Acid Reflux – lifestyle Changes Can Help Cure GERD

It is natural to get heartburn occasionally. It can be somehow unpleasant, but usually it's nothing to worry about. However, if you get it regularly, it might be caused by acid reflux disease.

Acid reflux is known as Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, or GERD. It is a state of chronic abnormal reflux of stomach acid into the esophagus. It is caused by the dysfunction of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). This sphincter is located at the opening of the stomach and it is a small ring of muscle. When it is not closed as tight as it should be, acid from the stomach will leak into the esophagus, causing this burning sensation. With time, it can corrode the lining of the esophagus causing ulcer and increasing the likelihood of esophageal cancer.

Watch out for the following symptoms because it means that you might have GERD:

-Persistent and frequent heartburn - This is the most obvious symptom, as well as the most common. Usually acid reflux sufferers experience heartburn several times a month. Oddly enough, some do not have heartburn at all.

-Acid Regurgitation - It is often reported that there is regurgitation of acid into the back of the throat, and sometimes all the way into the mouth for people with GERD. It might be accompanied by food from the stomach but not all the time.

-Persistent cough - Some sufferers develop a dry cough. When certain nerves in the lower esophagus are stimulated by the stomach acid it usually causes dry cough. But it can also be caused by acid irritating the throat.

-Choking sensation - It feels like a piece of food is stuck in the throat while in fact there is none.

-Croakiness or wheezing - When damage is done to the throat or esophagus, it will cause this sensation. It occurs usually in the morning. Besides, GERD can aggravate existing asthma.

Acid Reflux Treatment

You should definitely talk to your doctor if you have some of the symptoms above. If you are diagnosed with GERD, your doctor can prescribe some medications known as proton inhibitors. You can also try herbal remedies that can help in many cases. Surely enough, some lifestyle changes can provide relief without resorting to any medication. These include:

-Stop alcohol and tobacco consumption - They can make the symptoms of acid reflux worse. More acid is actually produced by the stomach when alcohol is consumed and the LES gets relaxed so more acid leaks. Smoking has the same effects; in addition, it causes saliva reduction, which provides a natural defense against refluxed acid.

-Weight loss is a must - Excess weight can make GERD worse because it increases pressure on the abdomen.

-Know what food to avoid - Stay away from fried and fatty foods, citrus fruits, tomatoes, chocolate, and spicy foods. Get into the habit of eating smaller meals to reduce abdominal pressure.

-Raise the head of your bed - When you're laying flat, acid escapes the stomach. That's why you might feel heartburn at night more than any other time. Sleeping slightly inclined can help. Also don't eat and sleep immediately.

It can be painful to have acid reflux but it can be cured with minor lifestyle changes and some medications.

Acid Reflux - Food That You Can Eat

Acid reflux, like any other dietary disease, has no simple and easy cure. Moderation is usually the best remedy for dietary diseases or disorders. Perhaps it would be good to shed some light on occurrence of acid reflux within the body. Acid reflux or heartburn in layman's terms happens when the stomach content in the body is too acidic and is subsequently sent back the reversed way to the esophagus.

The walls of the esophagus are designed to withstand neutral content and will cause pain and inflammation when acidic content is in contact with it. It can be liken to swallowing corrosive acid.

There is no hard and fast rule on what one should eat or not to avoid or cure acid reflux in the body. The occurrence of acid reflux tends to vary from person to person. For example, person A may feel experience acid reflux in the body after consuming read meat while person B may be fine with it. Before we start prescribing a rough remedy for ourselves, it would be best to understand the malady. Therefore, we should try our best to understand our body and what foods which cause it to happen in our bodies.

However, there are a few foods which are generally fine to be eaten to avoid acid reflux based on their content and low acidity levels. Fruits and vegetables are always a good bet for the body but no citrus fruits here as they are acidic.

Some good fruits are such as pineapple, banana and apples because they absorb acids whereas some good vegetables are such as cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage as they are alkaline in nature. These are acid reflux food to eat in order not to worsen your acid level.

Red meat is a big no but a healthy balance of meats, fish and grains is welcomed to improve digestion and avoid reverse flow of food content in the body. As a last example, please stay away from dairy products which triggers the stomach to release acids but low fat yogurt is fine.