Living with acid reflux disease can literally be a pain. Constantly experiencing heartburn, and chest or throat pain after every meal is enough to drive anyone mad. Luckily, the article below has some easy tips that can help prevent the onset of these symptoms. Read through them and learn how you can combat your acid reflux.
Keep a diet diary. Everyone is different, and which foods will trigger your acid reflux may not be the same as mine. Write down how you feel before, during and after each meal, and include a list of what you eat and drink all day. After a month, you should have a clearer picture of which foods cause you the most grief.
The most significant factor attributed with acid reflux is being overweight. Those who are obese are two times more likely to have GERD than someone who is at a healthy weight. The pressure on your stomach of all the extra pounds can cause the esophageal sphincter to relax, allowing acid to give you trouble.
When you eat high fat foods like fried chicken, your stomach empties very slowly. This allows it to become distended and your esophagus may fill up with acid. Choose healthier foods like lean proteins or beans to avoid this situation and you should be able to control your acid reflux like a pro.
Skinny jeans are the enemy of the acid reflux sufferer! Wearing tight clothes can block up your digestive system, causing you a great deal of pain when acid begins to back up. Go for elastic waistbands until you have your acid reflux under control, then you can consider getting back into your tight fitting pants.
Try to reduce stress at all costs to reduce acid reflux. Stress causes the production of excess acid in the stomach, which can lead to acid reflux. Therefore, it is a good idea to engage in an activity that you find pleasurable after eating. Read a good book, take a leisurely walk, meditate or spend time with friends and family.
Reflux can be quite painful, sometimes mimicking a heart attack. However, you should never ignore chest pain. It is a symptom of a potential heart attack. Call for medical assistance, right away. Diagnosis of serious symptoms should never be done without the advice of a doctor.
Avoid eating large quantities of food that contain a lot of acid. This may cause you to experience heartburn and other acid reflux symptoms. These foods include grapefruit, vinegar, lemons and tomatoes. If you are going to eat these foods, make sure that you are very mindful of the portion size.
Do not wear clothes that are too tight if you want to limit acid reflux. Belts, pantyhose and tight pants can push against your waistline and cause inflammation. Wear clothing that you feel comfortable in when you are in motion and sitting down at work to limit acid reflux from occurring.
If you often have acid reflux, avoid drinking during your meals. A glass of water will add to the volume of food in your stomach and make digestion harder. You should wait until you are done digesting to drink and avoid drinking just before having a meal or a snack.
Chew a stick of gum if you feel like your acid reflux issue is not under control at night. A stick of gum can increase the amount of saliva that you have in your mouth, which can help push down the acid that is getting into your esophagus from your stomach.
It is known that smoking is bad for your health, but did you also know that smoking can have an affect on acid reflux? When you smoke, more stomach acid is produced, digestion is slowed down, and less saliva is produced. Smoking also causes the sphincter of the esophagus to weaken, making acid reflux occur.
Drink at least 10 glasses of water a day if you want to get rid of acid reflux. Water is important to help reduce toxins and acid that is in your stomach and causing your constant heartburn. Consume water when you wake up, during your meals and right before you to go bed for maximum effectiveness.
You should not self-diagnose with the acid reflux. If you feel you have symptoms of the condition, like stomach pain and frequent regurgitation, see a physician. There are many health conditions that mimic acid reflux. To determine whether it’s reflux or not, your doctor can do some medical testing.
You are not alone in your fight against acid reflux. In fact, about a third of Americans have acid reflux. Unfortunately, most do not know how to fight off this condition. Don’t suffer in silence, instead be sure to use the tips mentioned in the article above. You won’t regret it.
