5 Ways to Reduce Acid Reflux
Acid reflux can be extremely painful and can effect your quality of life in many ways. Often times we are prescribed medications that put a band aid over the reflux, but as a holistic dietitian, I like to get to the root of the cause to achieve lasting results. Here are 5 ways you can reduce your acid reflux so you can heal the root of the condition!
Diet changes: Acid reflux is a condition largely effected by the foods we consume. Acidic foods such as citrus, tomato, and vinegar tend to increase reflux as well as spicy foods, foods high in fat and sugar, chocolate and carbonated beverages. Everything effects everyone differently so it is important to work alongside a dietitian when making dietary changes to improve reflux. For example peppermint is listed as something that generally causes reflux but for me it actually reduces my reflux.
Reducing stress: Stress is a main contributor to not only acid reflux but overall gastrointestinal distress. Different methods of reducing stress include time management (and giving yourself “you time” each day), aromatherapy, meditation/prayer, and talk-therapy.
Get minimum 30 minutes of movement in per day: This is a big one! As a society, especially post-pandemic, we have become overall more sedentary. This lack of movement has a lot of negative effects on our overall health which, in turn, contributes to increased chronic illness such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and GERD. Some easy ways to fit in movement into your day, if you aren’t in a place to commit to joining a gym, include, taking the stairs, parking farther away from work or the store, walking your dog (or other peoples dogs; on the app Wag you can get paid to do it), getting a desk treadmill, having a random dance party, watching youtube home workouts, and planning physical hangouts with friends (hiking, swimming, kayaking, sports).
Supplements: There are plenty of supplements out there marketing to help aid in reducing reflux so it is important again to work alongside a registered dietitian or naturopathic doctor to come up with a correct supplement regimen for you. Personally, I do not like to add a lot of supplements because I believe most of what we need can be provided by food. Although, there are certain supplements you may want to consider for “spot treatments” when you’re having a tough heartburn day or while you begin to wean off of medication. Two of my favorite supplements include DGL and peppermint leaf. I also encourage people with reflux to add aloe vera into their diet whether it be the frozen bits added to a smoothie or the gel (the edible kind) taken as a shot in the morning.
Weaning off medication: Now this one can get controversial and just to be clear I do not advise anyone to wean off of medication without the approval of a doctor. However, there is research that suggests that being on acid reflux medication, such as proton-pump inhibitors, for long periods of time can have negative health implications long-term. Another concern is that when you inhibit acid production for long periods of time, once you decide to come off the medication, your acid will come back and with a vengeance. I have experienced it first hand and let me tell you, it is NO JOKE. The other culprits are short term medications that many use long term (or like candy) such as Tums. These can make your reflux worsen over time and cause serious issues in your gut health and digestive system.
Overall, acid reflux is an awful and painful disease that effects about 20% of the US population according to the National Institutes of Health. Fear not, there are ways to improve your reflux and ways to get it completely under control. Send me an email, nutrikaywellness@gmail.com if you’d like to take the first step in your reflux healing journey and stay tuned for the July launch of my acid reflux healing program, the Acid Reflux Fix!