Peppermints-No Good For Gerd
Do you suck on the free peppermints after eating a meal? You may want to say thanks but no thanks. It is just about the worst thing to do when you have heartburn.
The reason that peppermint may increase you having heartburn is that it relaxes the sphincter muscle which lays between your stomach and esophagus. This will allow stomach acids to flow back into your esophagus.
Acid reflux or GERD comprises more than irregular heartburn or indigestion. As a matter of fact, a few people with acid reflux never even undergo heartburn. A few symptoms of acid reflux include:
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• Hoarseness.
• Bitter stomach fluid arriving into the mouth, specially when sleeping.
• Repeatedly experiencing a need to clear your throat.
• Trouble swallowing food or liquid.
• Wheezing or coughing at night.
• Deterioration of symptoms after consuming, or when bending over or lying down.
Apparently, you should avoid spicy foods and any food that annoys you. Below are a a couple of more things that will aid enormously.
• Do not lie down until at the very least least 3 hours after eating.
• Sleep with your head at the least 8″ higher than your stomach to allow gravity to assist your stomach acids from coming up into your esophagus. Employing a Comfort Wedge makes this very easy.
• Don’t bend over or do exercises until long after eating
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• Eat 6 small meals instead of 3 large meals.
• Don’t drink carbonated beverages.
• Cut out fatty foods (they increase the time food remains in the stomach).
• Quit smoking (nicotine relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter (LES)).
• Cut out chocolate (it relaxes the LES).
• Don’t drink alcoholic beverages (alcohol relaxes the LES).
• Eliminate caffeine (it relaxes the LES).
• Eat properly so you don’t develop constipation – that pushing will also push food or stomach acids upward.
• Lying on your left side can help relieve heartburn by keeping the stomach below the esophagus and acid-free.
• Avoid stress and anger.
• Mix 1 tablespoon of natural apple cider vinegar in a glass of water, and sip this during your meal.
• Yogurt contains beneficial digestive bacteria, as do Acidophilus Tablets, Children’s Chewable Acidophilus Tablets, Acidophilus Strawberry Liquid, and Children’s Acidophilus Powder.
• Eat dried figs, fresh pineapple*, and dried or fresh papaya. These foods are loaded with digestive enzymes. Or you could take Digestive Enzymes in capsule form. *Pineapple will help most
people, and it bothers some – if it bothers you, eliminate it from your diet.
Please Note: Peppermint candy, tea, or essential oil will comfort an upset stomach, make relaxed the body will aid in digestion, and relax muscles to allow the body to get rid of gas. But, peppermint should not be taken if you have acid reflux or GERD because it relaxes and weakens the LES. When the LES is relaxed, food and liquid are allowed to come back up.
Whenever you have regular or irregular heartburn, you can help diminish the tendency of the LES to relax, and diminish the odds that the stomach contents (and stomach acid) will splash up toward the LES by keeping in mind a couple of tips for indigestion and heartburn relief:
* Avoid lying down for two to three hours after eating. When you lie down, it’s physically easier for stomach contents to splash up toward the LES. By sitting up or standing, gravity helps stomach contents stay where they belong — at the bottom of the stomach.
* Avoid items that weaken the LES muscle (like chocolate, peppermint, caffeine, alcohol, fatty foods) and foods and beverages that may irritate a damaged esophagus lining (citrus and citrus juice, tomatoes and tomato juice, and chili peppers and black pepper).
* Avoid eating large meals because the more volume in the stomach, the more likely the stomach contents will splash toward the LES. Try eating four to five small meals instead of two or three large ones. By portaion out your food, it will tax your stomach too much
* Avoid high-fat meals because they tend to stay in the stomach longer; greasy or fried foods can also weaken the LES muscle. This can help you to maintain your weight loss also.
* Avoid smoking and avoid alcohol before, during, or after meals that seem to result in heartburn (like dinner). Both can weaken the LES muscle.
* Try waiting at least two hours after a meal before exercising if you find your heartburn seems to get worse after exercise.
* Chew gum (a nonpeppermint flavor) after meals to stimulate saliva production (the bicarbonate in saliva neutralizes acid) and increase peristalsis (which helps move the stomach contents into the small intestine more quickly).
* Plan your meals to encourage slow but sure weight loss if you are overweight. Extra weight around the midsection, especially, can press against the stomach and increase the pressure going up toward the LES.
* Drink a small glass of water at the end of meals to help dilute and wash down any stomach acid that might be splashing up into the esophagus, suggests Shekhar Challa, MD, president of Kansas Medical Clinic and author of Spurn The Burn: Treat The Heat.
* Plan on heartburn-friendly beverages like water, mineral water, decaffeinated tea, noncitrus juices, or nonfat or low-fat milk. Beverages to avoid include:
- Sodas: These can bloat the abdomen, increasing the pressure in the stomach and encouraging stomach acid to splash up into the esophagus.
- Juices: Tomato and citrus juices can irritate a damaged esophagus.
- Alcoholic beverages, coffee (even decaf) and caffeinated tea and cola can increase the acid content in the stomach as well as relax the LES.
* Eat a high fiber diet! A recent study found that people who followed a high-fiber meal plan were 20% less likely to have acid reflux symptoms, regardless of their body weight. You’ll find fiber in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds (basically unprocessed plant foods).
This should give you heartburn relief read my other posts for your heartburn symptoms brought to you by natural acid reflux blog.