Tackling acid reflux head on!

Acid Reflux Natural Cures are available. Read on to learn more.

More than the expensive medicines with their side effects, natural cures for acid reflux are most popular.

Alternatively more cures are available to overcome the reflux. But as it is believed being natural is the best. We can be sure that there are no hidden side effects when using natural cures.

Other remedies like antacids, reflux pillows and surgeries have been launched, but natural cures can be highly effective and inexpensive.

Acid reflux is caused when there are imbalances in the natural acid in the stomach. Fortunately, there are many natural cures available to get back the normal level of stomach acid.

Let us take a look at some of the most helpful natural cures.

Cinnamon: The famous spice used in various recipes, Cinnamon is one of the oldest cures against fever and cold problems. Well known for its digestive properties it can be consumed by sufferers.

Mint: Very effective for the digestive properties mint can be used in the food recipes or its tablet can be chewed, munched after the meal.

Medicinal Aloe Vera: Cooling effect as it gives it can be eaten or the juice can be drunk to cool down the burning sensation in the throat.

Flower/oil therapies: Relaxing flower and oil remedies have also proved to be effective.

Black pepper: Commonly used in most of the Indian recipes improves the digestion.

Ginger: Can be consumed through food or can be added to a cup of tea. It should be taken in small quantities. It is also a good resistant against bacterial infection.

Garlic: Fresh garlic cloves should be consumed to improve the digestion. Eating 2 to 3 cloves per day is considered normal.

Amla: Well known as the best anti oxidant it can be eaten as a natural cure against acid reflux. It brings down the acid level and is also the best cure for hair related problems.

Vegetables/ vegetable juices: Fresh green leafy vegetables can be included in the diet. If you are choosy about eating the vegetables you can simply crush them and drink it along with the pulp for a good health. Important note: The juice should be consumed fresh.

Apple or apple cider vinegar: Apple is the best cure for any disease. Moreover if it is eaten daily it can improve the health of the skin and hair. Another vital cure is the apple cider vinegar made from the juice of apple. This can be diluted in the water and consumed by both adults and children. However due to it high acid levels it should be consumed in small quantity.

Apart from the above natural cures, there is the reflux pillow which helps keep the acid in the stomach while a person sleeps. Slightly raised in comparison with the normal pillows, it can be comfortably placed under head.

Acid reflux can thus be cured under doctor's guidance and brought under control without incurring huge medical bills.    
 

Natural cures for acid reflux can work wonders.

DGL (deglycyrrhizinated licorice) and Heartburn

Here is some information on DGL studies from Astrid Pujari, M.D.”In terms of relevant studies, the two that I know of were published in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They were small, and didn’t meet the ideal criteria we now use for research studies. These scientists didn’t study heartburn specifically, but found that DGL helped to accelerate healing in people with ulcers.

While the data on DGL for heartburn is fairly skimpy, licorice has been safely eaten as a food, in reasonable amounts, for hundreds of years. Without the glycyrrhizin, the risk is even lower. Given that, it may be worth a try — as long as your doctor agrees.”

This is very close to my experience. DGL is claimed to be a proven heartburn remedy by many web sites but there is very little ground for that.

For more information read entire article in Seattle Times.

Prilosec and Nexium do not increase risk of heart problems

According to recent review released by the Food and Drug Administration patients who suffer from heartburn are not at increased risk for heart problems as a result of taking Prilosec or Nexium. The FDA and its Canadian counterpart began reviewing the drugs, used by tens of millions of people, in May.

The drug’s manufacturer, AstraZeneca PLC, provided them with an early analysis of two small studies that suggested the possibility of a risk.

The agency said its review of that study as well as 14 others indicated no increased risk for patients.

“FDA recommends that health care providers continue to prescribe, and patients continue to use these products as prescribed,” the agency said.

Well it is a great news for us - heartburn sufferers. We can take our Protonixes, Prilosecs and Nexiums without worrying about consequences too much .

I hope they will do more research regarding all other concerns related to long term PPI treatment like malnutrition, potential lung diseases, etc. For example:

Abstract:
Reduced serum vitamin B12 (cobalamin) levels have been documented occasionally during long-term treatment with a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) in selected groups of patients. This has largely been confined to patients being treated for Zollinger-Ellison syndrome who have sustained drug-induced achlorhydria, which does not ordinarily occur during treatment with a PPI. An appreciation of normal cobalamin metabolism and the pharmacological action of the PPIs adequately explain the mechanism for this reduction. PPIs do not promote the development of pernicious anemia.

Milk is not a remedy for nighttime heartburn!

Milk is a very popular home remedy for heartburn. Well it may work fine during the day to soothe the stomach after heavy meal. But don’t use it before sleep to prevent nighttime heartburn. The problem is that milk is only effective for 30 or 40 minutes. Since it is a high calorie food which requires quite some energy to be digested your stomach will produce even more acid than milk originally neutralized. That is why if you had some milk before going to sleep to treat your heartburn you can expect a sleepless night.

I strongly recommend to replace it with water since it will dilute the acid and get it out of stomach faster.

Don’t try to get rid of heartburn by eating something (there are lots of beliefs that eating something will help heartburn). If it is something high calorie it will produce even more acid.

Best recommendation is to stay awake for 2-3 hours after your last meal. This will guarantee that you will go to sleep with an empty stomach and zero nighttime heartburn.

If you cannot stay awake for that long I strongly recommend getting wedge pillow. It will elevate your body in a way preventing acid from getting to your esophagus. Wedge pillow could be uncomfortable for some people but you don’t need to sleep on it entire night (except a case when you have a severe chronic heartburn which needs to be treated for several months). Usually you will need it only for first 2-3 hours of sleep.