Natural alternative for acid reflux?

Question

I was taking Nexium, which worked wonders, but I haven't taken it in almost 3 weeks, due to its expensiveness and lack of insurance coverage. Pepto bismol and Tums does nothing for my stomach, does anyone know of a natural cure or alternative?

Answer 1

Hi THere

Here are some remedies to use to heal your condition.

Causes of Heartburn

The most common causes of heartburn are overeating, and eating meals that are predominantly acid-forming and abundant in unhealthy fats, spices, and commercially processed foods. Heartburn can also be caused by low levels of hydrochloric acid (HCl), deficiencies in the body’s production of enzymes, poor adrenal and/or spleen function, and/or diminished liver function due to toxicity. Hiatal hernia, stress, or smoking, can cause heartburn, as well.

In addition, food allergies lead to poor digestion which can also contribute to heartburn, as can combining too many different types of foods at the same meal. Heartburn can be brought on by drinking excess fluids during mealtime, eating too fast, or eating in a stressed environment. Heartburn can also be connected to constipation, similar to a backed up septic system. In this case, the body can have a difficult time digesting and processing the food coming in, if the previous meal is not going down and being eliminated properly.

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Natural Cures

Aromatherapy: The essential oil of cardamon can relieve heartburn symptoms.

Diet: Avoid all commercially processed foods, spicy foods, sugars, refined carbohydrates, unhealthy fats, coffee and other caffeine products, chocolate, sodas, commercial non-herbal teas, alcohol, orange and grapefruit juice, tomato products, milk and dairy products, and foods containing peppermint and spearmint. Also have yourself screened for potential food allergies and sensitivities and avoid those foods for which you test positive.

Emphasize a diet rich in organic whole foods, especially organic fresh green vegetables and green vegetable drinks. Free-range organic meats and poultry, and wild-caught fish are also recommended. In addition, be sure to drink plenty of pure filtered water throughout the day.

Avoid overeating and eating meals late in the evening. As a general rule of thumb, in order to prevent and reverse heartburn symptoms, eat meals that are predominantly alkalizing in nature, especially green vegetables. (For more information about how to eat alkalizing foods, see pH.) Meals should ideally consist of generous portions of fresh leafy green salads, bare or lightly dressed, with an equally generous portion of lightly steamed vegetables and a fist sized portion of steamed, baked, broiled or carefully grilled protein. Organically produced foods, and carefully chosen oils, such as raw virgin coconut butter/oil, extra virgin olive oil and high lignan flax seed oil are your safest options. Avoid all fried foods, and all hydrogenated fats and oils. Choose raw, rather than roasted nuts and seeds, both in whole and butter form. Raw almond butter is a better option than peanut butter, and is a great snack when spread on apple slices.

Minimize your intake of both coffee and black tea, as well as alcoholic beverages. This is essential if heartburn is an issue.

Foods that can often quickly resolve heartburn problems are apples, raw cucumbers (peeled), brown rice, and walnuts. Sipping a glass of pure, filtered water with a couple of teaspoons of raw organic apple cider vinegar or baking soda (one teaspoon to eight ounces of water) can also quickly neutralize heartburn attacks.

Herbal Medicine: Useful herbs for heartburn include agrimony, aloe vera, angelica, fennel, garlic, gentian, goldenseal, licorice root, marshmallow root, parsley, and slippery elm.

Homeopathy:
Arsenicum album – for heartburn accompanied by anxiety, chills and thirst, abdominal cramping
Nux vomica – for heartburn caused by fats or sour foods and/or accompanied by feelings of irritability
Sulfur – for heartburn caused by overeating and/or accompanied by burping, late morning hunger, or early morning diarrhea.

Juice Therapy: Fresh squeezed cucumber juice can often quickly resolve heartburn symptoms.

Lifestyle: If you smoke, stop, and also avoid exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke. In addition, learn how to effectively cope with and manage stress. A regular exercise program is of the utmost importance as is a whole foods diet. Also avoid overeating and eating meals late in the evening. Allow at least 3 hours between meals, unless blood sugar problems are an issue, in which case, eating smaller frequent meals is an option.

Nutritional Supplements: The most useful nutritional supplements for treating and preventing heartburn are digestive enzymes (taken with every meal) and calcium carbonate (take 600 mg in liquid or chewable form every two to three hours until symptoms subside).

Probiotics such as acidophilus and Bifidobacteria, can also be helpful, as can fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) and soil-based organisms. FOS is an all-natural carbohydrate microorganism that has been shown by researchers to serve as a fertilizing agent that enables Bifidobacteria to thrive in the large intestine, where it helps to protect against harmful bacteria.

Soil-based organisms are beneficial microbes found in soil. Taken as a supplement, they go to work to detoxify the gastrointestinal tract while eliminating fungi, molds, parasites, viruses, and yeasts. They also help to improve absorption of nutrients and boost both immune and overall cell function, including the production of RNA and DNA. In addition, they act as natural antioxidants.

Alternative Professional Care
The following therapies can also help to prevent and relieve heartburn: Acupressure, Acupuncture, Ayurveda, Biofeedback Training and Neurotherapy, Detoxification Therapy, Environmental Medicine, Enzyme Therapy, Flower Essences, Mind/Body Medicine, Naturopathic Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Yoga

Best of health to you

Answer 2

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Answer 3

A cheap alternative is a 1/2 teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate (bi-carb) in a glass of warm water. It tastes horrible but it works. DO NOT use too much as it can cause problems...;

Answer 4

Prilosec (omeperazol) is now available as generic and should be less expensive. There are a varety of other drugs in this class too, Prevacid, Acihpex, Protonix that would probably work just as well. Also as some of the other posters have noted, life-style and diet changes can help quite a bit.

The older medications, H2 blockers, like Zantac, Pepcid and Tagamet can work pretty good too, particularly at higher doses.

Answer 5

When you get 'heartburn' try 1 or 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Seems like the last thing you want, but it really works. I don't know if this is a long term solution, but it works within 5 minutes for a short term solution. I believe it is better than antacids.

Answer 6

Try Zantac. You can buy it without a prescription and it worked pretty well for me. Ask your pharmacist for other alternatives. There are alot of them available
Good Luck. I know how you are feeling. Acid reflux can be horrible.

Answer 7

Nexium IS very expensive if you don't have insurance coverage.
Ask your doctor for a prescription for generic omeprazole - about 1/10th the cost (maybe less). Another alternative is Prilosec OTC, which may be about the same. These are both closely related to Nexium and are likely to be just as effective for you.

Answer 8

You've got some good answers here. To the dietary changes, baking soda, and generic drug suggestions, I'm just going to add one more.

Drink plenty of water. It helps dilute the stomach acid.

Answer 9

Try "gripe water". The ingredients are ginger, fennel, chamomile and sodium bicarbonate. It can be found at a homeopathic or naturalistic medicine store--try GNC or Hi_Health. Or you can order it on-line--it helps colic in babies!!! It has also been around since 1928!

Answer 10

I had the same thing...

Was taking nexium, pepto and tums did nothing...

Change your diet...nothing acidic, spicy, no carbonation, no caffeine, no alcohol - go on a bland diet for awhile.

I did this and eventually I was just fine. No meds anymore.

Answer 11

acid stomach is the body's way of trying to get more acid, so take a tablespoon full of vinegar or drink a cup of coffee & it'll subside. over the counter products try to suppress the acid when indeed your body is craving more!