Do you suffer from acid reflux? I know, I know what you would ask me next: how would you know if you really have one? Well, that is not the hard part. If you feel a burning sensation in either your chest or throat, immediately followed by a bitter taste (kinda like bile) in your mouth, then you are indeed suffering from acid reflux.
So why do you suffer from acid reflux? Basically, well, when you eat food, the stomach uses digestive enzymes as well as acid in order to digest that food. Problem, however, occurs when these enzymes and acid get refluxed back to the esophagus way more often than they should; that is when you experience the heartburn; in fact, heartburn is a more common type of acid reflux followed by the throat inflammation.
If you go deeper, the real reasons behind such instances of acid reflux can be many, such as:
Eating Too Much: Perhaps you have eaten more than your stomach can digest? Well, acid reflux can and DOES occur in such cases.
Putting On Too Much Weight: If you are overweight then your weight puts extra pressure on your abdomen and this may affect the way your stomach digests food. Incomplete digestion can make your stomach push the acid back to your throat, thereby causing acid reflux.
Wearing Tight Clothes: If you are in the habit of wearing tight clothes, such as tight pants or shirts, then this puts undue pressure on your body, including your stomach. The result is, yes you got it – acid reflux!
Smoking: Smoking disturbs the stomach to the point that it refluxes the acid back to your heart and esophagus. Further, smoking also dehydrates you and dries out your saliva which would have otherwise helped in neutralizing the effects of the reflux.
Eating Bad Foods: There are some food items that are bound to trigger reflux even if you have not done anything wrong. Example of such foods include: onion, garlic, junk and fatty foods, fried foods, soft drinks, soda, carbonated drinks, chocolate, foods containing excessive salt, beverages such as coffee and alcohol, etc.
Using Pain Killers: Certain pain killers such as aspirin or ibuprofen are known to trigger acid reflux as well as a host of other stomach problems.
Bad Sitting Posture: Acid reflux can occur if you are sitting in a bad posture, such as being hunched over while eating your meal.
When you are convinced that you are suffering from acid reflux, antacids such as Tums, Pepto-Bismol or Rolaids can offer you relief by preventing the stomach acid from refluxing back to your throat. Similarly, acid blockers such as Peptide AC can also be helpful.
But what do you do if it is not stomach acid that is getting refluxed? Doctors call such cases instances of ‘non acid reflux’. Under non-acid reflux, something other than stomach acid gets refluxed into your esophagus. Unfortunately, unlike acid reflux, not much is known on non-acid reflux. One thing is for sure: if you are taking antacids but they don’t seem to take care of the problem than you may be suffering from non-acid reflux. As of now, visiting a physician is your only option in such cases. If you need more information on how to cure acid reflux, [adrotate banner=”6″]