Quick Action Plan for Preventing and Treating Heartburn (Acid Reflux)…

Quick Action Plan for Preventing and Treating Heartburn (Acid Reflux)

1. Occasional heartburn is usually harmless; suffering from chronic heartburn requires medical attention. Hiatal hernia, stress, or smoking can also cause heartburn.
2. Conventional physicians recommend over-the-counter antacid medications for heartburn. Although these drugs can provide temporary relief, long-term use may be harmful, as they reduce the amount of stomach acids necessary for proper digestion and assimilation of food.
3. Screen for food allergies, which contribute to poor digestion, thus leading to heartburn. Avoid the following: foods you are allergic to, eating too many different types of foods at the same meal, drinking excess fluids during the meal, wolfing down food, or eating under stress.
4. Avoid overeating, do not eat acid forming foods, commercially-processed foods, overly spicy foods, refined sugars and carbohydrates, hydrogenated fats or oils, coffee, chocolate, sodas, excess alcohol, orange and grapefruit juice, tomato products, pasteurized milk or dairy products, and foods containing peppermint and spearmint.
5. Eat an organic whole foods diet, full of organic fresh green vegetables and green vegetable juices, especially freshly-made cucumber juice, which can provide instant relief. Free-range organic meats and poultry, and wild-caught fish are recommended. Drink plenty of pure, filtered water throughout the day.
6. Avoid overeating and eating meals late in the evening, and allow at least three hours between meals, unless blood sugar problems are an issue.
7. For quick relief from heartburn symptoms, eat apples, raw cucumbers (peeled), brown rice, and walnuts. Try sipping a glass of pure, filtered water with a couple of teaspoons of raw, organic apple cider vinegar, or baking soda, which can quickly neutralize heartburn attacks.
8. Useful herbs for heartburn include agrimony, aloe vera, angelica, fennel, garlic, gentian, goldenseal, licorice root, marshmallow root, parsley, and slippery elm. The tea, or essential oil of cardamom, relieves symptoms for many.
9. Homeopathy remedies that help are Arsenicum album, Nux vomica, and Sulfur.
10. If you smoke, stop, and begin an exercise program as soon as possible.
11. Take digestive enzymes with every meal, along with calcium carbonate, 600 mg in liquid or chewable form every two to three hours until symptoms subside. Take Probiotics such as acidophilus and Bifidobacteria according to directions.
12. Stress reduction techniques such as biofeedback, hypnotherapy, and relaxation exercises, along with meditation, can be highly effective.