Natural Remedies for Acid Reflux Relief

DGL

Posted by Peter (California) on 02/08/2020
★★★★★

Chewable DGL Locorice extract works great for heart burn and it works immediately. I keep it on hand. The reason I use DGL is because it removes the substances in licorice that raises blood pressure.

Acidophilus

Posted by beverly (Texas) on 04/05/2022

Activated charcoal is good but remember it can cause constipation, so compensate for that.

Slippery Elm

Posted by Gena (Westport, Ct) on 12/09/2014
★★★★★

I have acid reflux and find that taking 4 capsules of slippery elm settles my stomach and makes the acid reflux disappear. I highly recommend it for anyone who suffers from it!

Apple Cider Vinegar, Baking Soda

Posted by Guaira (Seattle, Wa) on 08/23/2011
★★★★★

Works like a charm! Really!! I had an endoscopy scheduled because I was feeling terrible, with an acid reflux that nothing could stop. The Prevacid that I had been taking was useless. Since I had to wait about 1 month for my appointment, I stopped taking Prevacid and started taking the ACV baking soda remedy described here... I felt GREAT about 3 days into it, and PERFECT within 3 weeks. Got the endoscopy done: NOTHING!! Seriously, no inflamation anywhere, including the duodenum. Last time I had an endoscopy done I was diagnosed with a hiatal hernia: GONE! Go figure... I must warn you again though: BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THE BAKING SODA. Too much and you will end up in much worse shape. I used only 1/8 of a teaspoon, with ACV. Never measured the resulting pH, but preferred to err on the safe side. Good luck, and take care!

Dietary Changes

Posted by Connie (Slc, Ut) on 01/25/2011
★★★★☆

Hi Sheila; Yes, it is an "acid thing" to me too because I'm still trying to give it a figure. Whatever this thing is, It's been "Born Slippy" to my gripe. (possibility of a joke here). I'm still rummaging through my diet and supplements to find which acids trouble me at this time.

In Truth, these acids have nothing that's wrong about them, but I am not metabolizing them correctly for now. I cannot take aspirin or even White Willow Bark For now. (high in salicylic acid) Foods high in salicylates don't seem to be a problem.

Foods high in citric acid are troublesome now. I may have moderate amounts of naturally fermented foods. (lactic acid) Acetic acids are also troublesome now. Even Rose Hips tea caused a disturbance. (ascorbic acid and citric acid) I have trouble metabolizing sulfur. It is acidic, but moreover, the body conducts a very complex process with it in order to use it. (when I try to understand what all the liver does in this, I have to "roll out the fainting couch"). If sulfur isn't properly methylated, oxidized, etc., its unfinished business will be expressed to and from an unhappy colon.

What brought me to realize that my case was some "gross acidosis", was (I must admit this), 5 years of Hcl supplementation. I began it after a lifetime of digestive ills that peaked with a 3 month period of upper stomach pain, projectile vomiting, and dry heaves. (liver problems too) Scope showed no ulcer, no H. Pylori, but there was inflammation. After research, I began Hcl with Betaine (sounds like beet uh een). My results were great, and I could eat well. After a couple of years, I began to have negative symptoms that seemed unrelated to the Hcl. (no stomach pain). After 5 yrs., there was pain nearly everywhere but the stomach. I increased Hcl. Pain increased. Kidney pain increased exponentially. Ted's words, "acid kidney", came to mind.

I went for a scan. The results were; No stones, no obstructions in kidney, but a small liver lesion and a small hiatal hernia. I stopped Hcl. The pain began to subside. I now have somewhat low stomach acid, but I choose B-complex with an extra pinch of niacin to treat it. These are the acids that I may have.

The rewards for the practice of finding my troublesome acids are: no more kidney pain, minimized liver and stomach pain, much reduced bleeding, (purpura, gums), very few canker sores, (autoimmune), and very few shingles outbreaks, (herpes). I am now able to slowly reduce my meds. I have learned this practice from reading the brilliant posts here, and I am again grateful. Connie

Celery

Posted by Sammi (Flowery Branch, Ga) on 06/02/2009
★★★★★

I have learned a lot after reading all of your comments. This is the first time I have seen this web site and reading it mentioned in passing on Dr. Mercola's web site. My husband used to get acid reflux painfully bad, but after he gave up drinking quarts of tea a day (hey, he's a southern boy!), he very rarely gets it. He avoids bad eating, but sometimes (and it's usually some kind of fast food) he weakens and pays for it. He used to use baking soda, but found it was slow to work and sometimes didn't. Our son-in-law has BAD problems with it and found only eating celery (don't know if he knows about the other recommendations) could fix it. Hubby tried celery and has stuck with it as it works on the rare occasions now when he's affected. I can't get him to try the ACV. He thinks my son and I are crazy using it. Thanks for this site and all the fine input.

B12

Posted by Nate (New Orleans, LA) on 05/24/2009
★★★★☆

Hey, I tried everyting from this site. I was on Aciphex and Malox. This helped but did not cure anything. Then I saw these emails about apples and apple cider viniger. I have been taking apples for months before I read this. It did not help. Applecider vineger did not help. Probiotics did not help.

So what did? One guy posted here saying that Acid Reflux is a B12 deficiency. I had liquid B12 and put it under my tongue. Within 30 minutes I felt relief when I was previously having a bad reaction. I also had a nuropethy thing going on in my scalp that started after I got on blood pressure meds. My head tingled as my sinuses got bad. Even this partially but significantly went away. Not completely but a significant change. Much relief. 5 days later, I am feeling even better. I have to take B12 daily under my tongue but major results. Better than when I was on Aciphex. I feel that I will be cured in a few weeks as long as I stay on B12. I hope this helps some of you.

Aloe Vera

Posted by Fran (Dallas, Tx ) on 06/10/2010
★★★★★

I would recommend to anyone that has acid reflux to use aloe vera. There are differents forms to take. My daughter takes the gel capsules because she doesnt like the taste. And alot of it has to do with stress. So depending on your life style you need to make a change in your life. I have learned that I can not control eveything, so I have learned to control myself and not let the actions of others affect me. Its the best way to deal with things.

Slippery Elm

Posted by Lenore (Chicago, Illinois) on 04/01/2009
★★★★★

My husband had a bad case of acid reflux for years and I found out about Slippery Elm Bark tea. I made him a cup of it and he drank it down and has not been bothered with it for months.Slippery elm bark tea is said to soothe and heal anything it comes in contact with and is very nourishing. The tea is reputed to stay in a sore and ulcerated stomach where nothing else can and can be purchased in powdered for at any health food store. By the way I love your website and told a friend about using ginger while undergoing chemo. He now thinks I am a genius and said it works so well that he can eat again and is gaining weight.

Alkaline Acid Diet

Posted by Vanya (Frankfort, Indiana) on 11/08/2008
★★★★★

I have had Acid Reflux for 6 and 1/2 years. Tried every prescription and non prescription medicine on the market, they all stopped working after while. I am ACID FREE since September 22-08(for good) I stopped my Protonix (despite my doctor opinion)

I read about the alkalizing diet and started on it right away. I start my day with 2oz of Aloe Vera Gel, then I take enzyme pill and eat breakfast. I am taking enzymes right before every meal. Then I drink a cup of chamomile tea with honey or molasses instead of sugar. I eat an apple around 10 am. Sometimes a pear. After lunch I take B complex vitamin, don't forget the enzyme pill too (it helps to digest the food better) Sometimes I feel a little bit discomfort in my stomach and I become afraid of getting the acid back, at those moments I chew raw almonds ( I always have some in my purse) and I feel fine! And , at last but most important I take PROBIOTICS, 5 or 6 per day, just anytime during the day. The more cultures they contain the better you feel, because we all need to replenish the good bacteria in our intestines (we live in a very stressful and poisoned environment)

Thank you all for the valuable information on this website! God Bless You all...

Warnings

Posted by Joyce (Joelton, TN) on 05/04/2008 490 posts
★☆☆☆☆

WARNING!

Hello Erik from Pittsburgh,

Hopefully anyone intelligent enough to use the internet has enough intelligence to reject the idea if someone should be idiotic enough to recommend that they take strychnine or cyanide or some other poison! First off, I seriously doubt that anyone has written in recommending something that they haven't tried themselves.

I fully agree that these claims have not been evaluated by orthodox medicine studies or the FDA, but God forbid that I ever have to rely solely on the FDA's "GRAS" ratings or take every word spoken by a doctor as the gospel truth. But let's take a look at some of those that were. Remember the thalidomide that orthodox medical doctors prescribed for the normal nausea of pregnancy? How would you like to have been one of those infants born with severe deformities (the pictures of these babies, some with hands attached to shoulders instead of wrists because they had no arms or missing both arms and legs and worse) were heart breaking. I believe the FDA approved of this medication or at least passed it after taking the word of some doctor or doctors who performed a study paid for by the pharmaceutical company that produced it.

Or take a look at a more recent one called Viox. One of my aunts is one of those unlucky ones prescribed the latest thing for her arthritis pain - she has had a stroke, myocardial infarct, and a pacemaker implanted, thanks to this wonder drug that was supposedly FDA rated safe after the proper studies were done. This aunt had a lovely garden (vegetables) prior to this fiasco - I don't think she will ever be able to tend her garden again. I was raised to believe that pokeweed berries were poisonous, but after a very good friend and neighbor told me to take them for severe arthritis and she didn't back down when threatened with having to finish raising my 4 children if it killed me, I started taking them and am still taking them 40+ years later. I wouldn't be surprised to find that Viox was some substance isolated from pokeberries, and a synthetic version produced so it could be patented and make a fortune for the pharmaceutical company. I have come to the conclusion that one should never try to improve on God's product. I kept the "fail safe" by taking the pokeberries instead of a depleted synthetic version of what was found to be detrimental to the arthritis. Of course I had to work out how much and how often to take them myself, since she didn't know how her aunt took them. I do know that orthodox medicine was performing studies on pokeberries (as well as many other herbs/plants) since the 60's and 70's. We were told in a physiology lecture in l977 (at a prestigious southern medical school) "that we don't know why, but from a study we have going here, we know that pokeberries throws the immune system into gear to fight". I had already been taking them about l0 years at the time, so I just sat there & grinned. If you have a problem with herbs & plants, which I call "God's medicine", there is a wealth of information in the federal government's botanical data base, if you can find your way into it. If you can't find your way into it, James (Jim) Duke, retired PHD botanist, who amassed much of this information, has written a book titled "The Green Pharmacy" which is very informative. I own a couple of copies of it myself and have given some to my children.

Or how about the one (I forget the name) that was finally outlawed in this country after several years because too many of the ones taking it were developing irreversible blindness? The pharmaceutical company just continued selling it in other countries. This is not malpractice or neglect - it is criminal behavior secondary to greed!

I also find it amusing that many doctors are getting smart and passing up chemotherapy themselves when they develop cancer. Google Lorraine Day for a great & successful example of this.

If you are in the medical field, I am sorry if the job security is getting shaky, but I will have to "fess up" that I started taking vitamins, minerals, and supplements because I knew they worked. If I hadn't already been convinced of their effectiveness before, I would have been positive after seeing the AMA try to gain control of them by striving to make them available by "prescription" only and that prescription would have to be written by a doctor. Unfortunately Big Pharms and AMA haven't given up on this yet. Frankly, The FDA has been almost worthless and hasn't been earning the salaries that the taxpayer's money goes to pay over the past few decades. Apparently they find bigger money from lobbyists for the AMA and Big Pharm and court battles easier to win against the little guys who are selling us the vitaminsm, minerals & supplements.

It is way past time that the FDA admits that they goofed when they rated monosodium glutamate and aspartame "GRAS" but it may be too late to avoid many of us from developing Diabetes Mellitus, type 2, Parkinsons' disease, alzheimers and many other problems. I urge everyone to research these two toxins that permeate our foods and start fighting these in our foods, because the FDA is not going to do it. The latest thing I read on alzheimer's disease is that it is much more prevalent, striking at a younger age and in those without a genetic predisposition, than previously thought. That tells me that it is what they are putting in our food.

Alkaline Acid Diet

Posted by Cynthia (Bergen County, New Jersey) on 11/23/2007
★★★★★

All these remedies do not address what people are putting initially in their bodies! Everyone is consuming acid causing foods. The basic theory is that acidic foods (ex. orange) cause an alkaline tummy. Alkaline foods cause an acid stomache. If you eat a lot of bread, rice, grains, etc. you will have reflux or an acid stomache. If you balance your diet with fruits and vegetables you will greatly reduce your chance of an acidic stomache. Find an acid alkaline food chart on google. There are quite a few. This explains why some people found relief from apples. It is an alkalizing fruit! So are beets, broccoli, carrots, etc. But be careful! Some fruits and vegees are acidifying like corn, lentils, blueberries, cranberries, canned fruits, plums, prunes, etc. That is why the chart is so important. I was a candidate for nexium and anti-acid pills. However, I changed my life by maintaining the acid alkaline diet. Please consider this. I've changed a lot of people's lives by sharing this information. However, a couple of my friends and family who have NOT taken this advice are now on anti-acid pills. Oh, by the way, fennel seed tea is a miracle worker for after dinner tummy calming. It helps to maintain an alkaline tummy. I need 2 cups to be helpful (I'm 144 lbs). Find the right dose for you. Best of luck!! Here's to your health!

Slippery Elm

Posted by Kathleen (New York, NY) on 09/04/2007
★★★★★

Acid Reflux - Slippery Elm -- Cured my acid reflux after trying everything for a year. A herbalist in my neighborhood said get a bottle of water and put 2 Tablespoons of powered slippery elm in it and sip it all day long. Also, the Thayer's Slippery-Elm lozenges -- you can let one after the other dissolve and always at night when I go to bed (and during the night). Put more slippery elm powder in a little water and drink it straight, after meals -- it will be a little thick, but it absolutely works.

Celery

Posted by Rob (Kentucky) on 07/29/2023
★★★★★

A friend and I were eating at a Mexican restaurant. We had several dishes that were acidic, plus a few glasses of coke. After the meal my friend took out a 4 inch stalk of celery from her purse, and began eating it. She told me that she had been living on Tums since she was young, but had just recently tried celery. By the time she had finished the stalk of celery, the severe burning sensation in her throat and chest were gone.

Since that time, I have learned to use this protocol for anyone experiencing acid reflux or heart burn.

After eating, always eat a 4 inch piece of celery behind it. I've seen people's reflux disappear completely in as little as 24 hours and as long as they stay eating the celery, they do not have a relaps.

Why does it work?

During ancient times, celery was considered to be a medicinal herb before it became a food and used to treat a variety of ailments. Celery is an old folk remedy for heartburn.

Celery is highly anti-inflammatory. It may help in reducing the severity of acute and chronic inflammatory diseases like osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, bronchitis, asthma, lupus, gout, Crohn's disease, leaky gut, etc. (1). This activity is attributed to the active ingredients like apigenin, apiin, and luteolin in celery juice (7).

Celery heals and activates the gut by restoring hydrochloric acid which helps us digest things faster and more efficiently. Celery juice helps raise stomach acid, which is necessary to help break down food, especially protein. Especially good for those on a high protein diet. If our stomach acid is low, the body has to use more resources to digest that food, often leaving us feeling tired and lethargic. Celery juice has the ability to significantly replenish depleted levels of gastric mucus that is needed in the stomach lining to heal and prevent ulcers and acid reflux.

Try it and let me know.

D-Limonene

Posted by Devorah (NyC) on 03/27/2023
★★★★★

Just discovered d-limonene for acid reflux..seems great..will report back. For some reason no one seems to have Jarrow formula d limonene..anyone know why?

Dietary Changes

Posted by Diana (Texas) on 06/16/2021
★★★★★

I also found that lowering my carbs eliminated the acid flux problem. Was having significant reflux 2-3 times per week. To lose weight I lowered my carbs to 40-50 per day. About 7-11 days after starting the diet, I realized I hadn't had any bouts of reflux since a day or two after lowering my carbs. This was a complete surprise as I had gone into the diet without any thought that it might have this happy result. It also eliminated the armpit rash I'd been having. It has been about 8 months or more since starting the low carb diet and both issues have remained resolved as long as I watch my carbs. The only times the reflux has recurred was after I had been backsliding for a few days. I can get away with higher carb intake for maybe a day or three but then the reflux comes back. It's a great motivator! I'm 5'3 and weigh 165 now after losing about 15 lbs on the diet, if that is pertinent. Hope this helps someone.

Kefir

Posted by Sara (Texas) on 06/24/2018
★★★★★

KEFIR for acid reflux works for me. I use only the plain Kefir and drink about 1/2 to 1 cup, first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. It is full of nutrients, probiotics and has antibacterial properties. I wait and do not eat anything for about 1 hour or longer so as to let the probiotics work effectively. I have not had any problems with acid reflux since. I realize everyone has different body chemistry's, but this has sure worked for me.

Aloe Vera

Posted by Helenation (Florida) on 02/18/2017
★★★★★

Shouldn't. I'm hypothyroid and the aloe juice (inner leaf) has worked wonders for my GERD. Btwy, my doc also has me supplementing my natural desiccated thyroid meds with a bit of iodine (mixed in water) each day. I've been drinking the juice for a month now and have noticed no impact on my thyroid condition.