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4 Ways to Relieve Acid Reflux without Using Medication

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Hi there!

Last week we talked about GERD and an alternative way to manage it. In case you missed it, you can check it out here.

Heartburn can occur after having a large meal, binge drinking, or eating greasy food. That burning sensation you feel around your chest happens because of the rising up of the acidic stomach content to your esophagus.

While occasional heartburn and acid reflux is common, its frequent occurrence is not. This might be a symptom of GERD or gastroesophageal reflux disease, which is a chronic disease due to the malfunctioning of the sphincter between the esophagus and stomach. Simply put, when it’s chronic, it’s because the cells are no longer working properly and they need help restoring proper function!

To ease occasional acid reflux, you can try doing the following alternative ways without using medications (always check with your doctor first):

1. Eat smaller meals and go easy on the carbohydrates

Poorly digested food, especially carbohydrates which are quick to ferment, cause bacterial overgrowth in the stomach and upper part of your small intestine and increase the pressure inside (gas), forcing the stomach content to go up the esophagus.

So you can limit your symptoms by not overeating, taking your time when you do eat, chew really thoroughly, and focus on eating healthy, unprocessed foods such as meat, fish, eggs, non-starchy vegetables, nuts and seeds, and fats and oils.

2. Limit beverages including alcohol, coffee, citrus juice, and carbonated drinks

These beverages worsen acid reflux symptoms because they change the stomach pH more readily, weaken the lower esophageal sphincter, increase belching, or irritate the lining of the esophagus.

3. Chew gum that contains bicarbonate

Chewing gum increases saliva production and the bicarbonate content helps to clear the acid from the esophagus.

4. Try CBD Oil

CBD oil can actually treat many health issues as I discussed in previous newsletters. Due to the presence of cannabinoid receptors in all parts of the body, including the gastrointestinal tract, CBD oil is an effective alternative to manage many illnesses including acid reflux.

CBD oil is effective for acid reflux because when it interacts with the endocannabinoid system, it results in the following:It lessens the secretion of gastric acid (so best not to do this at mealtimes unless you have confirmed with your doctor that you have an excess of stomach acid).It reduces inflammatory responses, so it mitigates the inflammation and damage along the esophagus.It decreases the sensation of pain.It soothes and calms down peristalsis.
I hope you find these methods and relieve occasional acid reflux symptoms. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me and let me know what you find helpful!

For more chronic situations of GERD, you need to get to the root cause or it can become quite serious. What you eat and how you eat it matters–choose nutritious, unprocessed foods whenever possible and sit down and chew your food rather than rushing and eating on the go. Look into diagnostic testing such as getting an endoscopy (inside look at your stomach and esophagus; or reach out to a functional practitioner such as myself for a full look at the functioning of your gut, inside peek at gut bacteria imbalance, opportunistic infections, and more. I’m not a doctor and I’m not pretending to be! I don’t diagnose my clients, but rather I help them to identify where function has been lost and then guide them with diet and lifestyle practices so that their body can restore proper function.

It is my passion to work with people like you whose health symptoms are getting in the way of you living life fully and with a sense of freedom in your body. I can help you to regain your health so you can feel great and free to enjoy life fully.

If you’re ready to discover where your best health has been hiding, I’d love to connect with you!
Apply for a complimentary Unstoppable Health Discovery Session. http://bit.ly/schedulinghealth (subject to availability).

Until next time, I’m wishing you unstoppable health!

~Rebecca

Have GERD? Here’s a Natural Alternative to Manage It

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Hi there!
In case you missed my healthy Halloween recipe lineup last week, you can check it out here.

Today, we’re going to talk about GERD or gastroesophageal reflux disease. It’s a condition that effects up to 60% of people and is characterized by feeling heartburn or a burning pain in the chest or throat.
 

Let’s look at why it happens. At the bottom part of your throat, your esophagus, lies a sphincter, a circular band of muscle that relaxes (opens) to allow the entry of food and water to the stomach and closes again after.
 
For someone who has GERD, his or her sphincter is not functioning properly, causing the stomach contents to rise up to the esophagus. Since your stomach content is naturally acidic, when it touches the lining of your esophagus, it creates a burning feeling–which we call heartburn.
 
For years, patients and physicians have depended on PPIs or proton-pump inhibitors to manage GERD, a group of drugs whose main action is to significantly lessen the production of stomach acid. However, the use of PPI has been linked to increased death rate due to heart diseases and stroke, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, various infections, nutrient deficiencies, disruption of the gut microbiome, and many more. In fact, earlier this year, a popular PPI was cautioned against due to increased evidence linking it to kidney disease.
 
I’m a huge proponent of getting to the root cause of symptoms rather than quick fixes which tend to lead to bigger health problems down the road. However, getting to the root cause can take time and correcting imbalances does too…so while you are doing those things, you don’t need to suffer! There are healthier alternatives that allow symptom relief as you support your body to heal.
 
One of the best choices for heartburn symptom relief is alginate-based raft therapy.
 
Normally, after eating, an acid layer forms on top of the stomach contents to create an acid pocket. With raft therapy, a gel-like “raft” floats on top of that acid pocket so that stomach contents don’t go up to your esophagus.
 
But why alginate?
 
Alginate or alginic acid is a compound found within the cell walls of brown algae and is naturally a gelling substance–making it a very effective raft to block stomach content reflux.
 
Alginate is taken with natural buffering agents such as calcium carbonate. Aside from being a buffer, calcium carbonate plays an important role in making the raft float. When it mixes with stomach acid, carbon dioxide bubbles are produced and trapped in the raft, causing it to float on top of stomach content.
 
The raft lasts for four hours in the stomach, and it can be digested and eliminated from the body, just like other dietary fibers. It is used after a meal in either tablet or liquid form. If taken during a meal or in capsule form, it will simply combine with food in the stomach and not form a raft.
 
Compared to PPIs, alginate-based raft therapy is safer and more effective. It is supported by a number of clinical studies, researches, and reviews. Read more about alginate-based raft therapy.
 
Now to be clear, while this can be a great option for symptom relief and protect the lining of your esophagus, it still doesn’t address the cause of heartburn.
Next time, I’ll share some additionally helpful information about relieving GERD naturally and look at how to address the root cause.

It is my passion to work with people like you whose health symptoms are getting in the way of you living life fully and with a sense of freedom in your body. I can help you to regain your health so you can feel great and free to enjoy life fully.
 
If you’re ready to discover where your best health has been hiding, I’d love to connect with you!
Apply for a complimentary Unstoppable Health Discovery Session. http://bit.ly/schedulinghealth (subject to availability).
Until next time, I’m wishing you unstoppable health!

~Rebecca