Saturday, May 31, 2014

10 tips for better digestion: relief from stomach problems

No one is ever safe from unpleasant effects of heartburn, constipation and indigestion. It may be useful to know some useful tips for better digestion and to mitigate or avoid stomach problems.

1. Decrease your intake of lactose: Your digestive problems may be due to lactose intolerance. Prefer rice, milk or soy, and foods rich in calcium.

2. Try slippery elm powder: Number of drugs, including antihistamines and antidepressants, may upset your stomach. To relieve acid reflux and digestive problems, take 1-2 teaspoons of slippery elm powder in a glass of hot water.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Refractory Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease- Causes, Treatments and Medical tests


Refractory Gastroesophageal Reflux disease is used to refer to those patients with GERD who are unresponsive to treatment from proton pump inhibitors. Such patients are divided into two categories by the doctors:
  • One those who have an aggressive form of GERD
  • Other those who have GERD as a symptom of some other disease
A more aggressive treatment of Refractory GERD treatment does not necessarily mean that it has to be surgery. In fact, truth be told, people with refractory GERD do not respond too well to the surgery compared to the success rate in people who have previously responded well to medications. However that does mean that surgery won't work for you at all. Treatments like fundolication work for most people but the surgeon has to weigh the risk and complications of the surgery with the possible advantages to patient before taking the final decision.

Acid reflux and pregnancy: Causes and Tips to treat

Acid reflux, digestive problems and heartburn in pregnant women are often found a lot, mainly during the last trimester of pregnancy. These minor ailments should not alarm the mother because they are not serious conditions and present no hazard to her health. However, they remain very unpleasant and bothersome.

What causes acid reflux during pregnancy?

For various reasons, many women tend to experience symptoms of heartburn during pregnancy.

One of these reasons why heartburn occurs in pregnant women is due to the changing hormonal secretions during pregnancy. One of the effects of changes in hormonal secretions is the relaxation of the ligaments whose function is to keep the lower esophageal sphincter closed, leaving the gastric acid and food to reflux into the esophagus and throat.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Different types of Acid Reflux Disease


Most people know what Acid Reflux or the medical term for it- GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) is having experienced it during some part of their life. You would rarely find anyone who has not experienced it at least once in their lifetime. However, what most people are not aware of are the types of GERD that occur. You see, Heartburn can be due to different types of of Acid Reflux. Let us see these different types of GERD:

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease - GERD - What is Acid Reflux and causes

When you swallow food, it goes from your mouth to your food pipe (esophagus) and then into your stomach where the main digestion begins. After your meal has passed the esophagus, the lower muscles in your esophagus called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) closes off cutting the contact between the stomach and the food pipe. However, under certain conditions this muscle is not able to do its work properly due to few reasons- Too much acidic content in your stomach, less than the idea level of acid concentration in stomach and delay in the clearing of your food from esophagus.

When this acidic content is 'refluxed' back to your esophagus it causes a burning sensation. This reflux can send the acidic content even up to the back of your mouth. This happens to all of us occasionally and not a thing to worry about unless it happens more than once in a week. If acid reflux is happening too often then it can cause severe problem to your esophagus in the long run.

Diagnostic tests for severe Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)


Gastroesophageal Reflux Diseases (GERD) in very few cases is so severe that your doctor prescribes tests for it. There are only a few types of Acid Reflux which require medical intervention. If you are affected by such a type of Acid Reflux then your doctor will prescribe you one or more of the tests to see how severely damaged your esophagus is and what type of intervention is required for you. Let's see the tests which are done in severe cases of Acid Reflux:

Friday, May 16, 2014

10 Natural Remedies for Long Term Treatment of Acid Reflux or Heartburn

Acid Reflux is a common and painful disease to have. Affecting around 50% of the Americans, it can really take a toll on your well being. To be precise, Heartburn is more of a symptom than a disease of a problem with your lower esophageal sphincter (LES). It is a muscle ring in the lower part of your esophagus (food pipe) that constricts after you have swallowed the food and it is being processed in your stomach with acid. When this ring does not constrict properly the food mixed with acid splashes up in your esophagus damaging the lining of your food pipe. While you can have reflux even without heartburn you won't have heartburn without acid reflux. If your problem is severe then a medical attention is required by if it is occasional and not so severe, you should take a look at natural home remedies and lifestyle changes which can help you overcome the problem of acid reflux. Let us take a look the ways in which you can deal with the problem of heartburn for a long time.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

10 Lifestyle changes to treat Heartburn or Acid Reflux

There are a lot of lifestyle habits that can aggravate or in some cases trigger Acid Reflux. These habits are something which should be given up for an overall improvement in your health. Let's see a few changes you should bring not only to prevent Acid Reflux but also to leave a better healthy life.

  1. Don't go to sleep immediately after a meal. A lot of blood of your body is concentrated around your stomach after you eat so that the blood can absorb the nutrients from the recent food you took. While sleeping we have a tendency to go into sleeping positions which are not helpful in digestion. Especially, sleeping on your stomach puts a lot of pressure on your abdomen creating problem in the contraction process of your food pipe and stomach. It could put pressure on your stomach leading to the food to come back to your esophagus creating Acid Reflux. Therefore, it is better to wait at least 3 hours before you go to sleep so that the food is way past the stomach into the intestines.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Short Term Natural Remedies for Heartburn or Acid Reflux

Acid Reflux or Heartburn can be due to many reasons like being over weight, being a chain smoker, having eaten lot of spicy food recently or due to the condition of hiatal hernia. Most people experience Acid Reflux when their esophagus is not able to constrict properly due to which food is not swallowed properly leading to the acid laced food coming back to the esophagus thereby damaging the lining of the food pipe. In case you are having the pain of Acid Reflux then here are a few ways which will immediately treat the pain from Heartburn.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Best 10 Natural Home Remedies for Heartburn or Acid Reflux

If you are overweight, pregnant or are a chain smoker, then there are quite high chances that you have experienced Acid Reflux or what is more commonly known as Heartburn. This can be due to high fatty food or due to certain spicy foods or due to a condition known as hiatal hernia or because of any other reason which is preventing your lower esophageal sphincter (LES) to contract after you swallow the food leading to acids to come up. Certain medicines will give you immediate relief but Allopathic or chemical based medicines are known to have short or long term side effects on your health. Let's see top 10 natural home remedies to get rid of Heartburn or Acid Reflux.

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Top 10 Home Remedies for Acid Reflux or Heartburn

If you have experienced heart burn or acid reflux, a sensation from your stomach to your throat then you are one of many million who suffer from this problem. In America, about 50% of the population experiences Acid Reflux or Heartburn. And if you are hypochondriac then this acid reflux experience could be one hell for you. Though, over the counter pills are quite effective in treating heartburn, you should consider trying home remedies to treat acid reflux, as these will have no side effect on you and not no mention, they will cost you nothing extra except the few natural food items you might not be keeping.