Do you have a burning feeling in your stomach, chest and/or throat after you eat? Does your chest feel like it’s on fire when you lay down to bed at night? Do acidic foods such as citrus, tomato and chocolate make your symptoms worse? If so, you have acid reflux.

Below are ten natural remedies for the treatment of acid reflux.

Apple Cider Vinegar 

While it may seem counterintuitive to put more acid into your body when you’re already suffering, there are multitudes of positive accounts of those who have used it to treat their acid reflux. Suggested use: Take 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar in water 3 times per day or take 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar twenty minutes before a meal.

Baking soda

Suggested use: If you’re having an attack of acid reflux, drinking a few tablespoons of baking soda mixed into lukewarm water will neutralize the acid and ease your symptoms.

Activated charcoal

Activated charcoal taken in pill form will absorb the excess acid in your stomach and relieve the symptoms of acid reflux.

 Caution:

If you are taking a prescription, consult your healthcare provider before taking activated charcoal, as this treatment will interfere with the effectiveness of your medication.

Digestive enzymes

Digestive enzymes containing pineapple and papaya help ease the discomfort of acid reflux by helping digest proteins and promote a natural acid/alkaline balance in the body. For more on digestive enzymes, click here.

Caution:

Digestive enzymes can sometimes produce a laxative effect as the body cleans out toxins. This is part of the healing process. Begin slowly at first to see how you’ll react.

Aloe Vera Juice

Aloe Vera Juice helps to sooth the irritation in the throat and esophagus of those suffering from acid reflux. Suggested use: Take ¼ cup twenty minutes before a meal.

Caution:  

Use only Aloe Vera juice made for internal use. The use of a leaf directly from a plant has a powerful laxative effect and should not be used for this purpose.

Extra Virgin Pine Nut Oil

Extra Virgin Pine Nut oil is used in Russia, Europe and China for a wide array of digestive maladies including acid reflux. Extra Virgin Pine Nut Oil has a powerful anti-inflammatory property and offers a soothing, protective effect on the digestive system.

Yogurt 

Yogurt contains probiotics, which are part of the three main necessities of good digestion (the other two being digestive enzymes and fiber). Probiotics are “friendly bacteria” that help the body to digest, absorb and assimilate food properly. Probiotics also help “crowd out” harmful bacteria in the gut which can interfere with digestion.

Ginger

Ginger has a soothing effect on the digestive system by helping regulate and normalize the flow of digestive juices. If your natural stomach acid is regulated, you have less of a chance of occurrence of reflux.

Slippery elm 

Slippery Elm is a “demulcent” or soothing herb with powerful anti-inflammatory and healing properties. When taken internally, this herb soothes the irritated tissues of the digestive system and promotes healing.

Chewable DGL

DGL is a licorice herb that has had the glycyrrhizin removed so that it could be used without causing water retention or hypertension (high blood pressure). Chewable DGL is enzymatic therapy designed to support the stomach lining and intestinal tract.

Remember, acid reflux is a sign that your natural digestive process is out of balance. Taking over-the-counter acid pills, chewable antacids and/or prescriptions will only mask the symptoms and, in the long run, make the problem worse. If you can get to the source of the problem and get your digestive system back in balance, your acid reflux will disappear naturally as your body heals.

As always, if you have serious health problems and/or have medical questions, please contact your healthcare provider.

For more healthy, natural products I recommend check out the Product Review Page on my website.

photo © Julia Freeman-Woolpert

This article is intellectual property © Jaime A. Heidel 2010

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