9 Best Acidity Remedies and Heartburn

A number of medications can help to relieve acidic, however, you might want to use certain acidity remedies to relieve the symptoms.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease GERB or acidity is a long-term condition where acid from your stomach comes up into the esophagus.

Moreover, it is important to note that you might experience this condition occasionally.

However, if you experience persistent acid reflux more than twice a week, your doctor may diagnose you with GERD.

In other words, it is a long-term condition and even occurs regularly than GER.

Acidity occurs when there is excess secretion of acids in the gastric glands of your stomach.

It also triggers an unpleasant reaction that makes you feel sick and miserable.

In some cases, it can be due to a long gap between meals, an empty stomach, or excessive intake of tea, coffee, or smoking.

Let’s discuss the causes, symptoms, and acidity remedies as follows:

Causes of Acidity

Experiencing acidity or acid reflux is common.

It often results from overeating, lying after a meal, or eating certain types of foods.

However, if it frequently occurs, your doctor will diagnose it as GERD.

It has usually other causes and risk factors and can have even more serious complications.

GERD  can occur at any age and in some cases, there are unknown reasons for it.

To put it in a nutshell, it occurs when the sphincter at the bottom of your esophagus becomes weak or opens when it should not.

Moreover, if you are overweight or obese, pregnant, taking medications like asthma, calcium channel blockers, sedatives or antidepressants, smoking, etc, it increases your risk of developing this condition.

Moreover, a Hiatus hernia is a condition that can also cause it.

In this condition, an opening in a diaphragm lets the top of your stomach move up into the chest.

This lowers the pressure in the esophageal sphincter and raises your risk of GERD.

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Symptoms of Acidity

One of the main symptoms of acidity is heartburn.

Heartburn is discomfort behind your breastbone as a burning sensation and tends to get worse if you lay down or bend.

Moreover, it can also get worse after eating food.

However, not all individuals with GERD experience heartburn.

The other possible symptoms are nausea or vomiting, bad breath, respiratory problems, difficulty or pain while swallowing, or decay.

According to an estimate, bout 14 to 20% of the adults in the US suffer from acidity in some form.

Moreover, researchers estimate that around 7% of Americans experience heartburn almost daily.

In addition to other symptoms, you might also experience acidic taste at the back of your mouth, cough, and inflammation in the sinuses.

Now let’s discuss some acidity remedies and heartburn.

1# Avoid Overeating

When your esophagus opens into the stomach, there is a ring-like muscle known as the lower esophagus sphincter.

It acts as a valve and is also able to prevent the acidic content of your stomach from going up into the esophagus.

Moreover, it naturally opens when you swallow, belch, or vomit, otherwise, it should stay closed.

If you have acid reflux, this muscle is weakened or has dysfunctions.

Additionally, if you have too much pressure on the muscle, it can cause acid to squeeze through the opening.

It is not surprising to note that most reflux symptoms take place after a meal.

It also seems that large portions of the meal may worsen the symptoms of acidity, according to research.

Therefore, reducing your meal potions or size can help reduce acid reflux.

2# Lose Weight

The diaphragm is a muscle present above your stomach.

If you are healthy, it naturally strengthens the lower esophageal sphincter.

Moreover, this muscle prevents excessive amounts of stomach acid from leaking up into the esophagus.

However, if you have too much belly fat, the pressure in your abdomen may become so high that the lower part of it gets pushed upward, away from the support of the diaphragm.

This condition is Hiatus Hernia.

It is the main reason why obese individuals and pregnant women are at an increased risk of reflux and heartburn, according to studies.

Additionally, several studies show that extra pounds in the abdominal area increase the risk of both acidity and GERD.

Thus, losing those extra kilos can help if you are living with acid reflux.

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3# Low-Carb Diet

Evidence suggests that low-carb diets can help to relieve acid reflux and its symptoms.

Moreover, scientists suspect that undigested carbs may cause bacterial overgrowth and elevated pressure inside your abdomen.

Some of them even are of the view, that this may be one of the most common causes of acid reflux.

Thus, having too many undigested carbs in your digestive system makes you suspectable to gassy and bloated.

According to studies, it also makes you belch more.

Additionally, antibiotic treatment may also help to reduce acid reflux, by decreasing the number of gas-producing bacteria in your stomach.

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4# Avoid Drinking too much Coffee

According to some studies, coffee temporarily weakens the lower esophageal sphincter, increasing the risk of acid reflux.

Moreover, some evidence points that coffee can be a possible culprit.

In the same way, caffeine also weakens the lower esophageal sphincter.

However, according to one study, participants took caffeine in water and researchers were unable to detect any side effects of caffeine on reflux.

These findings indicate that compounds other than caffeine may also play a role in acid reflux.

Thus, the processing and preparation of coffee might also be involved.

Whether coffee intake worsens acid reflux may depend on the individual itself.

If it gives you heartburn, then the acidity remedy is to simply avoid or limit your intake.

5# Avoid Onion and Carbonated Drinks

According to a study, eating a meal containing raw onion significantly increases heartburn, acid reflux, and belching.

This is in comparison to an identical meal that does not contain onion.

Moreover, belching might also suggest that more gas is being produced due to high amounts of fermentable fiber in onions.

Thus, raw onions might also cause irritation in the lining of your esophagus causing severe heartburn.

Therefore, an effective acidity remedy is to avoid eating raw onions.

If you are suffering from GERD, then your doctor will advise you to lower your intake of carbonated drinks.

According to a study, soft drinks were associated with increased acid reflux symptoms.

Moreover, other studies indicate that drinking carbonated water or cola temporarily weakens your lower esophageal sphincter than drinking plain water.

The main reason causing acid reflux is carbon dioxide in carbonated beverages which causes to belch more.

Thus, an effective acidity remedy is to avoid carbonated drinks.

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6# Limit your intake of Citrus Juice and Chocolate

According to a study of 400 GERD patients, about 72% of them reported that orange or grapefruit juice worsens the symptoms of acid reflux.

Moreover, the acidity of citrus fruits is not the only factor contributing to these factors.

Orange juice with a neutral pH also appears to aggravate the symptoms.

Additionally, some of the citrus juice does not weaken the lower esophageal sphincter.

While they do not cause acid reflux, they can temporarily worsen heartburn, thus limiting your intake can help.

In some cases, doctors may advise limiting the intake of chocolate, however, there is weak evidence for this recommendation.

According to a study, consuming 4 ounces of 120 ml of chocolate syrup weakens the lower esophageal sphincter.

However, extensive studies are needed to learn about the effects of chocolate on reflux symptoms.

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7# Elevate your Head

In some cases, you might be experiencing acidity at the night.

This may disrupt your sleep and make it difficult to fall asleep as well.

According to a study, if you raise the head of your bed then it helps to significantly reduce reflux episodes than those who sleep without elevation.

Moreover, an analysis of a study concludes that elevating the head of the bead is an effective acidity remedy to reduce its symptoms and heartburn at night.

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8# Avoid eating before Bed

If you have acid reflux, then you should avoid eating within three hours before going to sleep.

However, there is limited evidence to back it up, but it often helps.

According to a study in patients with GERD, having late evening meals does not affect acid reflux, than those who take a meal before 7 p.m.

However, another study concludes that eating close to bedtime significantly affects the symptoms of acid reflux while going to sleep.

It is important to note that more evidence is required on the effects of eating late on acidity.

9# Stop Smoking

According to a study, there are links between smoking and symptoms of acidity.

Researchers conclude that quitting smoking has positive effects on individuals with GERD.

Moreover, they found that it helps to significantly reduce the symptoms.

Thus, quitting smoking is an effective acidity remedy to avoid and reduce the symptoms.

Final Thoughts

With the help of an acidity remedy, you can help to reduce and manage the symptoms. These include eating smaller portions of meals and avoiding eating before going to bed.

Moreover, you may also try ginger supplements to reduce acidity, however, always consult your doctor trying any home remedy.

Lifestyle changes can help which include quitting smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, and staying in an upright position after meals. However, if they do not prove to be effective, then visit your doctor for medications or surgery.