What Is Acid Reflux?
Acid Reflux happens when there is a problem with your bodies overall acidity. Hence the name.
Symptoms can include stomach acid travelling up your throat from your stomach, heartburn, feeling nauseous and a burning feeling in your throat. Usually with an unpleasant taste in your mouth. It can also be known as GERD Gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Acid Reflux or GERD is usually treated with ant-acid medications. These medications do not get to the root cause and many people end up being addicted to antacids which can weaken the lining of the stomach over long periods of time and cause even more problems.
There is a more natural way to work with your body rather than against it to reduce these unwanted symptoms and feel better, more energised and overall healthy again.
PH Balance
We are mostly over acidic as we consume too many acidic items and not enough alkaline food items to balance this out. My first suggestion if you struggle with Acid Reflux would be to immediately start alkalising your diet and reducing the amount of acidic food items going into your system. This should balance things out and couple with eating correctly (see beat the bloat fact sheet) this can reduce your acid reflux by as much as 95% within the space of 2 – 3 weeks.
If you want to test your acidity levels, you can purchase PH testing kits for around $10.00. You can test your saliva and your urine to get a full picture of your acidity levels in your body. My suggestion would be to try testing once a week and note down the readings. Then once change has been implemented you should note a clear difference in the acidity levels with in your body.
What Are Acidic Food Items?
Check out this handy list of items that have a high acidic PH level, or become acidic within the body when the process of digestion is taking place, further exacerbating conditions such as acidic reflux.
- Meat, Poultry
- Tea, Coffee
- Milk, Cheese, Yoghurt, Ice-cream, Cream
- Tobacco, Alcohol, Recreational drugs, Medications
- Fizzy Drinks, Energy Drinks, Juices
- Sugar, Fake Sugars
- Fish and shellfish are still acidic but less to that meat and poultry
Alkaline Foods
If the system if over acidic then the only way to reduce this long term is to make a few changes to the way you eat and the colour choices of your food.
Greens mean alkaline foods. Eating double the amount of green foods per acidic food item will help you balance the alkalinity of your body in the favour of a great PH level, effectively reducing acidity and removing the bodies response and acidification reflux.
I ensure that every single day I include green food in my diet. My favourite greens to eat are:
- Spinach – also a superfood
- Broccoli – also a great cancer prevention food
- Asparagus – a useful natural diuretic which can help with UTI’s
- Salad leaves such as rocket, watercress, baby beet leaves, romaine lettuce leaves – al; a great source of fibre and can help balance hormones
- Bok Choi – a really useful source of vitamin A, great for fertility and eyesight
- Fresh herbs – include these in your meals for a powerful nutrient dense boost and great flavour
- Cabbage, sprouts, kale, cauliflower – all cruciferous veg all contain the ability to break down insoluble toxins to water based toxins which can then be excreted out of the body safely.
- Avocado – an incredible source of vitamin E and A and contains easy to digest healthy fast this fruit is great for skin, hair and nail health
- Limes – the juice of these tastes acidic however when the body breaks this down it becomes alkaline within the body, helping to reduce acidity. Not only that they taste great and can be used to pep up foods and used in drinking water to make it more interesting
I have included some recipes you might like to try along with the foods to help you transition into a more healthy, alkaline based state.
Hydration
Hydration is key for reducing the acidity within the body and getting your acid reflux under control naturally. And the best form of hydration is? You guessed it. Good old water. However, not all water is good for you. The tap water is becoming more and more contaminated with too many harmful chemicals. Some filter jugs just aren’t equipped to remove all of these toxins from the water.
To ensure all the water I drink is pure, I use a water distiller to remove all the gunk and provide my body with clear, clean water. I then add in vital minerals to my drinking water by adding a couple of drops of ionic trace minerals. This provides my body with vital nutrition, clear and safe water and I have absolute confidence that I am hydrating my body safely and naturally.
Double filtering, adding charcoal sticks or drinking bottled water can also improve the safety of drinking tap water.
Supplementation
If you want added peace of mind, I could recommend adding the following green supplements to your morning smoothies to give your body a green boost. first thing. Or even having a shot of wheatgrass for extra alkalinity.
- Wheat grass powder
- Spirulina
- Moringa
- Macha
- Chlorella
- Supergreens
By all means do your own research and do not get carried away spending fortunes on stuff you will not use.
I would recommend starting with a small bag of wheat grass and adding a teaspoon to a small glass of water to take as a shot first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Then if this works out for you by all means branch out into trying some of the others however with a good alkaline based diet these should not be a necessity, only an insurance against over acidity.
I personally use a combination of these on occasion if I know I want an extra alkaline boost that day or have a busy schedule where I might need extra energy to get through the day.
By following these simple steps you should soon be noticing an improvement in your Acid Reflux and could now talk to your Doctor about reducing your medications safely to live a more natural life and be even more alkaline…
I hope you enjoyed this article and found it useful. If you need any further information on gut health issues you are welcome to check out my IBS Freedom Method or feel free to drop me a direct line at info@helenwaddington.com
With loves x
