Acid reflux or heartburn can be disturbing especially it occurs at night, and you don’t have medication. Therefore, you need to have some knowledge of the best ways you can handle heartburn if you don’t have access to heartburn medications or would prefer natural treatment. As a first step you should try to avoid getting heartburn in the first place.
Change Your Dietary Behavior
There are some foods that are known to cause heartburn. These should be avoided and instead, you eat the food that does not contain the high levels of acid. These foods will help in creating a good balance in your stomach which is essential for fighting the acid reflux. Therefore, you should avoid those foods and substitute them with the low acidic foods. Examples include fresh fruits and the vegetables as well.
You have heard that an apple a day will keep the doctor away. If you have an organic apple, especially after eating foods that trigger your heartburn, you will also reduce the occurrence of acid reflux.
If you eat raw foods, you will get very many enzymes. These are very good in fighting acid reflux and therefore used by many people as a home remedy for heartburn. The enzymes in foods are destroyed when you boil or cook food at high heat. This is mostly above 116 degrees, and therefore you should avoid overcooking these foods that are high in the digestive enzyme. They include carrots and other vegetables and eating a low carb diet.
Other tips to avoid heartburn include eating smaller more frequent meals, not wearing clothes that are too tight, reducing fat intake and don’t lie down right after you eat.
The home remedies for heartburn include the following;
Use High-Quality Salt to Balance Hydrochloric Acid Levels
The cause of acid reflux commonly known as heartburn is an imbalance of the acid levels in your stomach. Therefore, it is important to make sure you balance these acid levels to have a good level so that it stops occurring. The cheap table salts can be replaced with sea salt which is a good remedy for stopping the occurrence of acid reflux.
Note that this is a condition that is mostly dependent on the food that you eat. Therefore the intake of these cheap table salts means that you will have increased acid reflux as a result. Hence the number one home remedy for heartburn would be to stop taking these salts and instead substitute them with the high-quality sea salt.
Aloe Vera Is a Good Home Remedy for Heartburn
The wonder plant cannot be left behind when naming the home remedies that are good for heartburn. This is because it is the best in fighting stomach related problems with the heartburn being one of them. Therefore, if you have been having heartburn regularly, you need to discover the goodness of the aloe vera plant.
You can find aloe as a living plant or as a juice in health food stores. Because aloe latex is a powerful laxative and can cause diarrhea, the safest way to take aloe is to buy an aloe juice specifically prepared for internal use. Look for purified (or decolorized) products since the purification process removes the parts of the aloe that can irritate the digestive system.
To use aloe juice as a remedy for acid reflux, try drinking 2-3 ounces when you have symptoms or drink it about 20 minutes before meals to prevent symptoms. Aloe juice can also be used as a thickener in recipes.
The most common side effect when taking aloe vera by mouth is diarrhea so add aloe to your diet slowly to prevent this symptom. Start with one ounce a day and increase as needed.
Read More: Amazing Uses for Aloe Vera
Baking Soda for Heartburn Relief
However, it is important you take it before it stops fizzing so that it is effective. Baking soda in water (1/2 teaspoon in four ounces) is a traditional heartburn remedy that works quite well. It is pretty high in sodium though, with 616 mg in each half teaspoon.
If you used this remedy three times a day, the sodium would add up to 1,848 mg. That could be enough to raise blood pressure and explains why you should not use it for more than two weeks. One other word of warning: don’t take baking soda if your digestive discomfort results from eating far too much, if the stomach is too full.
Cure Heartburn with Apple Cider Vinegar
Like aloe vera, Apple Cider Vinegar seems to provide some reflux patients with relief, Dr. Ghassemi says. “It’s a very acidic liquid, and I can’t explain why it helps them, but some do tell me it helps,” he says. But unlike aloe vera, there is not as much research backing up the idea that Apple Cider Vinegar can combat reflux.
A graduate student at Arizona State University Apple Cider Vinegar and found no difference among the three—although all three did help relieve heartburn. While Apple Cider Vinegar may turn out to be bogus as a reflux remedy, it may be worth a shot. (Just ask your doctor before giving it a try.) To help the Apple Cider Vinegar go down a bit easier, dilute 1 to 2 tablespoons with 8 ounces of water.
We recommend Bragg – Gluten Free Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
Ginger Root Tea Remedy for Heartburn
Ginger root can help ease up a number of stomach woes, from nausea to acid reflux. Sipping a cup of fresh tea about 20 minutes before a meal can help calm down your tummy and act as an acid buffer.
You will need…
-3 quarter sized slices of gingerroot
-2 cups of water
Slice up 3 quarter sized pieces of ginger root and simmer gently in 2 cups of water, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the ginger pieces, or leave them in, pour into a glass, and drink all of it about 20 minutes before a meal.
Chewing Gum
Chew a stick of gum after meals to increase saliva production, which research shows can reduce acid levels in the esophagus. It does not get easier than that.
Those are some of the most common home remedies for heartburn. They are easily available and therefore affordable solutions for most people.