Acid retardation is a condition that causes everyone to have different tolerances for food. While certain herbal teas and dairy products are the most common cause of acid flux in the US, alcoholic beverages are known to cause acid reflux, as are certain foods such as fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, eggs and milk.
Milk can provide temporary relief against reflux and heartburn, but it can also increase stomach acid production. Many people believe that drinking milk helps to coat the stomach and thus eliminate the symptoms of dyspepsia or heart burn. This has a side effect of higher levels of acidity in the blood, and while milk can provide some temporary relief from heartburn, it can actually cause more problems. If you’re struggling with reflux and want to start treating your symptoms, here’s what you need to know. Note: Treatment of acid reactivity should be accompanied by dietary and lifestyle changes.
Try to eat three hours before bed, avoid late meals and aim for three to four hours of sleep per night (when you lift your head out of bed at night) to get enough sleep. Try to avoid late meals and try to eat at least two to three times a day if possible.
If you have heartburn two or more times a week, you may suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a chronic condition in which frequent exposure to stomach acid damages your esophagus. It is important to treat GERD as soon as possible to avoid long-term health risks such as ulcers, bleeding, esophagitis and Barrett’s esophagus, as well as long-term health risks such as ulceration, bleeding, oesothelioma such as cancer and heart disease.
Small, frequent meals and avoiding foods and drinks that exacerbate symptoms can help you avoid acid reflux. Stay upright for 3 hours after each meal and adjust your eating habits. Eating habits such as smaller, frequent meals, lying upright and 3-hour meals can help to avoid symptoms and improve your health. If you smoke, your doctor will talk about how stopping smoking can help to alleviate the symptoms of GERD.
You could try lying on a special pillow that is supposed to keep you on a slope while you sleep to help ease GERD symptoms. You can lift your head 6-8 cm on the bed by placing a block of wood between the bed posts and using a wedge pillow to sleep, but with an additional pillow alone it will not do. Your doctor may recommend over-the-counter antacids (which you can buy without a prescription), medications to stop acid production and others that help your muscles empty your stomach.
These are usually the first medications that are recommended to relieve heartburn and other mild GERD symptoms. In addition to treatment, there are a number of lifestyle and diet changes you can make to help ease heart burn and GERD symptoms such as diet and exercise. In general, peppermint can actually make heart burn worse, but a combination of herbs and products often still works against it. Avoiding lying down for a few hours after eating, losing weight, giving up smoking and avoiding diet triggers can help reduce acid reflux. Raising your head and mattress by six to eight inches while you sleep can help prevent night-time heartburn, according to the American Heart Association.
Other studies suggest that carbonated drinks such as lemonade, coffee and other alcoholic beverages can also increase the amount of acid that enters the oesophagus through the stomach. Alcohol also increases stomach acid, which also makes it harder for your esophagus to clean up the acid. There are many medications, both over-the-counter and prescription, that can help. Finally, juices such as orange or grapefruit juice can irritate the esophagus and exacerbate heartburn.
Acid reflux is the result of stomach acid flowing through the oesophagus and it usually occurs after a meal. The medical term for this is gastroesophageal reflux disease, which has been so severely reduced to GERD that even linguists have many vowels. Acid reflux is common and can come and go, especially after eating certain foods, but normal people feel nothing or have it at all times of day.
In many cases, lifestyle changes in combination with over-the-counter medications are sufficient to control the symptoms of acid reflux disease. Depending on the severity of the symptoms, your doctor recommends a variety of medications such as hydrocodone, ibuprofen, paracetamol or a combination of both. This can neutralize the acid in the stomach and also reduce the amount of acid it produces, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.