Natural Remedy For Acid Reflux Disease

A study by Green Med Info shows that water can be a natural remedy for acid reflux disease. In the study, individuals were given antacid, rabeprazole, ranitidine, omeprazole or esomeprazole and water. Following this, scientists recorded the study subjects gastric pH for the subsequent six hours. The scientists found some amazing results. They found that antacid only took two minutes to increase gastric pH higher than 4.  The drugs, known as proton pump inhibitors, took a minimum of two hours to take effect.  Surprisingly enough, it only took plain water one minute to increase gastric pH above four.

Digestive Diseases and Sciences reports:”Water and antacid immediately increased gastric pH, while proton pump inhibitors showed a delayed but prolonged effect compared to ranitidine.”

Acid reflux disease is so common problem that it is estimated as much as half of the population of the United States suffers with its symptoms. Acid reflux disease is also known as peptic ulcer disease or gastroesophageal reflux disease. The symptoms of acid reflux disease range from heartburn, hoarseness, the sensation of food being stuck in the throat, tightness of the throat, bad breath and dental problems to wheezing, and asthma. This is commonly believed to be caused by the stomach over producing acid, however, this is not the case.

Acid reflux disease is not a result of the stomach producing too much acid, rather it is the acid exiting the stomach into an area that is not designed to withstand gastric acid. This can happen for a number of reasons, the most often occurring reason being hiatal hernia.

When a person swallows, food travels through the esophagus to the stomach. Food leaves the esophagus and enters the stomach by means of the lower esophageal sphincter. The lower esophageal sphincter is responsible for keeping gastric acid in the stomach. When the lower esophageal sphincter relaxes while a person is not currently eating, gastric acid flows into the esophagus causing acid reflux disease symptoms.

Australian physican, Dr. Barry Marshall, discovered the bacterium helicobacter pylori in the early 1980′s. Helicobacter pylori causes a chronic low-level inflammation of the stomach lining. Chronic inflammation of the stomach lining is a primary cause of acid reflux disease.

One of the undiscussed side effects of taking proton pump inhibitors, is the reduction of stomach acid reduces the body’s ability to defend itself from the helicobacter pylori bacteria. Therefore, taking proton pump inhibitors only relieves symptoms while perpetuating the condition. This ensures that you will continue to buy their drugs to cure your condition, as it ensures the condition will not be resolved.

It seems the best way to relieve acid reflux disease is to find the natural balance in your digestive system. Long term health is greatly determined by digestive health, consequently, you will want to be certain that you eat adequate amounts of beneficial bacteria.

Beneficial bacteria help the body to regulate the digestive process. Among the many benefits of maintaining healthy gastric flora is the body’s absorption of nutrients can be increased by as much as fifty percent. Many people do not realize that sugars tend to reduce the levels of gastric flora, therefore, a reduction in the amount of sugar consumed seems to be a reasonable suggestion.

To help keep your gastric flora healthy, you will need to eat yogurt made from raw milk. To find raw milk and yogurt providers in your area go to real milk.

Mainstream grocery stores do not offer raw milk products. Yogurt purchased there is loaded with sugar, which lowers beneficial gastric bacteria, and contains no live cultures. To obtain maximum benefit, read the labels of the products you buy and remove the ones that are pasteurized and/or contain sugar. If you find it difficult in obtaining raw milk products, then a probiotic supplement is recommended.

Other natural remedies for acid reflux include:

Ginger-has a gastroprotective effect that blocks acid production and it suppresses the heliobacter pylori bacteria. A study in 2007 found that ginger prevents the formation of ulcers more effectively than lansoprezole. Ginger has been used to cure digestive problems for centuries, remember your mother telling you to drink ginger ale to settle an upset stomach?

Sauerkraut or cabbage juice-these are two of the most potent foods at causing the stomach to produce gastric acid. Due to the fact that most people have low stomach acid, this is a good thing. A few tablespoons of cabbage juice or juice from sauerkraut, will tremendously aid in digestion.

Be certain to eliminate foods that trigger acid reflux disease. Food allergies exacerbate the condition. With this in mind, it is a good idea to eliminate alcohol, caffiene and nicotine from your daily routine.

Adding unprocessed sea salt, Himalayan salt is one example, to your diet can also provide relief from acid reflux disease. Unprocessed sea salt contains the necessary chloride to form hydrochloric acid and contains nearly one hundred trace elements that will help your body to function optimally.

Maintain proper levels of vitamin D. Vitamin D helps the body to fight infection by optimizing the production of over two hundred antimicrobial peptides. As previously mentioned, one of the primary causes of acid reflux is an infection of helicobacter pylori that causes chronic inflammation of the stomach lining.

Maintain adequate exercise. Exercise gets the heart pumping faster and helps to stimulate the immune system. The benefits of moderate aerobic exercise are discussed further in this post.

The best of health is within your reach.  Good health to you!