Tips On How To Prevent Heartburn Acid Reflux

Heartburn is a burning discomfort from the chest up to the throat that affects about one in every 10 Americans. One of the causes of heartburn is acid reflux, which is when stomach acid flows up through the lower esophageal sphincter and irritates the esophagus.

To prevent the burn, here are a few tips you can try:

1. Eat smaller portions of food

No matter what the food is, too much at once can put you in danger of a flare up. Also, try to eat food slower. Grabbing your meals on the go and wolfing them down leads to poor digestion and a greater risk of GERD symptoms.

2. Baking, broiling, grilling or roasting are all better alternatives than frying.

Also, make sure to cut off the fatty parts if you can. Foods that are high in fat sit in the stomach longer, which can cause discomfort.

3. In some cases, it’s best to just avoid certain foods altogether.

If you’re a frequent heartburn sufferer, spicy foods or foods that are highly acidic are probably not for you, especially on an empty stomach. Particularly acidic foods include tomatoes, citrus fruits and vinegar. If you’re really craving one of these foods, include a decent amount of other, less acidic foods like meat or vegetables as part of your meal.

4. Drinks can cause bloating and irritation too.

Stay away from caffeine and carbonation, as well as excess alcohol.

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How to Reduce Heartburn During Pregnancy

Many mothers-to-be are anxious to find out how to reduce heartburn during pregnancy? Of course, you have to stop smoking and drinking alcohol to protect their babies, but the healthy practice also may help them reduce heartburn, U.S. doctors say. Members of the American College of Gastroenterology say hormones and the enlarging uterus make heartburn more likely for pregnant women.

However, they suggest pregnant women:

– Avoid eating late at night and don’t recline after eating. It’s best to wait three hours after eating before going to bed.

– Avoid heartburn triggers such as greasy or spicy foods, chocolate, peppermint, tomato sauce, caffeine, carbonated drinks and citrus fruits.

– Reduce acid reflux by decreasing the gastric contents that reach the lower esophagus by raising the head of the bed 4 to 6 inches. Wear loose-fitting cloths that don’t put pressure on the abdomen. Reflux can also be helped by simply reducing the gastric contents by eating smaller meals.

– Take antacids only according to doctors’ instructions — magnesium-containing antacids are considered safe for pregnant women, but should be avoided during the last trimester of pregnancy because it could interfere with uterine contractions during labor.

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Question: I recently went to a specialist for a knot in my throat. It’s hard to the touch and interferes with blowing a steady stream from my nose and breathing. I have also lost the gag reflex on the right side of my throat.

The physician said I have a pharyngeal tubercle, gave me a prescription for Nexium, and indicated if I took two twice a day for eight weeks, it should take care of the problem.

He also recommended that I see another specialist to have the test where the throat is numbed and a camera is used to check your esophagus.

I have no health insurance, and that is just not something I can afford. I have increased my OTC Prilosec, and since doing this I have noticed that, particularly when I eat, I have some discomfort. I also have pain about the time the food is going down the esophagus. Could you please explain more about this problem?

Answer: I am unclear how Nexium would be beneficial. It is primarily used to reduce symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and in the treatment of Barrett’s esophagus (cellular changes to the lining of the esophagus). Perhaps acid reflux is at the root of your problem?

To determine exactly what is causing your symptoms, you need to undergo the recommended endoscopy (the test to which you refer). I understand that money is an issue; however, your health is important.

You need to be thoroughly examined and tested to determine the exact cause and what treatment options you have. I also recommend that you decrease your OTC Prilosec to see if your difficulty swallowing and pain lessen or disappear.

Patients with esophageal cancer often get bad news: The disease has only a 16 percent survival rate five years after surgery.

The main reason: They may not notice symptoms, such as difficulty swallowing, until the cancer has reached an advanced stage and is incurable.

But doctors say a new treatment at Boca Raton Regional Hospital may help prevent the cancer, one of the fastest growing in the United States, by eliminating pre-cancerous lesions in patients with Barrett’s esophagus, a condition that can lead to esophageal cancer.

The esophagus is the muscular tube that connects the mouth with the stomach. Nearly 40 percent of Americans experience heartburn or acid reflux, when the stomach contents back up into the esophagus.

The esophagus can try to defend itself by changing its lining to resist the acid, said Dr. Stephen Steinberg, director of the hospital’s Pancreas and Biliary Center. The new lining is Barrett’s esophagus.

Steinberg said patients with Barrett’s need to be checked every year to make sure the condition does not become cancerous. Just a few years ago, people with pre-cancerous changes had esophagectomies, or the surgical removal of the diseased part of their esophaguses.

But, he said, a new machine at the hospital, the BARRX HALO, performs a controlled burn on the surface layer of the diseased esophagus, allowing normal tissue to grow back and leading to a better survival rate.

A New England Journal of Medicine report published in May showed 77 percent of people treated with the burn totally eliminated the abnormal growth of cells.

“It’s as good as an esophagectomy,” Steinberg said. “You’re taking people with a small risk [of developing cancer] and preventing that risk from being realized.”

Not everyone with Barrett’s develops cancer, although the risk for people with the disease is more than 40 times higher than for the average person.

“The incidence of Barrett’s increases in people with [reflux] for five years or more,” Steinberg said. “The advantage of the HALO is that it has a very controlled depth of burn, so that only the surface layer is burned, and it is a very efficient way to treat relatively large areas in a short procedure.”

Dr. Afonso Ribeiro, a gastroenterologist and associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, said HALO procedures are easier for patients to tolerate than previous treatments, such as lasers, which can have painful side effects.

But, he said, some doctors misuse the new technology to treat cancer when it should be used only for pre-cancerous conditions.

More than 1,000 doctors across the country have been trained in the technology, including 115 in Florida at 35 sites, said Lisa Bichsel, director of marketing for BARRX Medical.

“My concern is doctors will overuse it,” said Ribeiro, who has used a HALO to treat Barrett’s at the university since 2008. “A lot of doctors use the machine and don’t know how to treat the bad areas.”

Phillip Bathgate Sr. of West Palm Beach, a retired police officer and security director, said he had heartburn for much of his adult life, which led to a diagnosis of Barrett’s. He said he took Nexium to relieve symptoms but ultimately developed pre-cancerous lesions.

He said he has had two of three procedures scheduled with Steinberg and was surprised by how little discomfort he experienced.

“I lived with heartburn for 20 years,” said Bathgate, 78. “Now I feel fine and my appetite is improving.”

[Source: Sun-sentinel.com]

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When Asthma and Acid Reflux Occur Together, What Shall I Do?

When you have asthma and acid reflux together, it is better to treat your acid reflux symptoms as it will help to control your asthma better. Here are some natural remedies you should try out before taking medication and get your acid reflux under control to improve your asthma. Try any of the following lifestyle changes to decrease your acid reflux symptoms:

• Do not eat before bed. By eliminating eating and drinking three hours before going to bed or lying down, you decrease the risk of food in the stomach that can reflux and worsen your asthma symptoms.
• Eat smaller meals. Overeating is one of the causes of acid reflux, and eating less may decrease the risk of acid reflux.
• Let gravity work for you. By raising the head of your bed by six inches, gravity will keep what is in your stomach near the bottom, making acid reflux less likely.
• Lose weight. Obesity increases your risk of worsening acid reflx and asthma. All those extra pounds increase pressure in your belly and make acid reflux worse.
• Watch what you eat. If your asthma and acid reflux symptoms occur after eating a high-fat meal or other foods known to increase acid reflux (such as alcohol, chocolate, or caffeine), you may need to decrease your intake of these foods.
• Avoid sodas. All carbonated drinks increase your risk of acid reflux.
• Quit smoking. Smoking can make your asthma and acid reflux worse. Not only is smoking a direct irritant to your lungs, but smoking also increases acid reflux.
• Loosen your belt. Tight pants or belts increase the pressure in your abdomen and can worsen acid reflux.

If none of these changes work for your asthma and acid reflux, over-the-counter medications may be the next step.  But it is not a long term solution.

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Dr. Fritz teaches Obstetrics & Gynecology at the Academy for Oriental Medicine in Austin.

After getting undergraduate and graduate degrees in Biology from the University of Virginia, Dr. Vanessa Fritz graduated from the National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon, with a doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine (ND) as well as a Master of Science in Oriental Medicine (MSOM).

If you are interested to cure your heartburn naturally without taking any medication, you will like to check this out:

If you are interested to cure your heartburn naturally without taking any medication, you will like to check this out:

If you are interested to cure your heartburn naturally without taking any medication, you will like to check this out: