmful. The fluids, which are refluxed can inflame and damage the lining of esophagus. If this condition become severe and allowed to persist it may lead to Barrett's Esophagus, which is a starting stage of esophageal cancer.

More than 15 million people of America face the problem of acid reflux daily. This can occur to any age of people. In each year 13,000 people are detected withesophageal cancer. A minimum of 12,000 people dies of it and survival rate is very less. The main cause for developing a Barrett's Esophagus is acid reflux problem and can become an esophageal cancer in due course.

When chronic acid reflux or esophagi is not controlled properly it can develop a Barrett's esophagus. Through continuous inflammation and damage of the normal cells in the esophagus may turn to a specialized columnar cell which are not present in human beings and can cause cancer.

This is more occurred in people above forty years who have regular attacks of heartburn for more than five years. The most known symptoms are difficulty in swallowing and being awakened in the night by the pain of heartburn. Certain people may not have any symptoms at all.

On constant attack of acid can develop scar tissues at the soft lining of the esophagus. These tissues may become thicker and hard making the esophagus narrower. Due to this it becomes difficult to swallow food or even water.

I strongly believe in natural curing methods than conventional medicines. I go to a doctor only for a diagnostic purpose. After that instead taking harmful medicine and painful procedures I try to cure the condition by following my own methods. I have found that MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) has the power to soften the scar tissues and make it permeable and flexible. So by taking MSM regularly one can surely avoid the severity of the problem with the chronic acid reflux.

Customers have chosen MSM as the greatest natural healing agent after vitamin C. It is having the power to reduce pain and swelling. At present it is used for the treatment of many diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis and gout. It is also used for treating snoring and constipation.

MSM is also proved to be successful on horses and dogs to control inflammation due to allergies. I also use MSM to on my twelve-year-old Jack Russell Terrier, Jackpot for treating the summer allergies. It has a magical power. One gram of MSM in a little cheese twice daily has reduced his itching and running eyes, which are caused due to air born allergies.

For free recipes, articles and important information pertaining to acid reflux, please visit: Reflux Gone Forever

Free Of Acid Reflux in 3 steps

The Prescription drugs are highly expensive, have many Side Effects and are not able to cure the problem of acid reflux. They are only for treating the symptoms. There are a number of natural remedies and solution available for the treatment of acid reflux and its complications. Natural remedies have no side effects as well as they cure the problem. They are much cheaper too.
Mostly doctors are unaware of the natural medicines. During their training in medical colleges they receive no exposure to natural healing techniques. It is common knowledge that most doctors are on the pay roll of the pharmaceutical companies by prescribing their medicines. In fact the medical companies are the major opponents to natural medicine as they will be the losers then.

If you decide to treat yourself by natural means, then better to treat your own unless you have a holistic practitioner. Fortunately Internet is a lot of help as there is plenty of information available on it. Our job is to identify the best things from the bad ones - that is to become an investigator to find out what is best for each of us individually. At least we have the freedom to do so now.

The main cause for acid reflux is improper eating habits. It can be what we eat, how we eat and where we eat. Most likely a person suffering from acid reflux may have a damaged esophagus. It is very much necessary to heal the esophagus in order to stop the acid reflux cycle. There are a variety of natural products available at health stores and can be located through the Internet. Given below are some simple steps that can be followed to become free off acid reflux.

1. Avoid Triggers. Every one knows that certain foods cause them acid reflux. Each person reacts in a different way to the same food. Most people find that acidic foods like tomato sauce, coffee, red wine, chocolate, fried and spicy foods etc, can cause them acid reflux and avoiding these foods can relieve them of the problems of acid reflux.

Foods of Highly refined carbohydrates and sugars also enhance the condition. Try to avoid fast food as much as possible. It is a healthier approach to have meals of fruits like bananas and apples or soups than greasy, fat filled foods like burger and fries. Fast food places will provide you only indigestion. Along with the fast food, consuming big bottles of carbonated soda will surely bring you heartburn. It is better to not have any fluids with meals, as it will dilute the acids required for the proper digestion. Carbonation still makes it worst.

2. Another major cause for acid reflux is taking food under a stressful environment or condition. Never eat food while reading the newspaper or watching TV. The slightest bit of unpleasant condition in our subliminal level can cause stress in us and indigestion thereby. I have observed that yoga and meditation are good means to reduce stress that we are accumulating in our daily life. Just try it.

Did you ever notice the symptoms of heartburn when you mixed eating with some arguments? It is also to known that one should never eat while in a negative mood. This will surely flare up acid reflux.

Stress on Acid Reflux

When stressed, the digestive system may stop functioning properly. Food, which would have digested properly in other situations, may become a cause for acid reflux condition in this situation. Then low level of blood and energy will be passed on to the stomach and this reduces the digestive process. This may result in the food to remain undigested and to remain for a long time in the stomach, thus causing an increase in stomach acids, which may go to the esophagus and result an acid reflux. 

Drinking of alcohol and smoking will trigger the signs of acid reflux. These comfort foods build large amount of acids in the stomach and it will cause relaxing of the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES). Physical reason for the acid reflux is the relaxing of the LES. When these round muscles gets relaxed, too much fluids, which contain the stomach acids splash up from stomach to the tender esophagus result in a hurtful feeling of heartburn.

Stress increase the blood circulation to the heart, and the body tends to supply its most of the energy to the other parts of the body. When the stomach acidity increases it will swallow the oxygen and enzymes, which is essential for the digestion of food.

Half of the patients of heartburn are suffering from stress. We need to get rid of the unhappy situations in the office and home. By solving the conflicts in family and with friends, you can reduce the stress levels. It will help to return the joy of life.

If you are affected by acid reflux then stress will affect harmfully on your acid reflux. If you are affected by occasional spurts of acid reflux due to stress you can refer to these points given below.

. When too much workload is there, it is going to increase your stress. So plan to do things in order, one job at time and say no to additional jobs even if you are under pressure to do the additional work. Thus we can make ourselves easy in our life and reduce the stress in our life, take it as the vision of life.

. Loose of concentration of mind will cause stress. So don't try to concentrate on yourself. Concentrate on one thing which is less demanding and this will reduce the level of stress on you. A positive approach to the life will encourage you and your works. Meditation, Tai chi, yoga, chi gong and self-hypnotism are some of the great steps to gain relief from stress.

. Everyone thinks about exercise only as a method for physical fitness, but it also plays a vital role in keeping your mental health also. Exercise will reduce the stress even when you are facing a big challenging problem like winning a tennis match. When exercising the endorphins produced in the brain make a good feeling, which can reduce your stress at once. Make exercise a fun event even when you are playing ball with your mates or jogging with your dog.

Acid Reflux and looking younger

Many people suffer from the effects of acid reflux daily to some extend or even more. Unfortunately the constant effect of this condition on the body can lead to a premature aging or not looking younger.
The reflux of stomach acid during night can disturb the sleeping. Every body knows that sleep is the main thing that affects the aging process. If you don't get enough sleep you may face chronic fatigue. This will ultimately drag you down and create a feeling of looking older than you should. This may even shorten your life span. Many people just don't know that they have this problem.

Acid reflux or GERD (gastro esophageal reflux disease) occurs when the Lower esophageal sphincter relaxes allowing gases and fluids from the stomach to reach the esophagus. The LES is a ringed muscle at the bottom of the esophagus. This muscle open and allows the food to enter the stomach and then closes so as to avoid the digestive fluids entering the esophagus. There when these muscles are weakened or damaged the contents of the stomach can escape into the esophagus thus causing acid reflux.

From medical field you might have believed that only drugs are answer to this problem of GERD. Really it is not the case. Even though Antacids are best for temporary relief but contains harmful ingredients such as sodium and aluminum. PPI drugs (proton pump inhibitors) like Nexium and Prilosec can't be used more than eight weeks continuously. Ii is written on the package too. What people will do after this period? It is also a fact that these drugs only hide the symptoms and also have number of side effects.

The cause for an acid reflux condition can be a poor eating habit or can be due to aging. All of us know that certain foods are triggering indigestion. Foods like tomato sauce, raw garlic, onion, chocolate, coffee and alcohol are such triggers. The ingestion these foods can make you acidic and cause acid reflux. Still we can't avoid one or more of these items on a daily basis. Other than avoiding such "trigger" foods from our diets, we can use many natural herbs and supplements that can be helpful in avoiding this problem.  Apple Cider Vinegars one such supplement.

Another cause of chronic indigestion can be lack of hydrochloric acid. Some people produce less quantity of stomach acids, as they grew older. Other than digestion hydrochloric acid is required to keep harmful bacteria that can be found in the digestive track. If this defense is not there, it can cause infection, which will further worsen the condition. This particular condition can be overcome with hydrochloric acid supplements, or by ingesting small amounts of apple cider vinegar. Even though these conditions are different in nature, both can cause acid reflux and premature aging.

Other factors that are to be considered in handling this condition are:

* Stop smoking (smoking results in an acidic body)
* Reducing the weight
* Eat in smaller quantity throughout the day
* Chewing the food properly and eating slowly
* Eating at least 3 hours before going to bed

There are many slight changes that can be made in the lifestyle by which the threat of acid reflux condition can be avoided. By eliminating the unnecessary and harmful strain on the body, a more healthy life can be attained. A good quality sleep can increase the chances of retaining your life force that is living longer in youthful condition and combat premature aging.

Relationship between acid reflux and the nature of the sufferer

The common perception is that men suffer from stress more. But women are part of this personality group as well. The characteristics of this type of people are high competitive urge, workaholic nature, lack of patience, and hostile and picky behavior. They are practically unable to relax. These people tend to be very strict and obsessed about punctuality. Men and women of this type would go overboard if some one runs a bit late on any scheduled appointment.

One of the main reasons for this heightened stress level is the workload. If these people find it hard to attain any of their goals, or to retain their image they will go ballistic as hormones like cortisol and adrenaline are produced. As a result the heart rate and breathing rate increases significantly and the digestive system will stop working.

As a result of the stress they suffer, this type of people are victims of heart disease, high blood pressure, acid reflux etc As the amount of hormones in the system increases with stress this could affect the body adversely. A lot of energy is consumed in the actual digestive process. If the body assumes that an emergency is on the way, then the body will try to save this energy by stopping the working of digestive system. As the stomach is going to work with a low supply of oxygen, proper digestion will not happen. Production of acids increases in the stomach resulting in acid reflux.

Type A people try to relieve their stress by indulging in habits like drinking alcohol or coffee, and smoking. They indulge in over eating or eating junk food, either one of which brings too much fat in to the system and hence results in indigestion.

It is impossible to change the nature of your personality and as such, the only thing you can do is learn to manage your stress so that the resultant problems can be kept to a minimum. Practicing relaxation techniques would be a good move.

The following steps could be helpful for any one who suffers from acute acid reflux either because of their personality type or occasional acid reflux because of stress:

- Peace of mind can be attained through regular exercise. Exercise is an integral part of your good health. In addition to the better physical conditioning gained, exercises can help in reducing your stress levels. When you are totally involved in the exercise you are involved in you tend to forget matters, which cause stress. Further more, while exercising, endorphins are created in your brain, which will give you a great feeling in a similar way as recreational drugs do. You will be able to continue with exercising only if you make it an interesting activity.

- Do not let stress control you. If you handle too many things that is going to make it impossible for you to handle well. You need to relax and do one thing at a time. If you are being given too many responsibilities to be handled, you need to say no to the extra ones. Let your body strain only as much as it can as per the right priorities.

- Do not pay too much attention on yourself. Forgetting about your personal worries and problems is some times a good thing. Methods like Tai Chi,Meditation, Chi Gong, Hatha Yoga, self-hypnotism etc can be used for this purpose. When you are involved in activities of this nature that will reduce your stress. Forgetting about your personal problems can be real boon at this juncture as this would help in enhancing your life.

- Let it go. Controlling all aspects of your life is an impossible task. You may find your travel plans getting postponed or canceled. Mamma nature may play spoilsport some times. You may have annoying and unexpected guests showing up in your house. Unforeseen expenses may popup. You have to take it all in the stride. Try to find the good part of any good situation and never let the bad situation take control of you.

- Be positive. If you are optimistic in your outlook, that is going to bring great things in to your life. Give stress on the good part of any situation and try to ignore the bad part. If you hope for the best, you are going to get it. Never worry about the past or the future; live in the present moment and then make the maximum use of it. Be thankful for what you have in your hand and stay positive and this will lower your stress by a lot.

How to get rid of "Acid Reflux Rebound"

Many people who suffer from acid reflux problem really wish to get off the proton pump inhibitor drugs (PPI drugs). This group of medicines on long run reduces the production of gastric acids. Such medicines include Prevacid, Prilosec, Nexium and Protonix.

These medicines are easy to use and effective at the initial stages, but the side effects outweigh the benefits. Once you start using them, it is not easy to stop also.

These PPI drugs are supposed to be used for a definite period of time, however many people continue to use it on a regular basis. Even the physicians abuse the medicines. So far no studies are done to understand the effect on long-term use of these medicines. Really people should question about the long-term use of these medicines.

We all are aware of the fact that a reduction in stomach acid will result in improper digestion and assimilation of the food we eat. Chronic users of these drugs are sure to have malnutrition. It is also important to know that presence of stomach acids keep the intestinal bacteria under control. Ultimately it will lead to an acid reflux hell.

When one stop these medicines then the acid pump will start again with a vengeance and produce more acids than ever before. This condition is called as "acid reflux rebound". This is such a frustrating and terrible experience that most people soon gets back on the drugs. This "catch 22" is a golden opportunity for pharmaceutical companies, and they make billions of dollars as profit every year.

It is really horrible to be in such a situation. You know you want to stop these drugs. But you are asked to double the dose. When you make an effort to stop it, it backfires on you. Your throat will burn like as if on a fire and your doctor will insist you to continue the drugs, otherwise you may develop esophageal cancer. Wouldn't you be frightened?

There is good news! There are non- pharmaceutical means that can help you in surviving the "acid reflux rebound" and get yourself in to the right track.

At this stage the esophagus is likely to be damaged. One can't imagine recovering unless the esophagus is cured. To heal the esophagus certain things are to be considered. First and the most important thing to change is the diet. By now every one must be aware of the food and drinks that trigger their acid reflux. Use mild and easy to digest food in place of that.

You can have salads in place of pizza with acidic tomato sauce. Instead of a cup of coffee in the morning you can have a cup of tea. Have white wine instead of red wine at dinner. These are all just based on common sense, but are very important during the recovery period.

In order get rid of acid reflux syndrome, it is required to become alkaline in nature. There for any things that have acidic effect on the body should be avoided. Smoking needs to be avoided as it is very much acidic in nature. Eating too much food at a time is not good as it causes over production of stomach acids. Aerobic exercises are best to make body alkaline.

Drinking sufficient quantity of fresh water can help in flushing out the acidic toxins, which are accumulated in our body. A properly hydrated body can never be acidic in nature. A glass of water after food is good but drinking too much in between the food will have a negative effect. This will dilute the acids required for proper digestion and cause the stomach to produce more acid.

I don't know whether you believe this, chewing gum between meals is very beneficial. Chewing will increase the production of more saliva, which is alkaline in nature. Chewing gum after meal puts more alkalinity in the stomach which will counteract on the over production of acids.

Acid Reflux Chest Pain – You Are Not Having a Heart Attack!

Acid reflux chest pain is enough to have anyone running to a medical professional declaring their worry of having a heart attack. Stop! You may not be having a heart attack; you could just be experiencing a rather nasty does of heartburn or acid reflux!

Chest pain is just one of the symptoms of acid reflux or heartburn and it can appear in a number of different forms. You may find the pain fiery or burning, stabbing, a dull ache and many more. Sometimes this is dependant on the type of acid reflux or the severity of the condition and sometimes it can actually be caused by different foods that may be triggering the reflux itself.

Click here to discover how you can get rid of your acid reflux naturally.

The acid reflux chest pain is actually caused by the acid that has somehow managed to escape from the stomach. Again, this can be caused by many things but one of the most popular reasons is the weakening of the LES valve, which is designed to prevent the acid from escaping in the first place.

Once this has been weakened, by poor diet, excessive smoking and drinking and other such factors, the acid easily finds its way out of the stomach and into the oesophagus, which is the tube that runs from your stomach to your throat and mouth.

This oesophagus, when the acid has reached it, reacts in such a way as to cause the acid reflux chest pain and this is very often confused with the first symptoms of a heart attack, especially if you have never felt the pain before.

First time sufferers of heartburn can be quite shocked at exactly how painful the condition is and it is something that can be fairly impossible to describe to the doctor or other medical professional in order to get the correct treatment.

Treatment of the acid reflux chest pain is mostly centered on short term use for the first part, with medicated treatments used to calm down the initial pain and more larger lifestyle changes used after or during this to ensure that the risks of it happening again are minimal if at all.

These changes could include looking at the diet and exercise that the patient currently has and then changing these for the better as well as other things such as cutting down or stopping drinking alcohol and smoking.

There are a number of different ways in which acid reflux chest pain can be eliminated along with the condition itself and as long as these changes are done in a safe manner, the patient could find that they are no longer experiencing those tell tale signs commonly associated with this condition.