Natural Remedies To Calm Heartburn At Home
03 September, 2018
Have you ever wondered how you can calm heartburn at home? This condition is also called acid reflux or gastroesophageal reflux.
Heartburn, or acidity in the stomach, occurs when acid from the stomach flows backward into the esophagus. This causes a very uncomfortable burning sensation in the chest that can rise up to your neck and throat. You may also have a bitter or sour taste in the back of your throat.
Heartburn can last from a few minutes to several hours, and often is worse right after eating.
Having stomach acid occasionally is common, and it can be relievedwith natural remedies.
Should I Be Worried About My Dry Cough
Its normal to cough when something tickles your throat or a piece of food goes down the wrong pipe. After all, coughing is your bodys way of clearing your throat and airways of mucus, fluids, irritants, or microbes. A dry cough, a cough that doesnt help to expel any of these, is less common.
A dry, hacking cough can be irritating. But it could also be a sign of something more serious, such as chronic lung disease. If youve got a persistent dry cough, here are a few reasons why you should get it checked out by a doctor.
Avoid Tight Fitting Clothes
Things cinched tightly about your waist or middle can worsen heartburn. If you have super tight jeans on, when you sit down, the waistband is going to sink into your abdomen region. Same goes for tight belts-and even shirts can be a problem for some. This is because all of the above puts extra pressure on your lower esophageal sphincter, which make it more likely stomach contents, will push through and youll experience reflux.
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Fight Heartburn With Healthy Food
Add the right foods to your diet. They could really help with your heartburn. But there are limits to what they can do.
Remember that good foods can’t counteract the effects of trigger foods. “Eating a little ginger won’t stop you from getting heartburn after a big dinner of a fatty steak, a salad with tomatoes, a couple of glasses of wine, and a coffee,” Kuemmerle says.
And while eating a low-acid diet is a good strategy, it may not be enough on its own. For some people it’s not so much the acids in the stomach, but the reflux of other stuff in gastric juices — like bile — that trigger heartburn, he says.
“The specific causes of heartburn vary a lot from person to person,” Kuemmerle says. “That’s why treatment always needs a personalized approach.”
How To Get Rid Of Heartburn
June 27, 2018 By Sara
Here you finish your meal, and there you get that burning pain in your chest. This is the dreadful feeling of heartburn truly justifying its name. You feel as if your heart is burning along with that very painful feeling just behind your breastbone. And if you think you can get some relief by lying down or bending over, you are just making it worse.
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When To Visit Your Doctor
Some people find relief on their own, without needing to see a doctor. If you experience symptoms of acid reflux two or more times per week, however, you may want to consider scheduling an appointment as this can indicate gastroesophageal reflux disease. Your doctor may refer you to a gastroenterologist, who can perform tests such as:
- Barium X-rays: You drink a barium solution and then your doctor takes X-rays of your upper digestive tract
- Endoscopy: Your doctor inserts a camera into your esophagus to examine the tissue and take a small biopsy if necessary
- Biopsy: Your doctor takes a small sample of tissue from your esophagus to examine under a microscope
- Monitoring your pH levels: Your doctor monitors the acidity of your stomach
Seeking treatment for chronic acid reflux is important. Untreated, gastroesophageal reflux disease can lead to cancer of your esophagus. Other complications of untreated gastroesophageal reflux include:
- Inflammation in your esophagus
- Permanent changes to the lining of your esophagus
- Chronic cough or breathing issues such as asthma
- Dental issues such as enamel erosion, cavities, and gum disease
Symptoms of acid reflux can also mimic symptoms of other serious conditions, such as:
When Can I Expect Heartburn To End
Someday, scientists may very well invent a miracle medication that promises permanent pregnancy heartburn relief. Unfortunately, that hasnt happened yet.
So, if youre wondering how long you can expect to deal with heartburn while youre pregnant, it will probably be throughout your entire pregnancy.
However, just because theres no cure, that doesnt mean you cant find some relief in the meantime.
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Ways To Reduce Your Reflux Risk
A Harvard research team recently reported that many people could avoid this misery by adhering to an anti-reflux lifestyle. The researchers analyzed periodic health surveys over 12 years from more than 40,000 nurses and identified five lifestyle characteristics that helped keep acid reflux at bay.
The more of these behaviors the nurses adhered to, the lower their risk of developing GERD, the popular acronym for gastroesophageal reflux disease, the most persistent and potentially serious form of acid reflux. Following all five behaviors reduced the overall risk of developing GERD symptoms by 37 percent.
What To Eat When You Have Gas Bloating Or Heartburn
When every bite of food might send your tummy into intense digestive turmoil, choosing what to eat can be a stressful event. Stress increases your chances of heartburn and indigestion, so you can get caught in a vicious cycle!
Whether youre suffering from gas, bloating, or heartburn, one things for sure: your gut in is need of some serious TLC
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Worst Foods For Reflux
In general, anything that is fatty, acidic or highly caffeinated should be avoided. The worst foods for acid reflux list includes:
- Coffee and tea Caffeinated beverages aggravate acid reflux. Opt for teas without caffeine.
- Carbonated beverages The bubbles expand in your stomach, creating more pressure and pain. Choose plain water or decaf iced tea.
- Chocolate This treat has a trifecta of acid reflux problems: caffeine, fat and cocoa.
- Peppermint Dont be fooled by its reputation for soothing the tummy peppermint is an acid reflux trigger.
- Grapefruit and orange The high acidity of citrus fruits relaxes the esophagus sphincter and worsens symptoms.
- Tomatoes Also avoid marinara sauce, ketchup and tomato soup theyre all naturally high in acid.
- Alcohol This has a double whammy effect. Alcohol relaxes the sphincter valve but it also stimulates acid production in the stomach.
- Fried foods These are some of the worst foods for reflux. Skip the french fries, onion rings and fried chicken cook on the grill or in the oven at home.
- Late-night snacks Avoid eating anything in the two hours before you go to bed. Also, you can try eating four to five smaller meals throughout the day instead of two to three large meals.
Consuming Lean Proteins Instead Of Fatty Ones Might Help You To Avoid Triggering Heartburn
A common dietary trigger of heartburn is consuming excess fat, which can be found in fried foods or certain meats like beef or lamb. Opting for leaner protein sources can potentially help to prevent acid reflux.
“Choose lean sources of protein like grilled chicken or turkey, egg whites, and even beans or legumes. These protein sources are lower in acid than red meat with very little fat,” registered dietitian Katie Hughes told INSIDER.
You may also want to bake or broil proteins instead of frying them if you’re trying to avoid triggering acid reflux, as frying foods can increase the fat content of a dish.
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Baking Soda Remedy For Heartburn
Sodium bicarbonate or the very common baking soda lying on your kitchen shelf can relieve heartburn in a matter of few minutes by balancing the pH level of your stomach. Baking soda with a pH higher than 7 can effectively neutralize your stomach acid. When your stomach acid will not remain acidic, you wont get the burning sensation, even if it travels up to your lower oesophagal sphincter.
Get this:
- Baking soda- 1/2 to 1 tsp
- Water- 1/2 to 1 glass
Do this:
- Add the baking soda to the glass of water.
- Mix and drink this.
- Do this whenever you feel acid coming up into your throat. However, do not consume more than 3 tsp of baking soda in a day.
Do this for a week only and if your heartburn still persists, either use some other remedy or consult your doctor. Prolonged use of baking soda is not desirable for your body.
Eat Bananas To Get Rid Of Heartburn
Bananas can be categorized as natural antacids as they lessen the effect of your acid reflux. This is enough a reason to have the tasty banana for getting relief from heartburn. High on potassium which is an alkalizing mineral with a pH of 14, banana helps in moderating the acidity of your stomach by increasing its pH. Higher the pH, lower is the acidity. However, you need to eat a ripe, preferably overripe banana because the bananas that are green or are not overripe contain potassium in the form of potassium nitrate and this can actually make your heartburn more painful. Potassium is not the only reason for bananas being such a good remedy for heartburn. Bananas also have such a chemical that stimulates your stomach lining and thus it produces more mucus to act as a buffer against acid.
Get this:
- Overripe banana
Do this:
- This will keep your heartburn away.
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What Foods Help Acid Reflux Go Away
- ENT Institute
It burns!
What foods help acid reflux go away? Acid reflux is one of the most irritating feelings that we deal with. It not only feels like our insides have been set aflame, but theres generally chest pain that comes with it. Other symptoms include burping, hiccups, nausea, and sore throat to name a few. Generally it shows up at the worst times too for example, during a business meeting that could make or break your chances of promotion, or better yet, on a date with someone you greatly admire and hope to continue a relationship with.
To make matters worse, its really gross when you think about what acid reflux really means. WebMD describes it like this: acid produced by your stomach can move up into your esophagus. This can cause symptoms such as a burning chest discomfortheartburn. If acid reflux symptoms happen more than twice a week, you may have acid reflux disease, also known as gastroesophageal reflux disease . . To think that stuff from your stomach is coming up the esophagus into your throat is not fun to wonder about.
And if that wasnt enough, acid reflux and GERD are known to be a cause of esophageal cancer a deadly cancer that is on the rise. According to the Mayo Clinic, Esophageal cancer is the sixth most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide. . Using that same source, here are symptoms of esophageal cancer:
- Hard time swallowing
- Chest pain and burning sensations
- Coughing and hoarseness
- Unexplained weight loss
Why Does Heartburn Occur After Eating
When you swallow food, it passes down your throat and through your esophagus en route to your stomach. The action of swallowing causes the muscle that controls the opening between your esophagus and stomach, known as the esophageal sphincter, to open, allowing food and liquid to move into your stomach. Otherwise, the muscle remains tightly closed.
If this muscle fails to close properly after you swallow, the acidic contents of your stomach may travel back up into your esophagus. This is called reflux. Sometimes, the stomach acid reaches the lower part of the esophagus, resulting in heartburn.
Eating is a necessity, but getting heartburn doesnt have to be an inevitable result. There are steps you can take to soothe the feeling of heartburn after a meal. Try the following home remedies to relieve your symptoms.
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How What And When
Watch how you eat: Dont inhale giant mouthfuls of food. Take smaller bites and eat slowly, allowing your stomach time to digest and without giving it an excuse to pump out excess acid.
Watch what you eat: Youre probably aware that specific foods trigger heartburn, usually foods high in acid or spicy foods. Avoid these as best you can to ward off
Watch when you eat: Dont eat within 3-4 hours before bed. Lying down puts more pressure on your LES and increases the likelihood of acid sneaking through.
When To See A Doctor
A persistent dry cough can be a sign of something more serious when you start experiencing other symptoms. Chronic lung diseases like IPF, lung cancer, and heart failure can worsen quickly if left untreated. You should see a doctor right away if your dry cough is accompanied by the following symptoms:
- shortness of breath
- night sweats
- worsening leg swelling
Often, its the combination of one or more of these symptoms along with dry cough that can be alarming, say experts, but its important not to jump to conclusions until a full workup has been done.
A persistent dry cough is one common symptom of IPF. There are usually other symptoms of IPF as well, such as shortness of breath and a Velcro-like crackle in the lungs a doctor can hear through a stethoscope, says Dr. Steven Nathan, medical director of the Advanced Lung Disease and Transplant Program at Inova Fairfax Hospital.
However, physicians generally try to rule out more common conditions causing a cough, such as postnasal drip, GERD, or a hyperactive airway. Once a physician determines a more common condition isnt the issue and patients arent responding to therapies, then a physician focuses on more uncommon diagnoses, such as IPF.
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What The Research Says
No diet has been proven to prevent GERD. However, certain foods may ease symptoms in some people.
Research shows that increased fiber intake, specifically in the form of fruits and vegetables, may protect against GERD. But scientists arent yet certain how fiber prevents GERD symptoms.
Increasing your dietary fiber is generally a good idea. In addition to helping with GERD symptoms, fiber also reduces the risk of:
- uncontrolled blood sugar
- hemorrhoids and other bowel problems
Talk to your doctor if you have questions about whether certain foods should be a part of your diet. Foods that help improve acid reflux for one person may be problematic for someone else.
Working with your doctor can help you develop a diet to control or lessen your symptoms.
What Are You Going To Do To Cure Your Heartburn
Are you simply going to treat the heartburn with short-term remedies or are you going to attack the real underlying problem that is driving your symptoms? I suspect that the larger long-term recommendations are a bit intimidating and you are not sure if you can make that type of commitment. You are not alone.
Here is an approach that may help you ease into building your path to relief and good health:
We know you can do this because so many others before you have succeeded. Dont delay, this is your disease and its your quality of life that is at risk. You can do this!
This article is from Reflux MD
Medical Resources Used for This Article
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What Aggravates Acid Reflux
Acid reflux occurs when the sphincter at the base of the esophagus isnt working well, allowing fluid from the stomach to enter the esophagus. The worst foods for reflux can worsen painful symptoms, while other foods can soothe them, says UH gastrointestinal surgeon Leena Khaitan, MD
Diet changes can significantly affect acid reflux and allow you to avoid other treatments, Dr. Khaitan says.
Foods That Ease Heartburn
Bananas are a great way to stave off acid reflux.
The first time you experience heartburn it can be terrifying if youre not sure whats going on. A sudden, shooting pain right through your chest? No, thanks. But once you understand what heartburn is and what makes it happen, you can take steps to prevent it from happening again. There are plenty of foods out there that not only prevent heartburn from happening in the first place they can help stop heartburn dead in its tracks. Weve tracked down 11 of them.
So what exactly is heartburn? According to WebMD, it begins when you eat a trigger food, something thats usually greasy, spicy, or acidic. Stomach acids get to work on breaking it down, but sometimes not all of the stomach acid stays in your stomach. It travels up and bypasses whats called the esophageal sphincter , and makes its way into the esophagus, a process called acid reflux. Heartburn is the most common symptom of acid reflux, characterized by a burning discomfort in the chest, an unpleasant taste in the back of your mouth, and difficulty swallowing.
Heartburn can strike anyone, but it usually happens to those who are overweight, eat big meals, and/or wear tight-fitting clothes. Not only is heartburn uncomfortable, its also dangerous, and has the potential to lead to esophageal cancer.
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