Natural Heartburn Remedies You Should Know About

Natural heartburn remedies work better when you follow these proven steps.
1) Do not overeat.
2) Improve digestion with enzymes.
3) Soothe the GI tract with aloe, DGL and slippery elm.
4) Remove food sensitivities and add back to diet slowly looking for pesky reactions. Dairy, wheat, gluten, caffeine, alcohol, spicy foods, high-fat foods, corn, sugar, egg, additives/preservatives, peanuts, shellfish and soy are the most common.
5) Most importantly, ensure the intestinal tract is not overburdened by getting enough daily fiber, which is probably an underlying cause of heartburn.

Additional Natural Heartburn Remedies

*Take acidophilus capsules found in probiotics. They are basic to good health and ensure food is digested properly. Other heartburn remedies might not work otherwise.

*Drink one ounce Aloe Vera Juice twice daily to soothe intestines. A brand found in health food stores tastes like water.

*Peppermint oil helps GERD if taken in enteric-coated capsules which is digested in intestines instead of the stomach. Otherwise, peppermint oil relaxes the esophagus making heartburn worse.

*Try ginger tea, candy, capsules or raw ginger in food. It relaxes the smooth muscle along walls of the esophagus, which helps digestion, providing heartburn relief.

*Bromelain from pineapple digests proteins that may help relieve heartburn, particularly when used with other enzymes such as amylase (digests starch) and lipase (digests fat).

*Drink 8 oz. club soda which neutralizes acid for quick heartburn relief.

*DGL tablets (licorice): Licorice flavonoids inhibit acid secretion, increase blood flow to gastric mucosal cells, promotes secretion of protective mucosa, which prevents formation of ulcers and lesions due to acid, and deglycyrrhizinated licorice avoids side-effects with blood pressure.

*Papaya: Papain is a digestive enzyme in papaya that aids digestion and soothes the stomach. It dissolves protein and reduces fats and carbohydrates promoting healthy digestion.

*Orange Peel Extract: Standardized orange peel extract should contain 98.5% d-limonene, which seems to support healthy peristalsis, moving food through the stomach effectively. In a laboratory study, orange peel extract showed it exerts spasmogenic activity associated with d-limonene and beneficial effects appear to develop over time.

Please remember heartburn and acid reflux aren't a "condition" but a symptom. The condition is either that the muscle between the stomach and esophagus is weak or compromised, thus allowing stomach acid to splash up into the esophagus), or that there is back pressure from an impacted intestine, or that there is a reaction to food, thus prompting the need for natural heartburn remedies.

Sources:
University of Maryland Medical Center
Bastyr College

Article for information purposes only. Not intended as replacement for medical care.