Acid reflux is an abnormal stomach condition that rises due to undigested food being pushed back up from the stomach through the esophagus. It makes the person feel uncomfortable and he or she will suffer from headache and different problems arising from the stomach.
Acid reflux is known to affect people from all the age groups apart from elderly people.
Acid Reflux Symptoms
- Vomting, diarrhea and
- Burning sensation in the chest.
- Eaten food coming back in the esophagus and producing soury taste in the tongue.
- Burping and bloating of the stomach.
- Loss of appetite
- Feeling of heaviness or uneasiness in the throat.
What is Heartburn?
It should not be confused with acidity or acid reflux. It is one of the symptoms which is the inflammatory condition arising in the chest due to food not getting digested properly. It helps the doctor to diagnose the problem of acidity or backflow of food and soury liquid into the mouth.
GERD is also mistakenly used for this condition but it is actually a severe form of acidity. It happens to make the person suffer regularly. Stomach acid comes up regularly and makes the person suffer from the damage of the food canal and different complications.
Is Acid Reflux Deadly ?
There has not been enough evidence to prove that acid reflux or Gastroesophageal reflux disease is life threatening or risky for anyone. But it should not be neglected, it is required to understand the causes and handle the appropriate dietary plan, medication and lifestyle changes.
Letting acid reflux to continue for long term can make you suffer from following health complications:
- Esophagitis : It is a burning sensation rising in the esophagus and causing ulcers. It is a serious health condition causing the person to suffer from discomfort and irritation in the chest, blood vomiting and difficulty in swallowing. And so such situations will cause emergency medical attention.
- Esophageal cancer : It is the abnormal growth of cells in the lining of the esophagus and that turns into a tumor. Sudden weight loss, loss of appetite and difficulty in eating anything.
- Strictures : In this situation, a person struggles to eat or drink anything because of the hardening and shrinking of the esophagus.
- Barrett’s Esophagus : It is another deadly problem that rises in the esophagal area by damaging its cells.
What Factors Cause Acid Reflux?
In normal conditions, food gets into the stomach and gets digested after it goes through the food pipe. But sometimes, food may not get into the stomach and would be pushed back through the food canal and coming back into the mouth again and causing soury tongue and irritation in the teeth.
It is because the spincture at the end of the stomach is let loose and that's what makes the stomach acid to come up along with the eaten food up in the mouth.
Other Acid reflux causes
- Pregnancy can be one of the factors which burdens the abdomen and makes the female suffer from acidity, vomiting and diarrhea. Acid reflux can be noticed in infants as they will continously cry and not eat any food.
- Unhealthy fats in the stomach area cause rise in toxic fluid which goes along with the food up in the food canal leading to the mouth.
- Connecting tissues from different parts of the body causing disturbance in the process of digestion.
- Condition of gastoperosis which rises in the stomach by not letting the food go into the small intestine from the stomach.
- Untimely consumption of food and eating citrus fruits, chocolate, mint, garlic and onions.
What is the Acid Reflux Treatment ?
1) Getting yourself diagnosed by the doctor
- It is required to meet the doctor when the symptom of backflow happens twice within a week. Shortness of breathing is another sign indicating danger to your life. It may happen during heartburn conditions.
- When the present medications are not working.
- In case you are vomiting blood or any type of black matter.
- In case you are suffering from coughing for nearly a month’s time.
2) Home remedies for acid reflux
Following 10 tips are helpful for lowering the impact of acid reflux:
1. Smoking is known for weakening the valve which is located at the end of the food canal leading to the stomach. As a result, the food and stomach moves back towards the mouth through the path of the esophagus and causes nausea, chest pain and discomfort. Avoiding smoking can minimize stomach acid flowing back up into the mouth and make you feel better.
2. Avoiding the food that triggers acidity and GERD. These food items are alcohol, soft drinks, tea and coffee. Even tomato, mint and spicy food items can also be the worst form of triggers.
3. Adding ginger in small amounts can help in reversing the problem of acid reflux by:
- Making tea with water.
- Preparing soup and smoothies.
- Mix it with salads and cereals.
Its benefits are :
- Reduce the gastric issues by not letting the stomach acid reach the mouth.
- Stop inflammation.
- Bring relief from discomforting conditions as a result of acidity.
4. Using acid reflux antacid herbs like basil, rosemary, thyme,cilantro and oregano because :
- Reduce inflammatory or heartburn conditions.
- Improve digestion.
- Boost a healthy heart too.
- Improve the taste of your food.
- Function as alternative to ginger.
5. Select an appropriate acid reflux diet and it should be rich in fiber like :
- Whole wheat food items that include the bread
- brown rice
- Potatoes boiled including the skin or in baked condition
- Root vegetables like carrot and beet
- broccoli
- Pulses
Benefits of fiber rich food are :
- Manage digestive juices and stimulate healthy digestion.
- Boosting adequate nutrition to your body.
- Help maintain normal weight.
- Prevent further occurence of acidity and help control inflammation and uneasiness in the chest.
6. Drinking Ayush Kwath tea will act as acid reflux cure which is :
- Made from black pepper, saunth or dry ginger, dalchini or cinnamon and tulsi or holy basil.
- Controls inflammation and helps the food to move smoothly down the food canal and reach the small intestine for further digestion process.
- Regulates stomach acid and controls cough.
- It is a complete ayurvedic medicine for managing stomach and cardiovascular disorders and balancing pitta, kapha and vata doshas.
- It is available on SKinRange platform at an affordable price.
7. Along with medication, specific yoga asanas will help reversing the symptoms of GERD naturally. Recommended asanas for acid reflux management are:
- Trikonasana
- Supta Baddha Konasana
a) Trikonasana steps
- Stand straight and spread your legs apart.
- Keep your hands horizontally straight.
- Move your right hand towards the right side ankle downwards.
- Lift up
- And then in the same way bend your left hands towards the left side ankle downwards.
b) Supta Baddha Konasana steps
- Sit straight by spreading your legs.
- Hold the ankle of your right leg and push the knee at the side.
- In the similar way, you can hold the ankle of your left leg and keep the knee at the side.
- Not to keep the knees closer.
- Hold both the ankles together and bring the heels closer at the center.
8. Managing your stress with the help of meditation and relaxation therapies.
9. Eating meals in small quantities and in intervals will help in keeping the lower sphincter active and help in passing on the food for digestion process from stomach to intestines passed by the food canal.
10. Eating lunch and dinner as early as possible is advisable for controlling acid reflux conditions. To allow the digestive system to work properly, you must have lunch by 1pm in the afternoon. After that you can have a light dinner not after 7:30 pm to get enough time for the digestion process to work smoothly.
There are further different techniques for managing acid reflux. To know better about the techniques, you can get in touch with ayurvedic experts of SKinrange.
Conclusion
Acid reflux is the outcome of food not getting absorbed by the intestines and instead rushes back into the mouth along with stomach acid through the food canal. Many of us suffer from acidity or acid reflux for not eating fresh and fiber rich food items. Complications can further rise in the esopphagus and stomach area and can be life threatening. Proper diagnosis along with medication, natural herbs and right diet and asanas can help in reducing acid reflux and its symptoms.
FAQs
Q1. How can I stop my acid reflux?
Given acid reflux remedies are:
- Always eating fiber rich food cooked in extra virgin olive oil.
- Avoid drinking tea or coffee. Drinking water before tea will lower the chances of acidity.
- Avoiding citrus fruits and instead eating bananas, apples, pears and melons will be helpful in controlling inflammation and food coming up with soury liquid from the stomach.
- Practicing some asanas like trikonasana and supta baddha konasana in empty stomach,
Q2. How will I know if I have acid reflux?
It is when you suffer from an inflammatory condition in the chest and sour liquid and swallowed and eaten food comes back to your food. It can happen at any time and you will suffer from discomfort and also loss of appetite.
Q3. What can trigger acid reflux?
Following are the list of foods that cause acid reflux :
- Processed and fried food or anything cooked in unhygenic condition.
- Curry powder, cloves and curry powder
- Dairy products.
- Sauce
- Anything not freshly cooked
- Alcohol, tea and coffee
- Smoking
Q4. How do I know if I'm having acid reflux?
If you find your eaten or swallowed food rushing back to your mouth and causing soury taste and will have a tendency of burping and vomiting with a feeling of heartburn then it is a condition of acid reflux.
Performing acid reflux test
To better know about acidity in your stomach, you can drink sodium carbonate and then you burp within 15 minutes, it is then a sign of acidity.
Q5. What is the cure for acid reflux?
Natural antacid cure can be list of following foods :
- Drinking fennel seeds with water in the empty stomach. You can soak them in water and eat them in an empty stomach or simply chew them to control acidity and heartburn.
- Eating cucumber and watermelon.
- Vegetable soup and mushroom soup.
