Natural Treatments for Acid Reflux
Acid-blocking drugs are widely promoted in the media and on social networking sites as a remedy for acid reflux but these medications only provide temporary relief and are not a long-term cure. However, it may be better to try these natural cures for acid reflux and heartburn:
1. Fix your Hiatal Hernia
In addition to acid reflux, do you ever get the feeling of being bloated after a few morsels of food? Do you burp up some stomach acid following a meal? These could mean a Hiatal Hernia.
There is a dome-shaped muscle underneath the diaphragm that separates organs in the top half of the body from the bottom half. In the back part of the diaphragm, there is a hole the size of a button that enables the esophagus to progress from the throat to the stomach. If this hole ever becomes swollen and the stomach gets into it, you can suffer from Hiatal Hernia.
There are steps to improve this:
- Drink a glass of room-temperature water upon rising in the morning.
- When standing, bring your arms out from your sides and bend your elbows so that they touch your chest.
- Stand up on your toes and elevate yourself as high as possible and drop down. Do ten cycles of this.
- Do short quick breaths while standing for 15 seconds. That’s all.
The warm water relaxes the stomach and the stretching of your arms opens up the hole in the back and dropping on your heels brings the stomach out of the hole and shuts it.
2. Ginger
Ginger root powder, in a teaspoon format, has some very good healing properties and can neutralize acids. Freshly grated ginger root is best, although taking it in capsule-form or buying it in bulk is also an option.
3. Reduce your intake of salt
Eminent researchers in Norway found out that people who regularly added salt to their meals doubled their risk of experiencing acid reflux. So to reduce acid reflux, reduce your salt intake, which is fairly simple. Some people may claim that an absence of salt leaves food to be too bland, then seasoning and spices can do this job equally well at no cost to their health. There are many tasty alternatives to season food instead of salt.
4. Chewing gum
When the acid reflux begins, chewing gum is quite an option. The gum can increase the amount of saliva in the mouth by around 140 per cent. Saliva encompasses a lot of compounds that protect the lining of the esophagus. These certainly certify chewing gum as an effective measure to prevent acid reflux.
5. Licorice
Licorice root is a good treatment for ulcers and can be used as an antidote in tablet form, when taken in a dosage of two, twice daily. It can be taken before meals or just before retiring to bed. It should be chewable so that it can be mixed with saliva and the chemicals which it contains can be filtered to the blood.
6. D-Limonene Extract
It seems that an extract that can be derived from citrus peel which is called d-limonene can coat the stomach and esophagus. It is not known why it does this, but it is an effective cure for acid reflux, having been scientifically proven. In capsule form, subjects found that the relief they got from the extract in tablet form lasted for up to six months.
