Acid reflux causes pain and discomfort. Luckily, there is plenty you can do to reduce the pain caused by acid reflux. This article can help you deal with acid reflux better.
Stop eating for a period of three hours or more before going to sleep. The acid in your stomach stays put when you stand or sit upright. If you lay on your back, the acid will come back up through your esophagus. This is why it’s best to stop eating several hours before bedtime.
Drink only a few hours before or after a meal. This is a great way to deal with hunger pains as you are more likely to be thirsty than hungry. If you stop drinking during meals, you will notice that your stomach doesn’t bulge and you experience no acid issues.
Maintaining a healthy weight can help cure your GERD symptoms. The sphincter at the bottom of the esophagus becomes relaxed when the weight of extra fat presses down on your stomach. You will need your sphincter to become tight if you want to prevent the acid from coming up; losing weight will help.
The fattier the food, the worse it is for those with acid reflux. The chemicals released from breaking down all that fat will cause your esophageal sphincter to relax. A diet too rich in fat will cause you to gain weight, which could put your stomach under a lot of pressure. Learn to make good nutritional choices.
The pain from acid reflux mimics the pain of a heart attack. Don’t ignore any major pains in your chest. You should not assume that the symptoms of a heart attack are in fact acid reflux. If you are having chest pain, contact your doctor immediately. Even if it means an extra trip to urgent care, it is better than risking your life.
Raise up your bed to where your top half is higher up. You can use bricks, wood or even bed raisers to accomplish this. You want the head to be six inches higher than the foot of the bed. You can stop stomach acid from rising into your esophagus by elevating your chest and head during sleep.
Trigger foods need to be avoided. You should avoid these types of foods to prevent bouts of acid reflux. Stay away from things like tomatoes, milk and alcohol.
High fat foods should be avoided. Reduce or eliminate fast foods, fried foods and marbled red meats. Check out food labels so you can educate yourself on the amount of fat in certain foods.
Reduce the stress that you have in your life. You will suffer from acid reflux if you feel stressed after or during eating. When your meal is finished, relax by doing some deep breathing or meditation. Make sure you aren’t lying down immediately after your meals. Instead, keep yourself upright.
Cinnamon gum following a meal helps with acid reflux. Chewing the gum can help to neutralize the acidity of your stomach acids. Chewing gum makes you swallow more, too. This pushes stomach acid down into the stomach, instead of allowing it to come up into your esophagus.
To avoid acid reflux, don’t drink when you are eating. Drinking while consuming a meal causes your stomach to stretch. This causes increased pressure on the sphincter muscle of your lower esophagus and can result in reflux. Don’t drink with meals.
If you’re pregnant, there are many things that can be causing your acid reflux. It could be something silly like drinking some water after a certain time. Locating the cause can help you eliminate the problem.
You don’t want to eat much right before you head to bed. In fact, you should avoid eating anything approximately three hours prior to going to bed. The excessive acids caused by breaking down the foods can cause heartburn when you lay down with a full stomach.
Stop smoking now. When you stop smoking, your acid reflux and your general health will improve. Smoking increases stomach acid production and slows down digestion. Smoking also dries up your mouth, which can promote acid reflux. If you are a smoker, at least do not smoke for two hours following a meal.
Limit the amount of beverages you drink with your meals. That’s because beverages increase your stomach volume. A full stomach can put pressure upon the esophageal sphincter. This muscle stops food from entering the esophagus from the stomach.
If you suffer from acid reflux while you are sleeping, it’s time to rethink how you sleep. Rather than laying on the right side, try rolling over on your left. Because of your internal anatomy, this forces the stomach acids to stay put.
Acid reflux really does interrupt the lives of those it afflicts. Having quite a bit of know-how can help to make it a minor irritant. Look back at these tips when necessary to keep acid reflux at bay.