diet for acid reflux– What and What’s not to Avoid

Diet for Acid Reflux – What and What’s not to Avoid

It is indeed a nuisance to suffer from a Gastroesphageal Regurgitation Disease.  This kind of disease can cause heartburn especially when you eat foods that should be avoided.  There is definitely certain diet for acid reflux which you need to take note in order to avoid any attacks or worsening of the symptoms.

First thing to do is prevent eating large meals a day.  It is best to eat small but frequently.  This will give your stomach all the time it needs to digest the food properly without producing too much acid.  This lessens the workload it carries.  In your meal plan, always include foods that have high carbohydrate content such as rice, pasta, multi-grain or white bread, bran, crackers, pretzels and many more.  These rich in carbohydrate foods bind acid in the stomach and are lighter to work on.  It is also necessary to remain in an upright position after eating.  During sleep, it is also proper to elevate the head of the bed approximately six to eight inches when assuming a lying position.

Second thing to remember is to avoid meals that have high fat content.  Examples of this are foods that are fried and oily.  These should be avoided because foods that are fat containing are hard to digest, therefore the stomach would need more acid to digest them. It is also necessary to limit intake of beverages such as alcohol and sodas.  They double up acid secretions in the stomach making you more susceptible to acid reflux disease.  And above all do not eat too much, because this will trigger your stomach to secrete more acid to compensate on the digestion process.

Among the many foods and beverages to avoid and should only be consumed, there are also some beliefs that are wrong or proven null by research.  One of these is the thought that a glass of milk before sleep can actually lessen GERD symptoms.  The truth is milk can cause a rebound effect that can encourage secretion of more acid, therefore causing acid reflux.  The key is to eat less during dinner and take a small snack like biscuits before retiring at night.

Another belief that had been practiced for years is that, spicy, citrus and caffeine containing beverages should be avoided in order to decrease acid reflux symptoms.  According to the research made by Internal Medicine doctors of Stanford University, there are only two means of reducing symptoms, and these are elevating head of bed while asleep and eating small and frequent meal.

If you are suffering from this chronic condition, you have to update on your special diet for acid reflux list.  Despite the fact that there are common foods, you also need to take note of the foods and beverages that can aggravate the symptoms.  It is good to have a food diary in order to keep track of the dos and don’ts.  It will develop discipline and assurance that acid is produced in minimum at your stomach.

visit my website to get more info http://akucreate.com/

acid reflux symptom in pregnant woman

Acid Reflux Symptom in Pregnant Women

Women are prone to suffer from acid reflux disease because of its exposure to stress and the practice of unhealthy lifestyle.  These factors can contribute to the regurgitation of acid from the stomach to the esophagus thus causing acid reflux symptom.

Normally, the esophagus has a sphincter in the lower area which is in a form of a valve that connects the organ to the stomach.  The valve have ample pressure to keep the acid away from reflux, but once it malfunction, acid can regurgitate to the esophagus at any time and can cause big trouble once left undiagnosed and untreated.

The stomach is lined with mucus which serves as protection from acid, but unluckily the esophagus does not have this lining, making it susceptible to damage once acid is constantly present in the area.  It can really cause severe pain and discomfort.

Men and women are both susceptible to the disease; however women become more prone once they get pregnant because of the pressure exerted by the fetus to the lower esophageal sphincter.  This allows acid to leak to the esophagus and causes some degree of damage.  There is also increase in certain hormones which contributes to the weakening of the lower esophageal sphincter.

Most common symptoms would include:

First is heartburn.  Once the acid gets into the esophagus, there is a feeling of burning somewhere in the chest.  This is the most common symptom of acid reflux.  There is a wide possibility that the burning sensation will radiate to the stomach and throat.

Second is the sour taste in the mouth and nausea.  These symptoms occur in worst cases of the disease.  This is the time when the reflux reaches the throat and mouth giving out sour taste.  Nausea is felt by women who do not experience heartburn.

Third is cough and sore throat.  In acid reflux disease where the acid reaches the throat and mouth, undigested food can actually come along.  This can cause a scratchy throat and persistent cough.

Last is difficulty in swallowing.  This is one of the most alarming stages of Gastroesophageal Regurgitation Disease; it is when presence of acid causes the narrowing of esophagus.  This can cause anorexia and may lead to malnutrition and other severe symptoms.

Acid reflux symptom is common to women who are bearing a child, but it disappears after child birth.  For other people who are suffering from this condition regularly, they must be keen enough to visit their physician and seek for medical advice.  Most often, the diet plan is modified to avoid recurrence of symptoms.  There are also over-the-counter medications that can aid in fast relief of symptoms while there are also strong ones that effectively blocks acid production for a long time.  A certain treatment will depend on your condition.

cause of acid reflux

Causes of Acid Reflux – Knowing the Primary Reason for Persistence

Acid reflux disease is known as a regurgitation of acid from the stomach to the esophagus which can later lead to inflammation of the organ (esophagitis).  This kind of abnormal condition is caused by too much intake of fatty foods and a constant practice of taking a nap, bending down, or lifting objects after a meal.  These are all common causes of acid reflux.  On the other hand, the most common symptom is heartburn.  This is described as a burning sensation which can be felt from the stomach and slowly radiates to the chest and throat.  These may be the common causes and symptom, but the persistence of Gastroesophageal Regurgitation Disease (GERD) might be secondary to existing health conditions or abnormal structures of body organs.  Here are some possibilities.

First is the malfunction of the Lower Esophageal Sphincter muscles, which can be caused by drugs’ adverse effect or nervous system problems.  This smooth muscle is responsible of keeping the pressure by closing and opening appropriately to avoid contents to come back from the stomach.  Once the muscles in these area would loosen, the tendency is to prevent the sphincter from closing completely thus allowing acid entrance from the stomach to the esophagus.

Second condition that can contribute to persistence of GERD is impaired stomach nerve or muscle function.  Impairment in the stomach causes problem in making the muscle of the stomach function consistently and continuously.  It delays emptying of food thus may cause acid to regurgitate to the esophagus.

Third is Hiatal hernia.  This is a condition when the hiatus, a small hole in the diaphragm is weakened or was enlarged and causes protrusion in the stomach muscles.  This is usually common to older people ages 60 and above.  This kind of problem can impair the function of lower esophageal sphincter muscle function.  This can therefore increase the possibility of aggravating acid reflux attacks.

Last is the possibility that abnormalities in the esophagus cause GERD persistent recurrence.  Recent studies had shown that hoarseness of voice, a feeling of lump in the throat and chronic cough are related to problems arising in the esophagus and causes atypical Gastroesophageal reflux disease.  These conditions are malfunction of esophagus peristalsis and the adult-ringed esophagus.  The latter is an abnormality which the esophagus develops many rings in it, thus causing difficulty of swallowing food.  This is common to male than in female.

There are certainly various causes of acid reflux, and the first important step of treatment is identifying the main cause.  From this, you can start a proper care plan on how to prevent GERD symptoms.  It is useless to keep treating acid reflux, when the real culprit behind is not known.  Most of the time, there will be relief once the primary abnormal condition is diagnosed and treated.

Getting to know Acid Reflux Disease

Getting to know Acid Reflux Diseasea

Acid reflux disease is a problem that arises when the liquid in the stomach goes back or refluxes to the esophagus.  This condition is also known as Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).  These liquid which is composed of acid, pepsin, and bile are produced by the stomach to aid in digestion but can cause damage when it goes back to the esophagus.  Pepsin is responsible of digesting protein in the stomach while bile is from the duodenum part of small intestine which is vital for fat absorption.  Among the three components, acid has the biggest role of damaging the esophagus lining and eventually cause inflammation.

According to the study conducted by experts, any human being have a tendency to experience reflux of liquid from the stomach, the only difference is that, people suffering from GERD have more acid in the liquid and tend to reflux higher compared to normal beings.  Once you are suffering from this chronic disease, the treatment should be taken consistently because the problem seems to recur when you stop the designed treatment, though there are some who believes that the solution to this disease is by treating it symptomatically.  This means that you will only have to take medication or follow prescribed diet once any symptom occur.

Like in any untoward situation, the body always compensates to keep the normal function intact.  With Gastroesophageal reflux disease, most cases happen in day time when the position assumed is upright.  Because of this, the gravity allows the refluxed liquid to go back to the stomach.  Swallowing and the saliva produced by the salivary gland in the mouth plays an important role in neutralizing acid.  Every time you swallow, saliva becomes equipped with bicarbonate which travels through the esophagus and causes neutralization of acid.  This leaves the esophagus with less acid at the end of the day.

On the other hand, attacks of GERD happen most of the time at night, when the person is no longer on upright position thus impeding the gravity to work.  Another fact is that, the production of saliva is lower, which means there is no enough bicarbonate to neutralize the acid and swallowing is not happening as well.  This means more acid is stuck in the esophagus which can create chronic damage in it.

There are many causes of Acid Reflux Disease and sometimes it is only secondary to the existing problem or changes in the body.  Take for example during pregnancy, there are certain hormones that can lower the pressure in the lower esophageal sphincter thus causing regurgitation, the presence of the fetus is also putting more pressure, therefore can cause reflux of liquid to the esophagus as well.  Another disease is scleroderma; this is one condition of the connective tissues which causes weakening of the esophageal muscles thus aggravate GERD to develop.

acid reflux

Acid Reflux

                        When you experience a burning sensation in your chest or just a uncomfortable sensation of acid from your stomach creeping up your mouth, then you may be experiencing acid reflux. This usually affects at least 40% of the American population. When this incident happens during the night, then you will wake up gasping for air for the acid has already reached your airway. These are common symptoms that affect a lot of people on a daily basis. Many people are not aware why they experience these symptoms. Here are some possible causes for your discomfort and maybe you could prevent further incidents of reflux.

·         List down the food that you eat. Reflux of acid is usually caused by a variety of foods. it could range from citrus fruits, sour cream, juices, high fat desserts, alcoholic and caffeinated drinks. Two of the most infamous causes are peppermint and chocolate. The esophageal sphincter is relaxed when these foods are ingested so there is no closure of the passageway from the espohagus to the stomach leading to the reflux of food up in the digestive tract. When the esophageal sphincter, relaxes the result is a reflux.

·         Determine from the person that sleep beside you or have seen you sleep if you snore during the night. Snoring could be an indication that you are suffering from sleep apnea. This is one major cause of reflux. Snoring restricts the passage of air causing you to increase effort at breathing. This will result in the lungs expanding causing the esophagus to be filled more with acid. This concentrates the acid. While sleeping, the body also stops producing saliva that helps in keeping the action of acid to the mucous membranes at bay. With a decrease in saliva production and increase in acid concentration, the effect could be damaging.

·         Too much abdominal pressure is also one of the major causes of reflux. This could be achieved in many ways. Eating a large meal before going to bed is one way. Wearing tight clothes is also another way to increase abdominal pressure. Fluids usually go from an area of high pressure to low pressure. In this case, the stomach has higher pressure leading the acid to go to the chest with lower pressure. This can be force up reaching the level of the esophagus.

·         Another cause of acid reflux is the presence of a hiatal hernia. This is where a portion of the stomach is present in the chest cavity. The contents of the stomach may spill to the chest area. Further test will be needed to diagnose this condition. Seeing your physician and opening to him about your problem will be of great help. He can help trace your medical history if indeed you possess this condition.