Acid Reflux - What is Acid Reflux?

Introduction Acid reflux is the reflux or back flow of stomach liquids into the esophagus, the tube through which food passes into the stomach. Although it is commonly referred to as heartburn, acid reflux has nothing to do with the heart. People feel a burning sensation in the chest and upper abdomen due to the stomach acid that has refluxed into the esophagus. As a disease, acid reflux affects millions worldwide. The medical term for acid reflux disease is Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD).

Occasional reflux of gastric contents into the esophagus is normal in healthy individuals. However, if you suffer from persistent conditions that hinder your daily life, you may have GERD and may need to be treated.

There are many options available for acid reflux treatment. You can look for a wealth of information about acid reflux on the Internet or visit your physician. The great news is that acid reflux is quite manageable. You can choose from many treatment options including lifestyle changes, over-the-counter remedies and prescription drugs. The most effective approach is to combine all forms of treatment. Surgery is available as a last resort for those whose symptoms won't subside.

Causes of Acid Reflux

GERD's most common cause is the frequent relaxation of the sphincter -- a muscular opening that acts like a valve -- that connects the esophagus to the stomach, allowing stomach acid to move up the esophagus. There could be many reasons for this to occur, including delayed emptying of the stomach, obesity and pregnancy in women. These factors increase the pressure within the abdomen, causing the stomach to press against the diaphragm and hence increasing the chances of acid reflux. Also, if the esophagus does not clear the refluxed liquid quickly, heartburn symptoms are felt for longer durations.

You may be able to reduce acid reflux symptoms by making changes in your lifestyle and diet. These include avoiding lying down after a meal, avoiding heavy meals and eating less at more frequent times. It is also important to lose excess weight, keep your head elevated when lying down and abstain from smoking and alcohol. Caffeine rich beverages should also be excluded from your diet. Stress management may also indirectly help in dealing with acid reflux.

If GERD is not treated early on, it can lead to inflammation, ulcers and constrictions in the esophagus, making it severely difficult and painful to swallow. It may also lead to a severe condition known as Barrett's esophagus which may eventually lead to esophageal cancer.

Over-the-counter remedies such as H2 blockers and antacids are available for treating milder forms of GERD. Antacids neutralize the acidic effects, while H2 blockers reduce acid production in the stomach. These may not be so effective if the GERD is more severe. For serious cases of acid reflux, more powerful drugs such as proton pump inhibitors may help. As a final note, it should be remembered that acid reflux medications are most effective when accompanied by changes in eating habits

Helping Yourself With the Natural Cure for Acid Reflux

Oftentimes, acid reflux is scorned as one of the most painful conditions known to man. The heartburn and gas that comes with this incredibly painful disease can be crippling. The pain from acid reflux can nearly double over a sufferer, incapacitating them, save for belching and scrambling for any kind of relief they can find.

Many sufferers regularly self-medicate themselves with medicinal antacids in an effort to curb the symptoms of acid reflux. But the fact is that antacids may not cure acid reflux or even provide long-lasting relief, nor do they serve to prevent the acid reflux symptoms from occurring.

The best possible way to heal yourself via a natural cure for acid reflux is to take control of your dietary lifestyle. A natural cure for acid reflux is to avoid gassy or potentially gas-producing acid foods in order to prevent the acid reflux symptoms from emerging.

Knowing what your personal dietary triggers are is a valuable piece of information and this will serve the create the best natural cure for acid reflux, which is prevention. In order to do this, you will need to identify what foods and beverages serve to trigger your acid reflux symptoms. Faithfully avoid those foods and beverages.

At the forefront of your attack on the disease should be prevention as your natural cure for acid reflux. A natural cure for acid reflux is the best resolution. Ironically, the natural cure for acid reflux may actually even be the fastest, overall path to relief from its symptoms.

There are natural cures for acid reflux as alternatives to prevention or traditional over-the-counter and prescription medications. One way you can identify one of these natural cures for acid reflux is to explore some of the herbal remedies available at health food stores. These natural cures come in many forms, not just in traditional pill form. Among an array of options, health food stores offer such natural cure for acid reflux as herbal teas reported to curb or relieve symptoms. You can buy acid reflux herbal tea solutions either pre-prepared or for use with a tea press. Do not hesitate to ask store staff for other available natural remedies.

As always, a natural cure for acid reflux is the best and healthiest overall option. However, even a natural cure for acid reflux may not provide the level of prevention or relief you seek for your specific situation; an herbal remedy may not be for you. If this is the case, do not hesitate to consult your physician regarding the array of options that you can avail of for your particular situation.

Warning - Prescription Drugs To Treat Acid Reflux Disease Can Cause Cancer

Acid Reflux Reflux Natural Treatments

If you have been diagnosed with Acid Reflux, Heartburn, Gastritis, Esophageal Reflux or Bile Reflux you might want to read this free report on what to do to rid yourself of the acid reflux symptoms without taking any medication. That's right!

Although you can get the answer to your acid reflux problem from a totally natural resource you could benefit from natural supplements that has been medically proven to turn the acid reflux switch to the "off" position.

A natural cure for acid reflux means you never have to suffer from acid reflux again!

To someone that lives with it, that would may be come as a surprise, but it is possible.

For anyone that is not familiar with the term acid reflux or the other related terms such as Heartburn, Gastritis, Esophageal Reflux or Bile Reflux, it might not seem a big deal. Ask anyone with a acid reflux problem and your lack of insight will turn into a deep sympathy.

It is a painful experience that is caused by acid burn at your esophagus and it makes it impossible for people with acid reflux problems to sleep without taking antacids, or just laying down to sleep as that makes the acid push up at the esophagus and as I said - that is a really painful situation.

Medicine exists for the treatment of acid reflux. Does it work? Hahaha, if you are having acid reflux symptoms you will know that it does not work at all. Yes - if you consider living of acid reflux medicine for life!

Acid reflux medicine usually involves products that neutralize the acid in your stomach using antacids as their basic approach. That approach is targeting the treat symptoms instead of curing the patient. In fact by just neutralizing your stomach acids the body releases a hormone called Gastrin to regulate the lowered hydrochloric acid in the stomach by activating the production of even more stomach acid. That means that taking acid reflux medicine is only a temporary relief and rather than a solution it provides even a bigger acid reflux problem to cure.

The correlation between Gastrin and cancerous tissue growth is widely known and you can read all about it by just searching Google on "Gastrin Cancer".

The best approach to curing acid reflux disease would be find what went wrong in the first place and then you will find that the answer to curing acid reflux is a very simple one. The solution to the problem is so easy yet the hype and drugs sold is to ease the problem has become a major income stream for many people - especially drug companies that are ready to please the masses with medicine that relieves symptoms so their customers are hooked to keep using their products.