Are you familiar with acid reflux? Have you had the misfortune of being a victim to the pain and burning sensation caused by something as simple as stomach acid? Acid reflux is a severe health risk that you can stop. Read this article for advice that will put and end to acid reflux.
Keep a diet diary. Everyone is different, and which foods will trigger your acid reflux may not be the same as mine. Write down how you feel before, during and after each meal, and include a list of what you eat and drink all day. After a month, you should have a clearer picture of which foods cause you the most grief.
Try to avoid drinking anything while you eat. When you drink, your stomach fills up and expands, which can cause distension. This puts pressure on the sphincter at the bottom of the esophagus, sometimes causing food to pass back up through it. When this happens, acid reflux has begun, as will your suffering.
What do you eat? How do you feel afterward? Trigger foods are common, and they might be the culprit. When you know which foods are hurting you, you can avoid them.
It is possible for you to choke in your sleep. This happens when stomach acid makes its way up into your throat. If you experience a bitter taste in your mouth, you may need acid suppressing medicine. Speak with your doctor about the problems to get the best advice on how to proceed.
Wait to exercise after you eat. If you put off your exercise by at least an hour, the food will have a better chance to digest. Physical exertion right after you eat could cause the food to move back up toward the esophagus. This could be very uncomfortable and hard to fight.
If you have been experiencing symptoms of acid reflux, try to cut down on the amount of alcohol you drink. Having some drinks tends to relax the muscles in the stomach. When this happens, people start to experience worsening of these symptoms. If you must have a drink, make sure to limit yourself to one or two drinks.
Exercise daily to help reduce acid reflux. These exercises should be low impact exercises such as walking. Gravity is known to help decrease the odds of acid reflux; therefore, go for a walk after eating to lessen the effects of stomach upset and increased stomach acids. Exercising will also help you lose weight which will aid in reducing acid reflux.
Chew a stick of gum if you feel like your acid reflux issue is not under control at night. A stick of gum can increase the amount of saliva that you have in your mouth, which can help push down the acid that is getting into your esophagus from your stomach.
A food's pH levels are not directly influenced by the acid-forming tendencies of what you are eating. While you may think citrus fruit is highly acidic, the truth is that some of it ends up rather alkaline once digested. For those who have acid reflux, this can cause some confusion. Learning about the pH of different foods can make it easier to avoid reflux symptoms.
Learn stress coping techniques. Being stressed out can cause you to tense up your body and this causes you to contract some, or all, of your stomach muscles, causing acid reflux symptoms. Learn how to better handle stressful situations and you'll find out you may have much less stomach troubles.
Chew some mint-free gum after every meal. Chewing gum helps with producing saliva, which can neutralize stomach acid. It also causes frequent swallowing, which can clear aggravating acid away from the esophagus quicker. Mint flavored gums can relax the LES and worsen a reflux, so try going with fruit or cinnamon gums.
To reduce acid reflux symptoms, consume your last meal of the day a minimum of three hours before you settle in for sleep. Do the math! If your bedtime is at ten o'clock in the evening, your last bite should be no later than seven o'clock. Lying down whenever your stomach is full causes your LES muscle to open due to the added pressure. As a result, your acid reflux will flare up.
Stop smoking to help with your reflux symptoms. Smoking can increase your chances of developing GERD too. It slows down digestion, boots stomach acid, and reduces the production of saliva. Without a higher production of saliva, you don't have a great defense against the stomach acid. It also harms the esophagus, weakens your LES muscle and weakens your whole digestive system, which can contribute to acid reflux.
It is best for people with acid reflux to avoid certain beverages. Drinks like soda, energy drinks and coffee are all big causes of acid reflux. The caffeine content is usually the culprit and can cause the stomach to produce large amounts of stomach acid. They can also irritate the lining of the stomach.
Consume supplements that contain Pyridoxine if you want to get rid of acid reflux immediately. This vitamin helps to metabolize the different fats and carbohydrates that you put in your stomach. Also, this vitamin will give your body the ability to repair damaged cells faster that you lose from acid reflux.
When you have acid reflux disease it can be difficult to eat foods that are acidic such as tomato sauce and salsa. If you have been steering clear of these foods out of fear of discomfort, you no longer have to avoid them altogether. Taking an antacid prior to eating these types of foods can help you avoid experiencing acid reflux.
You know what acid reflux feels like. You know how bad it can get and how much it can ruin your day. Now it's time to take matters into your own hands. You have all that is necessary to prevent acid reflux from reoccurring. The sooner you use the advice you've acquired, the better.