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Acid Reflux (heartburn, GERD)
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At the entrance to your stomach is a valve, which is a ring of muscle called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). Normally, the LES closes as soon as food passes through it. If the LES doesn't close all the way or if it opens too often, acid produced by your stomach can move up into your esophagus. This can cause symptoms such as a burning chest pain called heartburn, it can cause regurgitation, bloating, burping or hiccups that don't let up. If acid reflux (heartburn) symptoms happen more than twice a week, they call it acid reflux disease, or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
People use antacids believing they will help; well, they do tend to calm it temporarily, but it may be making the problem worst long term. This is true in part because the calcium is inorganic in form (an unhealthy form) but also the stomach is supposed to be acid by nature. You don't want to reduce the amount of acid; you just need to keep it from coming out of the stomach into the esophagus. The other issue here is that the symptoms of too much acid and too little acid in the stomach are the same. Believe it or not, most people with acid reflux don't have enough acid, just opposite of what most people think.
Traditionally speaking acid reflux can be caused by:
- Pregnancy can put pressure in the intestines contributing to hiatal hernia.
- Smoking
- Foods such as alcohol, carbonated beverages, chocolate, citrus fruit, coffee or tea, fatty or fried foods, foods containing tomato, spaghetti sauce, salsa or pizza, garlic and onions, mint, spicy foods, being overweight, eating a heavy meal and laying on your back, snacking close to bedtime, muscle relaxers or blood pressure meds.
No matter what seems to "trigger" your acid reflux, the real cause is the lower
intestine. You probably have a hiatal hernia (please see that category),
which is often caused by inflammation of the bowel, the lower intestine.
I can almost guarantee the body is too acidic. The long term fix is to
get the body more alkaline, eliminate acid forming foods. Google a list
of acid vs. alkaline foods. Start eating as many raw fruits and veggies
as you can and take at least 2 Digestive Aid with every
meal. If you are not pooping at least twice a day, start the IC-1
to assure you are getting a good fiber intake.
HOME REMEDY: No matter what the cause, if you have this, you surely want relief! Since most people have too little acid, the most common fix is apple cider vinegar. Bragg's is the best name brand, but if you can't find it, any apple cider vinegar will do. How much depends on the person. Between a teaspoon and tablespoon is generally about right. You can take it straight or put it in some water and drink it down. The relief is very quick! If you can't find the vinegar, put ½ teaspoon of Baking Soda in a few ounces of cold water and drink that down. If for some strange reason you really do make too much stomach acid, the apple cider vinegar will not help a bit, it may even irritate you some. You should try Aloe Vera juice at the same dose.
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