Natural Methods for Helping with Acid Reflux

 Acid Reflux occurs when stomach acid splashes up into the esophagus, causing a burning sensation and sometimes nausea. This happens when the sphincter (the valve between the stomach and esophagus) opens up at times (relaxes) when it should be closed, such as when it’s supposed to stop the acid from splashing up into the esophagus from the stomach. This normally occurs an hour to several hours after eating, as well as after lying down for awhile.

 The most common causes are consuming large meals, where your stomach needs to produce a lot of acid in order to properly break down (digest) the food. and/or consuming highly acidic foods, where the acid in the food combines with the stomach acid, creating an ‘acid storm’. In some people, acid even splashes up into the esophagus at inappropriate times, which is usually due to a loose or weak sphincter.

 The vast majority of the time, a combination of eating mostly alkalizing foods, along with certain supplements (if needed) will take care of the issue. This of course means mostly avoiding high acidic foods, such as animal products and certain fruits and vegetables, such as tomatoes, oranges, and most tropical fruits. You’ll also want to avoid large meals whenever possible, as well as foods and drinks that can loosen the sphincter, such as coffee, alcohol (especially wine), and spicy foods. As far as a highly alkalizing food, a good example is green leafy vegetables. As far as supplements that help, the most powerful are raw apple cider vinegar (if no ulcer), and aloe vera juice (if an ulcer is present). You can also try slippery elm bark marshmallow root, mastic gum, and deglycerized licorice root.

 The only times we may need even more intervention against acid reflux, is in cases of a loose sphincter with no known cause or esophageal cancer. With cancer, this would require a multi-faceted approach to healing, whereas with a loose sphincter with no known cause, the approach, in addition to what’s mentioned above, needs to focus on strengthening the sphincter with reparative and regenerative cellular therapy.