Natural Treatment for Acid Reflux

Finding a natural treatment for acid reflux is what many sufferers are looking for. They are tired of being prescribed medications to fix their problem and not want to work to heal their self with a holistic remedy. Finding a homeopathic remedy that works for you can take a little bit of time. You need to carefully examine what will work best with your reflux disorder.

Alternative Medicine

Alternative medicine is simply medicine that you do not need a prescription for. Usually it is simply things that you can get from a grocery store or your local herbal market. Diet can also be considered an alternative approach to dealing with the acids that result in reflux.



Symptoms to Look For

The symptoms for acid reflux are varied and can also be related to other conditions. Chronic back pain, sinus aches, heartburn, nausea, anxiety, esophagus burning, or even hernia can all be related to acid reflux disorder. Once you have visited with your doctor and discussed your available options it is important to revisit or call them anytime you decide to try a new natural remedy. Many herbs can have side effects or interactions with prescription medications so staying in close contact with your physician is necessary.

The Number One Natural Remedy

Changing your diet and activity level is the number one natural remedy for acid reflux disorder. You can make small changes over time to gradually increase your comfort level and decrease the occurrences of reflux that you have to deal with. Some of the things that you should cut out of your diet include: carbonated beverages, coffee, caffeine, fatty foods, alcohol, and complex carbohydrates.

If all of those foods are too much for you to cut out of your diet right away, you can start small by only cutting out one of the types of foods first. Combine this with daily walking or other exercise and you will start to see a difference in the amount of reflux that you are experiencing.

Your body is very acidic naturally so it is important to fight that natural tendency with proper diet and exercise. Many digestive problems that individuals are encountering today are really just a symptom of bad eating and living habits.

If you are suffering from reflux, it is worth a try to change your diet and exercise routine and see if that helps with your symptoms. Most individuals will notice significant improvement and sometimes a total decline in their reflux. If you are already taking prescription medication for your reflux, start changing your diet and see if you have less occurrences. Then discuss your healthy living results with your doctor to determine if it is possible for you to stop taking your medications. If you have already made the necessary diet changes, your doctor may be apt to let you try your natural diet treatment instead of continuing your current medications.

by:Remy Jirek

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6 Tips to Living Longer: Balancing Your Body's pH

Scientists armed with a mounting body of evidence and research from across the world are waging war on what they claim is the biggest killer in the West--an overly acidic body.

The theory goes that whenever the body burns fuel it creates acidic toxins as a by-product. Many scientists now believe that high build-ups of these acid wastes can be a primary cause of chronic disease, overweight and aging.

Live longer by following these six simple tips to re-balance your body's acid-alkaline levels ("pH"):

Live Longer Checklist

--Drink ionized alkaline water
--Eat an acid-neutralizing diet
--Exercise
--Reduce stress
--Stop smoking
--Drink during air travel


HEALTH BENEFITS OF ALKALINE DRINKING WATER AND DIET

Various studies reveal that a balanced body pH has been shown to:

--Reduce heart disease in a town in Finland by 22%
--Reduce insulin dependence in North American type 1 diabetes patients by 83%
--Reduce arthritis pain, linked to chronic build-up of uric acid
--Reduce risk of cancer (cancer cells flourish in an acidic environment)
--Slow the aging process. Aging starts when the body stops getting rid of internally generated wastes and toxins.

Studies and research suggest that even mild acid-waste build-up can cause:

--Cardiovascular damage, including the constriction of blood vessels and the reduction of oxygen -- so important for healthy cells
--Weight gain, obesity and diabetes
--Bladder and kidney conditions, including kidney stones
--Immune deficiency
--Accleration of free radical damage, possibly contributing to cancerous mutations
--Hormone concerns
--Premature aging
--Osteoporosis: weak, brittle bones, hip fractures and bone spurs
--Joint pain, aching muscles and lactic acid build-up
--Low energy and chronic fatigue
--Slow digestion and elimination
--Yeast / fungal overgrowth

TIP 1 - DRINK ALKALINE WATER

Each cell in your body can only function as well as the fluid it is surrounded by -- like a fish in a bowl. So the cleaner and less acidic the liquids in your body are, the healthier you're likely to be.

Considering that the body eliminates acidic waste through body liquids in four different ways -- respiration, urination, perspiration or defecation, the key to good health means:

--Drink enough of the right type of water to hydrate the body properly
--Drink ionized alkaline water -- studies show it's twice as effective in flushing out acid toxins as bottled or filtered water
--As you get older, total water to body ratio decreases, making elimination harder. So you need to drink more.
--Same thing goes for when it's hot. Drink more.

TIP 2 -- DIET

Changing your diet can significantly reduce the level of acidity in your body. But if you can't cut out acid-producing foods, it's even more important to drink alkaline water.

Eat more of these foods that neutralize acidity in the body:

--Leafy greens and most veggies
--Most fruits including citrus
--Polyunsaturated fats found in seed oils (flax and hemp), fatty fish (seabass, tuna, mackeral, trout, salmon), coconut milk and avocado
--Okay proteins include chicken breast, tofu, and many seeds

Eat fewer acid-producing foods like:

--Animal protein (beef, chicken, pork and eggs)
--Dairy products
--Vinegar
--Soy sauce
--Mushrooms
--Corn
--Sugar
--Alcohol
--Coffee
--Peanuts
--Pasta

TIP 3 -- EXERCISE

Being overweight has nothing to do with fats or calories, according to some authors like Dr. Robert Young, author of the pH Miracle for Weight Loss. He believes putting on weight can be traced to a build-up of acid waste -- if it isn't eliminated, it parks on your hips, buttocks and elsewhere, so you get fat. Try the following instead:

--Exercise makes you sweat and breathe harder -- both processes eliminate toxins.
--Saunas also make you sweat. Take one often.
--Don't over-exercise. This causes a build-up of lactic acid that the body can't eliminate, so it's deposited as fatty tissue.

TIP 4 -- DON'T STRESS

--Relax. Anger and hostility have been shown to increase stomach acidity, which can lead to peptic and stress ulcers, or ulcerative colitis.

TIP 5 -- STOP SMOKING

--Smoking also increase stomach acidity
--If you do smoke, the more acidic your body, the stronger your nicotine craving will be.

TIP 6 -- DRINK DURING AIR TRAVEL

The air inside airplane cabins is super-dry (less relative humidity than the Sahara desert), and can result in extreme dehydration, increased acidity and jet-lag.

--Drink at least 8 oz (quarter liter) of water for every hour you fly, especially long-haul frequent flyers.

by:Stan Howard

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How to Lose Weight the Easy Way

If you think you have to follow strict rules or suffer to lose weight, think again. The easy way to lose weight is to indulge your weaknesses.

Sounds crazy, doesn't it? But when I finally understood this concept, I understood why most diets fail us. That's right. The diets fail us.

Because they force us to follow rules that go against human nature.

It's really quite simple. The more you can't have something, the more you want it. Until you become absolutely obsessed.

Think about it.

Suppose you like to snack at night. If you follow a diet that eliminates snacks or eating after a certain time of day, you constantly have to fight the urge to snack at night.


And that's like asking to fail.

In fact, that's probably when you will fail. And if you decide you can't live with that restriction, you'll abandon the diet altogether.

But if you schedule a satisfying snack for that time every night, it'll be easier to stick with your weight loss program. So by indulging your weakness, you overcome it.

Another common problem is having a sweet tooth.

What if your diet doesn't let you indulge often enough? Or you're only allowed to take one or two small bites of a tasty snack and it doesn't satisfy you?

That's almost like torture.

This time, suppose chocolate is your weakness. If you can't have it, how are you most likely to fail on your diet?

That's right. By eventually giving up and splurging on chocolate. Because you'll feel deprived and become absolutely obsessed with eating it.

But if you put chocolate and other sweets in your weight loss program in amounts that are satisfying, you'll reduce or even eliminate the problem. And you're much more likely to stay on your eating plan. And lose the weight.

So again, by indulging your weakness, you overcome it.

Now understand that when I say you overcome your weakness, I don't mean you won't crave chocolate. I just mean you're more likely to keep your cravings under control and stay on your diet.

And you may find that the more chocolate you eat, the less chocolate you want.

It's like working in a candy store. If your boss never allows you to eat candy, you'll want it more.

Sure, you may try to follow the rules at first. But eventually, you'll start sneaking candy.

You'll promise yourself you'll only do it once. But we both know you'll do it again. And again. And again.

Until you're stuffing yourself with as much candy as you can get.

Now suppose your boss tells you that you can eat all the candy you want whenever you want. Your face will light up as you imagine yourself gorging on candy every day.

But the reality is you'll probably indulge in your favorites at first, then level off. You may eat candy from time to time, but your obsession will evaporate.

After all, if the candy's always available to you, what's the urgency in eating it?

You'll still like candy as much as you always did. But you'll probably eat much less when you know you can have it anytime.

It's just human nature. The more you can't have something, the more you want it.

And the reverse is also true: the more you can have something, the less you want it. So you're less likely to binge and ruin your weight loss.

Again, by indulging your weakness, you overcome it.

Have you ever tried a low-carb diet? When you cheated, did you reach for another steak or did you grab some carbs?

Exactly. We always cheat on a diet by breaking the rules.

So stop torturing yourself with strict diet rules. Instead, indulge your weaknesses and lose weight the easy way.

by:Debbie Fontana

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Weight loss tips

In Daniel Reid�s great book The Tao of Health, Sex & Longevity, there�s a section on foods that �kill� fat.

Reid lists the foods (and juices) to help obesity, which include Carrot juice (possibly the single most cleansing, nourishing of all the veggie juices); a combo of Carrot, beet and cucumber juice, which corrects acidosis by alkalinizing the system; Spinach, which cleanses the lower bowel; and Cabbage juice, which helps with digestion and elimination.

He also mentions "Foods to Avoid: all refined starch and sugar, especially white bread and sweet pastries, overcooked meats; fatty meats; chocolate; pasteurised milk; cooked eggs; alcohol."

Well, just goes to show. I don�t think fat on meat is a bad thing: in fact I think it can sometimes be good for you. I don�t mind eggs either, since they�re protein, but I do agree that frying food is not as healthy as broiling and steaming.


But generally I think Reid�s suggestions are fantastic, and I recommend getting the book (and no, I don�t get commissions from anyone for punting their stuff ;)

Reid also has a large section on Food Combining, which is � I believe � essential for weight loss and health in general.

But what is Food Combining it? I can't go into exhaustive detail now, but in essence it�s the claim (and I have demonstrated the truth of it in my own life) that different food types should not be combined.

Don�t mix protein and starch, for example. If you follow this rule, you will find that, amongst others, your digestion will improve remarkably.

For a more detailed explanation, there�s a lot of info out there, but one book I found great was Harvey and Marilyn Diamond�s book Fit For Life. Check it out (and other books too) - and do your digestive system and figure a favor.

Not only will you have less gas and �bloat�, but I found you lose weight.

If you want to prove food combining works, try this experiment: eat a pure protein meal, or a pure starch meal. Do NOT mix the protein and starch. See how easily the meal is digested.

Then mix protein and starch in a meal, and note how long it takes to go through, and whether you have gas. I think you�ll conclude that it�s best not to mix!

Other food combining tips: eat fruit alone; eat different types of fruits separately; eat melon as a fruit separately (i.e. not mixed with any other kind of fruit); and drink (unpasteurised) milk by itself, alone.

by:Will Mason

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