Vitamin Information Center

If you have ever had acid back up out of your stomach and into your esophagus, you may have had a severe burning sensation. Other times, maybe a little belch or burp but the acid reflux is so mild you don’t think much about it. Either way, it is important to look at the connection of acid reflux and diet.

If you are a sufferer, you know you have got to do something. Many people do not want to take pills, but will reach for the anti acids. What is best though?

Actually neither the pills or the antacids. You really need to take a look at what you ate, how your system reacted with acid reflux and make a change in your diet.

Common foods causing or contributing to acid reflux are:

Coffee Alcohol Spicy Foods Citrus Foods Sugars Fried Food Chocolate

For some people they may also need to watch certain types of onions. Cooked onion may not bother you as much as raw onion.

Now, you would take those mentioned above out of your diet, then after a while, introduce one at a meal and see how things went. Did you have acid reflux, belching or burping? If not, then you might be able to introduce that back into your diet on a part time basis, or perhaps permanently. Carefully watch how the acid reflux goes. You may want to write this down in a diary, so that you can keep track.

Now notice what happens when you eat less food mentioned above and more vegetables and fruit. Most vegetables and some fruit are more alkaline forming foods, so they help to balance the acid condition.

Beginning to see the picture? Acid Reflux and diet are connected. Generally speaking, certain foods can cause acid reflux. Certain foods can help your body overcome the problem.

Another suggestion that works time after time is to eat smaller meals. Don’t put as much on your plate. That does not mean you have to starve. You can eat four meals instead of three, or three meals and one or two snacks and do just fine. The rule is don’t eat big meals, and give your stomach time to digest your food before ingesting the next meal.

Are you a soda drinker? Bad news for reflux suffers. The bubbles in the drinks expand the stomach a little. They can have the same effect on the stomach as over eating, so cut back or cut out your sodas.

Don’t eat to close to bedtime. Leave at least three hours before bedtime, to give you stomach a chance to digest the contents completely. That way, you don’t have the reflux of acid coming up into your esophagus when you lay down. If you have ever missed sleep because of acid reflux, this tip alone can help quite a bit.

Your esophagus can heal from the burning caused by stomach acid in about seven weeks, once you start proper care of your digestive system and decrease your chances of an episode occurring.

slamabad

Patients with recurrent mouth ulcers, which produce an intense burning sensation and difficulty in eating leading to low food intake and poor health, often have deficiency of Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid.

A cross-sectional analytical study conducted by the Pakistan Medical Research Council (PMRC) speculates that supplementation of Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid is likely to heal mouth ulcers and reduce the misery of patients.

In the present study, 57 patients with recurrent mouth ulcers and 57 age and gender matched controls (not having mouth ulcers) were studied. All patients and controls had their haemoglobin, hematocrit, RBC foliate, Vitamin B12 and serum ferritin levels checked. The results showed significantly low folic acid and Vitamin B12 levels in patients with mouth ulcers while ferritin levels did not show any significant difference in the two groups.

Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis (RAS) is as old as humanity itself and is a Greek term, ‘Aphthai,’ meaning to set on fire in relation to focal painful inflammation of oral mucosa. Other names of RAS are recurrent aphthous ulcer, canker sores, recurrent oral ulcers, and mouth ulcers.

Aphthous ulcers of the oral cavity are very frequently encountered in general practice. Although the exact cause remains obscure, many factors are considered to contribute to the pathogenesis of these lesions, such as immunological factors, local trauma, smoking, stress, hormonal state, family history, food hypersensitivity, infections and allergy. Studies have reported that globally 20% of the world population is affected by the condition, with prevalence as high as 66% in certain populations.

Recurrent aphthous ulcer is a multi-factorial disease with predominantly unknown etiology. Many factors are known to contribute to the pathogenesis of RAS such as stress, immunological factors, local trauma, hormonal state, hereditary and genetic factors, microbial factor, food hypersensitivity drug allergy and hematinic deficiencies.

Hematinic deficiencies are found in 20% of patients with RAS with recurrence rates as high as 50%. It was observed that 60% patients with B12 deficiency, on receiving B12 therapym recovered completely while 70% of patients with RAS improved with hematinic replacement therapy.

Since 1949, the World Health Organization has recognized the public health importance of nutritional anaemia as a major health problem throughout the world, especially in the developing countries. Nutrition surveys in a number of countries have highlighted the widespread prevalence of nutritional anaemia in developing countries. Infants, young children, menstruating and pregnant women are most frequently affected. Foliate deficiency is the second most common cause of nutritional anaemia in the world.

It has been found that out of Pakistan’s total population of 159,196,336, an estimated 2,048,482 people are anaemic out of which 233,793 are suffering from pernicious anaemia, which can cause oral ulceration, mucosal bleeding and glossitis.

Acid Reflux Remedies can work well. In fact, natural acids from the body are needed for the proper functioning of our body. But sometimes the levels of these acids go up and down causing some health problems. So it is important to maintain a proper health program to avoid this disturbance.

One of the natural acids is the stomach acid which helps in proper digestion. Sometimes due to the eating habits this acid level shoots up causing burning sensation in our throat. This is a condition when the acid from our stomach comes back in our throat, causing a very common symptom: Heart burn. The acid travels back because of the weak functioning of the esophagus (a tube which connects the stomach and throat). This condition is also faced by children and infants.

There are medicines which can cure this reflux but the side effects are very high. The remedies include medicines, herbal and natural remedies, home remedies and surgery. Out of the above remedies people prefer natural and herbal remedies more. Let us see all the remedies in brief:

Natural Remedies: The best and the natural way to good health. This remedy includes flushing out the toxins from the body. Drinking lots of water will take care of the impurities from the body as this will keep the system clear. So it important to drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water per day. Diet should include fresh fruit and vegetable juices. Eating 2-3 cloves of garlic is also beneficial for people suffering from acid reflux.

Herbal remedies: Herbs which are stored in the kitchen can also bring relief from acid reflux. Herbs such as Pepper, Jesthamadh, Amla, Ginger can improve the digesting power. Each herb with its different qualities and properties proves useful to fight against the reflux. These herbs can be consumed in small quantities and can be used in different recipes also.

Apple or apple cider vinegar: Rich in minerals and vitamins “Apple” has it own qualities. It is the best diet fruit which is widely consumed all over the world. It also adds a glow to the skin and improves the hair quality. Made from crushing”Apple” the”Apple cider Vinegar” helps in digestion. It can be consumed by patients suffering from kidney stone, bones, blood complications, bone disorders etc.

Reflux pillow: A special pillow is available for people suffering from acid reflux. This pillow can be used with the regular pillow. The structure of this pillow is made in such a way that it helps to keep the stomach acid down while we sleep. The head of the pillow is slightly raised comfortably keeping the upper body rested on it.

Medicines: Antacids are available in the market which keeps control over the rising level of this acid. Some medicines are expensive and cause many side effects.

Surgery: Long lasting effect can be achieved through surgery. The need to take medicines decreases after going through this surgery.

By consulting the doctor the use of the above mentioned remedies can cure the risk of further acceleration of the acid.

Acid Reflux Remedies can work wonders. Try some!