Exercise is good for you. But what if it causes you to have heartburn? Do you give up exercising so you can avoid the all too familiar burning sensation in your chest and stomach? But then you will get fat… and being overweight worsens acid reflux. This is a catch-22 situation. Thousands of people around the world face this situation.
Exercise triggers heartburn when the lower esophageal sphincter is relaxed or weak. The stomach acids rise up from the stomach into the esophagus and burn it. Since the esophagus does not have a protective lining like the stomach, it is sensitive to the acid and gets hurt and even scarred.
The first thing you should know is that if you suffer from acid reflux is that you do not need to give up exercise. You just need to tone it down. High impact cardio or other exercises that involve jerky movements are out. When your exercise is too vigorous, the acids may spill out of the stomach.
Running, skipping, Crossfit, etc. are all not wise choices. You should stick to resistance training to build strength and brisk walking for cardiovascular strength. In most cases, you can be perfectly healthy just doing this. There is no need to be doing wind sprints and harsh interval training to be in good shape.
Before toning down on your exercise regimen, try and dial in on your diet. Make sure you are eating healthy and avoiding the foods that aggravate acid reflux symptoms. More often than not, it’s these foods that are causing problems and not the exercise. Consuming an energy drink before a workout may cause heartburn because of the caffeine in the drink and not the exercise.
Monitor what you eat. Avoid chocolates, caffeine, carbonated beverages, citrus fruits, etc. These foods will make acid reflux worse.
Eat at least 2 to 3 hours before your workout. The timing of your meal may be the real cause of your heartburn. Just like how you should not eat just before bed, the same rule applies to exercise. You do not want your stomach to be too full because every time it is full, the acid is on the brink of spilling out. This is why the number one rule all acid reflux sufferers should follow is to eat small meals at regular intervals.
You may wish to add some baking soda to water and drink it. This will neutralize any stomach acids present in the esophagus. There will be a much lower chance of heartburn after exercise. Do not over use this method.
There are several other ways to keep acid reflux in check. Once you have found ways that work for you, apply them. Then after you exercise, monitor your body and see if you have heartburn. In most cases, you probably won’t. The real culprits for heartburn are often with dietary choices and practices. Once these dietary mistakes are corrected, most other issues are relatively easy to fix.
It would be best if you did research online and saw how you could relieve your acid reflux symptoms. There are several excellent guides online that will help you to reduce your chances of getting heartburn. Do check them out.