Home Remedies For Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)

Gastroesophageal reflux disease which is commonly termed as GERD or Acid Reflux is the condition in which the abdomen content in the form of liquid leaks back in to the esophagus. The liquid which passes back to esophagus contains harmful acids, pepsins and may also be composed of bile thus very injurious fort the delicate lining of esophagus.

Since the stomach contents leaks back to the esophagus which mainly comprises of acids hence it work against esophagus and results in heartburn and certain other symptoms. For people of British origin GERD is GORD as they write esophagus as oesophagus.

GERD or Acid Reflux is one of the recurring condition as once it triggers it’s very likely to continue life time. However it is very sad to notice people who take GERD or Acid Reflux for granted and consider it as yet another everyday botheration rather than a disease which needs to be care for!

It can upset the normal routine of a person and can even act as an originator of serious conditions like Barrett’s esophagus, erosive esophagitis, esophageal strictures, esophageal cancer etc. So it’s but natural to pay heed to the GERD or Acid Reflux to prevent the above mentioned deadly diseases as don’t you know that “Prevention is better than cure”. Thus read on to find more info regarding the disease including various natural home remedies for GERD or Acid Reflux.

Causes of GERD or Acid Reflux

As similar to any other health disorder GERD or Acid Reflux too has multiple causes which very from people to people or in a person at different times in a day. The main cause of GERD or Acid Reflux is impaired functioning of ring of muscular tissue termed as Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES) whose function is to rule out back movement of food in to esophagus.

Thus in case of its inappropriate functioning, the food, liquid along with acid moves back in to esophagus causing GERD or Acid Reflux causing heartburn and acidity in esophagus. Besides it pregnancy is also considered to be one cause for GERD or Acid Reflux.

Other causes responsible for GERD or Acid Reflux are:

• Nervous tension
• Certain antidepressants and tranquillizer
• Upraised hormonal level during pregnancy
• Having a meal just before going to bed
• Gobbling up gigantic meals
• Every now and then going for oily, greasy and  fatty foods
• Smoking and having alcoholic beverages
• Going for more effervescent (carbonated) drinks like soda
• Sickness influencing adversely the normal functioning of esophageal sphincter like scleroderma, mixed connective tissue disease, or hiatal hernias

Symptoms of GERD or Acid Reflux

Although heartburn, regurgitation and nausea continues to be one of the dominant symptoms for GERD or Acid Reflux yet there are other symptoms as well which indicate the occurrence of GERD or Acid Reflux. So let’s have a look at them:

Heartburn

Whenever acid backflows in to esophagus the nerve fibers of it gets accelerated which leads to heartburn the most distinguishing feature of GERD or Acid Reflux. Heartburn is a kind of burning pain which occurs behind the region of breastbones.

Nevertheless in some patients it’s discovered that the pain occurs without the burning sensation. It’s more commonplace during night as the person is not under the influence of gravity hence the probability of refluxing of acid back to esophagus increases manifolds. In fact number of patients roll out of bed as result of experiencing heartburn during night.

It is likely to sustain life time once it gets triggered. So take care.

Regurgitation

The literal meaning of regurgitation is to bring undigested or partially digested food up from the stomach to the mouth, as some birds and animals do to feed their young. But we are mammals and hence it is a serious indication of the GERD or Acid Reflux.

When the refluxed liquid makes its undesirable presence in the mouth due to malfunctioning of Upper Esophageal Sphincter (UES) whose function is to check the backflow of esophageal contents to throat it results in the mouth filled with liquid or food.

In addition periodic or persisting regurgitation can also bring about acid-induced corrosion of teeth!

Nausea

In certain rare cases of GERD or Acid Reflux patients also complaint of nausea and/or vomiting yet it’s also not very uncommon in some cases. The root causes behind the asymmetry in the symptoms of the patients i.e. some experiencing severe heartburn while others nausea is still not very clear.

Other rare symptoms of GERD or Acid Reflux include tickle in throat, painfulness in ingesting food, alternation in voice, inflamed throat etc.

Natural Home Remedies for GERD or Acid Reflux}

Gastroesophageal reflux disease or Acid Reflux is the disease with most common symptom of heartburn. GERD or Acid Reflux has furnished the big grounds for the pharmaceutical companies as every year the number of patients of GERD or Acid Reflux is increasing.

However the drugs manufactured by them can’t be taken for long as they are considered to interfere with the process of stomach acids’ production, which plays a leading role in digestion of food. Hence it becomes the need of hour to look for some natural home remedies for GERD or Acid Reflux.

• The use of Apple Cider Vinegar as one of natural home remedies for GERD or Acid Reflux might be sounding wild but dear there are two kinds of acids i.e. good ones and bad ones. By the way Apple Cider Vinegar is one of numerous good ones. One tablespoon of it should be taken on ½ a glass of plain water which should be sip gradually while taking diner to have some relief.
• Another natural way is to utilize the ginger roots which are one of the beneficial herb for treating GERD or Acid Reflux naturally. You can make purchase of the ginger root capsules from the nutritional stores which should be taken on a regular basis immediately after dinner.
• Fennel seed are highly recommended as one of natural home remedies for GERD or Acid Reflux as it is remarkable for beating down the spasms of tummy or gastrointestinal tract. Thus take a half tablespoon of fennel seed and slowly chew it to get the desirable results.
• Consume chilled fat free milk or water after every 1-2 hours to reduce the intensity of heartburn.
• A cup of tea of Anise and Lavender is also very beneficial in treating GERD or Acid Reflux as it reduces the amount of acids in the stomach.
• Many of you just love to chew gums but those who are experiencing the ailment of GERD or Acid Reflux are going to love more as chewing gum increases the secretion of saliva in mouth which is natural antacids and hence when gobbled up gives relief to the esophagus with refluxed acids from stomach.
• Almonds are yet another highly beneficial remedy for treating GERD or Acid Reflux which should be consumed slowly once you make out that acid reflux process has already set in.
• Diet For GERD or Acid Reflux
• As certain foods prevent while other kinds stimulate GERD or Acid Reflux hence you need to very conscious about the kind of food you are consuming. Thus you need to look at diet for GERD or Acid Reflux, one of the main motives of any GERD or Acid Reflux diet deals with the maintenance of nutritional balance of body which helps the stabilization of acid levels in body.
• Avoid greasy, fatty and oily foods, tomatoes, raw onion and citrus fruits as they are known for causing the disease. You need to further abstain from consuming carbonated drinks, alcoholic beverages, chocolates and peppermints as they play a crucial role in malfunctioning of Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES) thereby resulting in the disease.
• If feasible prefer smaller many meals in a day rather than fewer heavy meals.
• Cabbage, green beans, peas, apples, broccoli, bananas, carrots, lean meat and fish, egg whites, low fat dairy products and salad dressings and multi grain breads all are good diets for GERD or Acid Reflux.