Had a lot of greasy food last night? You must woken up with a burning sensation in your esophagus and discomfort in your chest and stomach. Acid reflux is an aberration of our digestive system. When we consume food, it generally goes down our food pipe (esophagus) to our stomach, where the food is broken down and digested. Occasionally, the acid produced during the breaking down of food is forced back to the esophagus. This causes a burning sensation in the lower part of the chest.
Heartburn can be caused due to a reason as simple as your digestion system acting up. In such cases, you can follow certain healthy lifestyle habits and reduce the occurrence of acid reflux in your body. However, some times heartburn can be a symptom of something more aggravating. You should consult a medical practitioner if you notice that you tend to suffer from acid reflux quite often than normal.
Here are a few small but effective habits you can adopt to ease your heartburn without popping any antacids bought over the counter.
Watch what you eat: Food that contains processed sugar, caffeine, saturated fats are main culprits that cause heartburn. Avoid eating fried greasy food and carbonated soft drinks. Lower your intake of caffeine. You can drink tea instead of coffee. Chamomile tea and ginger tea have been known to provide relief from heartburn.
Exercise: Avoid exercising immediately after your meals. Plan your exercise and workout routines well. Multiple studies have shown that losing 10 percent of your body weight can help in lowering the occurrence of acid reflux in the body and thus, prevent heartburn.
Sleep: Some people suffer from night-time acid reflux. In such cases, avoid lying down or sleeping right after your meals. Try having your meals at least 3 hours before your bedtime. It is recommended that you sleep on your left side. Sleeping on your right side will put additional pressure on your stomach. This will trigger acid reflux causing heartburn.
Kick the butt: Smoking is indeed injurious to health. It damages the body and results in lot of health issues. The most common one being heartburn. Although many tend to ignore it, constant acid reflux brought on smoking can be symptomatic of a more serious illness.
Somethings to do everyday: Every morning, have a glass of warm water mixed with lemon juice and honey. This solution aids digestion and have been also known to help in weight-loss. Have a handful of raw almonds everyday. Not only the Vitamin E-rich almonds good in easing acid reflux, but they are good for skin and hair as well.