If acid reflux has plagued you, you probably want some answers. The information contained here can provide you with some thought provoking ideas to help. Read on to learn how to accomplish this.
Your acid reflux symptoms worsen whenever you eat a lot. Most people eat too much, too quickly. Eating too much or too fast can make your acid reflux symptoms worse. Don’t eat excessively. Stop when you are no longer hungry. In addition, you should eat slower. Take the time to enjoy your food and stop when you are full.
Hot and spicy foods and seasonings can exacerbate reflux, so avoiding them can provide relief. These foods increase the acids in your digestive system. You can find relief by minimizing your intake of these food items.
Acid Reflux
Some foods tend to trigger the effects of acid reflux. These foods include alcohol, caffeine, fried foods and chocolate. Acidic items like citrus fruit and tomatoes also exacerbate acid reflux. Acid reflux triggers and symptoms vary with each individual, so you must be vigilant in keeping track of your triggers. Just avoid all these foods to be safe.
After eating, try chewing on some cinnamon gum. Your salivary glands make more saliva when you chew. The saliva will help neutralize stomach acid. Also, when chewing gum, more swallowing occurs, making acid go back down from the stomach to the esophagus. Fruit-flavored gum will accomplish this too. Mint gym may make your esophagus relax, which isn’t good.
Raise the top part of your bed. You can use bricks, wood or even bed raisers to accomplish this. You want the head to be six inches higher than the foot of the bed. By elevating your chest and head, you prevent stomach acid from traveling upward to your esophagus.
Consume more water if you want to help your acid reflux symptoms. Increase your intake of water. Water will help you stay hydrated. It will also help ensure your food digests properly. Helping your food digest with water will decrease the acid production that occurs in the stomach.
Trigger foods need to be avoided. You should avoid these types of foods to prevent bouts of acid reflux. This list includes spicy foods, tomatoes, carbonated beverages, alcohol, acidic juices, fatty food, coffee, and even milk.
Try a slippery elm lozenge. This lozenge can provide a shield and extra liner to your digestive tract. This lozenge also works to prevent the cough that acid reflux can cause. You can find them at most health food stores.
You need to relax. Eating when stressed out can actually increase heartburn. When you finish a meal, try some relaxing exercise like deep breathing or meditation. Don’t lay down after you’ve eaten. Remain upright.
If acid reflux is giving you grief, you may benefit from moderate physical activity. Exercises that are low impact, such as water aerobics and walking, are great ways to help with acid reflux. When the body is upright, gravity helps to keep food in the stomach where it should be.
Don’t self-diagnose your acid reflux. If you are having symptoms associated with it, like cramps and regurgitation, you should go see the doctor. Other, more serious, conditions share the same symptoms. Your physician can give you some tests to determine whether you have acid reflux.
Stomach Acid
Cinnamon gum can greatly help with acid reflux. Chewing increases saliva, which in turn starts neutralizing stomach acid. You also swallow more frequently when you chew gum. This helps push the stomach acid back into the stomach where it belongs.
Eat at least three hours ahead of bedtime. Thus, if you plan to retire at 10:00, have your dinner by 7:00. Laying down puts pressure on your abdominal muscles and stomach, and it is best that your food is fully digested. This will cause your acid reflux to worsen.
Drink fewer beverages during your meals. You increase the load your stomach is taking when you fill it with fluids on top of food. Acid reflux can be triggered by the pressure it causes in the stomach. Regulate the amount you drink during a meal, and fill up your glass at other times throughout the day.
Acid reflux is often triggered by foods containing gluten. To see if gluten is triggering your acid reflux, avoid foods containing wheat, oats and barley. But, your body does need fiber, so millet and quinoa are good alternatives that do not cause acid reflux.
Reach a healthy weight. Your extra weight might be putting too much pressure on your stomach. Unneeded pressure is applied to the stomach, creating heartburn and reflux. Just losing a few pounds will help.
Visit your doctor if you see that your vomit is filled with blood. This could be a serious problem, and you will need further medical testing. Ruling out more serious problems is important.
If you have nightly heartburn, try considering how you sleep. Instead of laying on your right side, it is best to snooze on the left. This will help the stomach acids stay where they should be.
Do not eat within a few hours of going to sleep. Digestion occurs as soon as you eat. When acids are produced, you may feel inflammation in your stomach. If you don’t eat for several hours prior to going to sleep, you can cut down on the amount of stomach acid you have when you finally do lay down.
Get control of your stress levels to reduce acid reflux. Stress not only causes acid production increases, it can cause you to engage in hurtful behaviors, such as drinking or smoking. Therefore, by reducing your stress, you are indirectly improving your acid reflux.
With the information presented here you will surely be able to address your acid reflux problems successfully. Don’t suffer needlessly. You can get rid of it and have an enjoyable life.