Acid Reflux and Lifestyle: 7 Tips to Reduce Symptoms
by Fallon Cullerne
Our overall health can be influenced by lifestyle choices to a surprising degree. Acid reflux is one of those areas, and if your doctor has diagnosed this condition, you will want to investigate how you can control the symptoms as much as possible to live more comfortably. The disease won't easily go away, unfortunately, but its effects can be tamed and sometimes prevented by making a few lifestyle changes. The following seven tips are a great place to start.
1. Control Meal Size
Many people eat two or three big meals each day, but experts believe that eating five or even six small meals is preferable. This can certainly prevent overeating at any one meal. Gastric pressure increases with a full stomach, and often leads to acid reflux symptoms. Choosing to eat smaller meals, and eating more slowly, can help avoid this.
2. Stop Bedtime Snacking
Don't eat or drink anything for at least two hours before going to bed. If you typically take an afternoon nap, try doing it in a chair. Lying down on a full stomach will cause the contents of your stomach to press against the lower esophagus, increasing the chances of acid reflux.
3. Become a Picky Eater
There are many common beverages and foods that can trigger acid reflux. They do so either by increasing acid production and gastric pressure, or by relaxing the lower esophagus muscle. Obviously, foods that trigger heartburn in you should be avoided. These foods vary, but for many people, spicy foods, citrus fruits and juices, and coffee can cause irritation in the esophagus lining. Avoid eating these foods for dinner, to reduce the chances of heartburn at night. If you are unsure which foods tend to cause heartburn for you, keep a heartburn record for a week or two to help keep track of foods you need to avoid.
4. Quit Smoking and Reduce Alcohol
Smoking is implicated in dozens of health problems and diseases, and acid reflux is among them. It stimulates the production of acid, among other things. And alcohol does the same thing, along with relaxing the lower esophageal muscle and potentially allowing acid reflux to occur. If you wish to drink alcohol in very small amounts, you might be okay, but always gauge your reactions. Obviously, if you start a journal or food record, this would be a good thing to keep track of in there.
5. Sleep Smart
Gravity is the main force at work here. If you keep your head higher than your waist, the contents of your stomach will more likely stay put. Consider buying a large, wedge-shaped pillow, to elevate your head and shoulders. You can also purchase an adjustable bed, to create an incline, or prop the legs of your current bed to accomplish the same thing (though less safely.)
6. Loosen Up the Waistband
Tight clothing can constrict your stomach, squeezing food in your stomach against your lower esophagus. Of course, we know where this will lead! So loosen that belt, or buy clothing with adjustable waistlines or elastic support. Be free and loose, and your stomach will thank you.
7. Relax
Stress may not have a close relationship with heartburn, at least researchers have not found one yet, but it still may be implicated in acid reflux. Stress may be more of a precursor to the problem. In any case, it is a good idea to use relaxation techniques to help reduce stress, and help you avoid heartburn inducing behavior.
Some health conditions aren't caused by a single factor; they're the result of many factors making up one big problem. Trying various lifestyle changes can add up to big relief from chronic acid reflux.
Fallon Cullerne contributes to several well-known web sites, on health plan and senior health topics. Click here to get your own unique version of this article.
|
