Does your throat hurt after you eat? Do you have a chronic cough? Are you nauseated after you eat? Do you salivate heavily? Is it hard to swallow sometimes? Do you have chest pain? These symptoms of acid reflux can make your life hell, but can be treated with the below advice.
Be sure to have dinner no less than three hours prior to bedtime. By keeping your body upright after eating, your food is digested more easily. However, whenever you laying down, the acid may rise back up into your esophagus. Allow for a couple of hours before you lay down after eating.
Try to lose some weight. If you are overweight, especially around your abdomen, it will put increased pressure on your stomach. This can contribute to an increase in acid reflux symptoms. Simply losing a couple of pounds will reduce the pressure on your stomach, which in turn will reduce acid reflux.
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.
We truly are what we eat. If we eat high-fat foods, we will become obese and be at risk for acid reflux. It is important that we instead focus on low-acid foods, which are lean and healthy. Choose vegetables and whole-grain carbohydrates along with lean protein for your meals to curb your suffering.
Keep chewing gum handy. When you chew gum, it not only freshens your breath, but it causes you to salivate. This helps wash acid down your esophagus and back into your stomach, where it belongs. When choosing a flavor, avoid citrus and mint. Mint can cause your esophageal sphincter to relax, and citrus is high in acid.
There are many over-the-counter medications you can take for acid reflux. They are called antacids and they work by stopping excess acid production. Just be aware that no one medication works for everyone. If you try one and it is not effective for you, keep trying others until you find the right one for you.
Learn your trigger foods. When you know what foods or beverages cause you acid reflux, you can avoid them to keep your symptoms to a minimum. Some foods that often cause symptoms are foods that are fried, fatty, spicy and carbonated drinks. These are just some examples and what bothers someone else, might not bother you.
A great way to minimize your acid reflux at night is to eat your largest meal of the day at lunch. You want as much of your food to be digested prior to lying down for the night. Rearrange your eating habits to include a big lunch and very small dinner.
For example, if your problem only occurs after vigorous exercise, the solution may be simple. Try to consume at least 8 glasses of water a day. Water fulfills your need for hydration. It also enables your system to digest food more efficiently. Water aids in food digestion and reduces stomach acid production, which will improve your acid reflux.
When you are eating all of your meals, take your time and savor each bite. It is a good idea to put your fork down between each and every bite. This is a good way to stop yourself from overeating, which means a dramatic reduction in all of your acid reflux symptoms.
Watch out for foods that trigger your acid reflux. For most people, these include fried and fatty foods, caffeinated and/or carbonated beverages, citrus juices, spicy foods, etc. There may be other foods and drinks that cause your acid reflux, so just be mindful of what you are eating. If you notice that a particular food or drink is worsening your acid reflux, stop consuming it.
Try to drink mostly in between meals if you suffer from acid reflux. When your stomach is full of food an liquid, the lower esophageal sphincter is under constant pressure. This can cause it to allow the food and acid in your stomach to come back up into your esophagus and destroy the lining within.
Don’t eat highly fatty foods. Reduce or eliminate fast foods, fried foods and marbled red meats. Check the nutrition facts on the foods to find this information.
Do not wear tight clothing around your midsection. This added pressure can worsen your acid reflux symptoms. Instead, wear comfortable, loose clothing to prevent this added pressure on your stomach. If you are the type of person who enjoys skinny jeans, you really should wait until your acid reflux is under control before wearing them again.
The pain in your chest and throat can be dealt with one step at a time now that you have read this article and know what those steps are. The first move to make is to take one tip and use it in your life, then relief will come shortly afterward. Get down to work!
