★★★☆☆
WORKED TEMPORARILY
★★★★★
Ginger
★★★★★
Blackstrap Molasses
★★★★☆
Well, I would have never guessed that it would help my GERD/Acid Reflux! I had no idea it could be used for that. I've mainly heard about ACV. I know it's got to be the BSM that's helping. I have had GERD for the past 2-3 years, and it is flairing really badly right now. I have been in extreme pain and discomfort this last week from reflux (dry cough throughout the day, acid belly--which I normally only get during my cycle, burping up food and acid 1-2 hrs after I eat, congestion in the morning). Somehow these symptoms have become considerably less since starting the BSM, and it hasn't even been a full 7 days. Amazing.
Last night I even ate tacos and didn't have any reflux issues. That's a huge breakthrough. I will try using up to the recommended 1 TBSP on the bottle to see if that cures it completely.
Cabbage
★★★★★
Greatest cure for acid and indigestion I have found that really chewing a chunk of raw red(purple) cabbage, quickly balances my system quicker than anything.
It seems to work instantly!! Been a life saver for me.
Soda Water
Dietary Changes
I think the main thing is to avoid all processed foods. No processed sugar or flour. [I don't like to call them "refined" cause there is nothing fine about them.]
I took prevacid for a year and would wake up in the middle of the night choking on the taste of stomach acid in my mouth. Then, because I also had diverticulosis, I started eating oatmeal 5 days a week for the fiber. For the longest time I became convinced that animal foods were one of the bad things that contrubuted to disease but now I am not so sure.
Eventually I went vegetarian and from that I went nutritarian based on a book by Joel Fuhrman, MD called Eat To Live. I stayed on that diet for over 2 years up until 2 months ago when I went low-carb high-fat. Low-carb high-fat is really what all the low-carb high-protein diets are about. They don't want to emphasize the high fat part cause it would scare folks off. Reading Gary Taubes Good Calorie, Bad Calories is what got me interested and turned me around into accepting that animal foods may not be all that bad as long as you avoid processed animal foods and those with hormones and antibiotics.
Anyway it has now been about 5 years since I have had any symptoms of GERD or diverticulosis. Plus after going on the vegetarian diet followed by the nutritarian diet I lost 40 pounds and since going low carb and eating much more meat & fat but no potatoes, bread and the like I have not gained back a single pound but in fact have lost a few and my lipids have gotten even better as well as my blood sugar which went from 99 to 89. I also supplement with DHA, vitamin D and magnesium taurate.
I will be 65 years old in another month. Wish I ate better when I was younger.
Apple Cider Vinegar, Baking Soda
★★★☆☆
WORKED TEMPORARILY
I have been trying the Apple Cider Vinegar and Bicarb Soda for terrible indigestion, heartburn, acid reflux. At first it seemed to be working, but now I think it is just getting worse. I have a lot of pain from my front through to my back. Can you please tell me if I should be doing this if I don't have a gallbladder? I had it removed 3 years ago as it functioned below 5%..
Apple Cider Vinegar, Baking Soda
★★★★☆
Avocado
★★★★★
Multiple Remedies
EC: Stevia is available in the USA.
Liza
Red Wine
★★★★★
We are led to believe that our Acid Reflux is the result of too much acid in the stomach that then "spills" into the esophagus, causing the burning sensation. However, the reality is just the opposite. There is no such thing as "Acid Reflux disease or GERD. " You experience the symptoms associated with acid reflux because your stomach is not producing enough acid and stomach gases force food and acid upwards into the esophagus. The technical diagnoses is "Hypochlorhydria, " which means "too little stomach acid" (Hydrochloric acid) and the FDA doesn't want you to figure that out, because the cure is not pharmaceutical drugs, which means you won't be giving them money to keep you on life-long chemicals that address symptoms rather than causes, until you develop side effects to medicine "X" and have to take medicine "Y" to suppress them, all resulting in more money in their pockets for essentially killing you over time.
The reason red wine helps your acid reflux is because red wine appears to help with digestion. Red wine helps with digestion because it has acidic value, just like Apple Cider. Put simply, you are adding acid to your stomach. This is why you feel more severe heartburn for the first 20 seconds when you take a sip as it travels down your throat to your stomach, followed by relief once it arrives and settles. You are effectively repopulating your stomach with the acidic value it needs to execute digestion, thus preventing gases from forcing anything into your esophagus. However, since you are led to believe your symptoms are due to too much acid in the stomach, the logical reaction is to classify red wine as a GERD/Reflux catalyst or agitator, which is why most "no-no foods lists" for Acid Reflux sufferers will include red wine.
Pharmaceutical medications essentially do the same thing, but they do it in an unhealthy, dangerous & expensive way. What they do is eliminate ALL acid in the body. When this happens, the body panics and works extremely hard to reproduce sufficient acid. Once this process completes, your symptoms go away, because your stomach now has an appropriate level of acid in it. The FDA, however, wants you to keep giving them more money, so they hope you continue to believe you have too much acid and you need these drugs to keep your acid levels under control.
Nothing seems to cure Hypochlorhydria except for lifestyle change and time. You must treat the source of the problem, which is faulty digestion. If you had proper digestion, your body wouldn't lack the acid levels required to digest nourishment in the stomach.
I personally have been on multiple prescription medications for chronic Acid Reflux before learning the truth for the past 8 years. The only medication that worked for me alleviated my symptoms momentarily at the expense of injecting 1,680 mg of sodium into my system everyday. Combine that with my daily salt intake and I'd be dead by 40, like our forefathers who used salt to preserve their foods. That being said, I have always been skeptical about holistic remedies, and given my general luck, most things don't end up working for me. That being said, I would like to share what has worked for me, so that in the event you are skeptical, have bad luck or nothing ever works for you, you can know that someone with the same problem found the following solutions:
I recommend a full spectrum digestive enzyme before or after every meal, as well as a probiotic from your local vitamin store. Certified Inner Fillet Aloe Vera Juice helps as well, but I wouldn't take it everyday because it has claims to be hard on the kidneys over a long period of time/usage. Absolutely positively stay away from anything spicy. Spicy food is the only thing that will render every trick in my bag useless and keep me up all night burning, regardless what time I ate it. There's also nothing on the planet I love more, but you have to do what you have to do. On that topic, never overeat, never eat past 7pm, and although it is very hard to follow (I am guilty of not following this often), try to limit your intake of liquid with your meals to 5-6 ounces preferably a good red wine or water. The reason for this is to not dilute your stomach acid to ensure it remains effective in digestion. Drink water at least 30 minutes after your meal. Lastly on the topic of digestion, and even harder to follow than limiting liquid intake is to not mix your food groups. The human digestive system is not well equipped to fully digest multiple food groups simultaneously. In other words, do not eat your roughage, meets & starches together. When one does this, the digestive system kicks into overdrive from being overwhelmed, and there is no way it is able to fully digest all food from all food groups when ingested simultaneously. The end result is poor digestion and putrefying food in the stomach, producing that "full for 12 hours" feeling, indigestion, heartburn, etc.
Following these guidelines will not alleviate your symptoms, however. These recommendations may heal and correct your body over time with consistent use, which is needed. While your body does this though, let's talk about the things that can manage the symptoms.
The absolute first thing you I recommend to do after reading this is buy a large bottle of Papaya Enzyme chewable tablets these guys are your best friends, and without them you are severely disadvantaged in managing your symptoms. They have a similar effect to over the counter antacid chewables, but they are enzymes, so rather than spin the acid depletion / replenish cycle, it aids your digestive system while controlling and preventing further symptoms. Most instructions say to take 3 with meals and two when needed. I often take ~25 a day.
Try to find a health foods store that carries Slippery Elm Powder. This is tree bark dust, and it coats & soothes your stomach. Mix 1-2 teaspoons into a mug of hot water & be prepared because it is ungodly nasty and the texture is like drinking mucus. That being said, provided it doesn't cause you to wake up congested and you aren't allergic to it, it is excellent in relieving symptoms.
Purchase organic roasted almonds and consume. For some reason, roasted almonds appear to alleviate symptoms. Almond milk is a good choice as well, but doesn't appear to work nearly as well as almonds in my experience.
Now the stomach needs to be trained to produce sufficient acid. This can be done by buying a bottle of raw Apple Cider Vinegar with the Mother and drinking 3 tablespoons in 8oz of water 3 times a day. Drinking ACV has other health benefits as well, but it can be rough on the stomach for some (myself included). Apple Cider Vinegar is also quite nasty, but it replenishes acid and alleviates symptoms. Avoid ACV capsules, as they do not appear to work. Proven Old Amish Formula "Stops Acid Reflux" formula produces a similar effect to ACV, can be taken straight, and is a bit more bearable. It also contains ginger and garlic juices. However, in my case of sensitive stomach, both cause me stomach discomfort (ACV stomachache, Amish Formula bloating) so I opt to not take them. In their absence, I have found that good red wine (preferably Cabernet Sauvignon) alleviates symptoms, and appears to replenish acid levels. Another method is to purchase Hydrochloric Acid in pill form (5-HCL) and take before and/or after meals to add acid to the stomach. This is the only approach I have no experience with as of yet.
I recommend purchasing a crushed ice maker and chewing crushed ice. The ice will soothe your throat and remove all symptoms while actively consuming, but symptoms will often re-emerge shortly after you have stopped eating ice. Drinking water helps momentarily. Chewing gum also seems to remove symptoms by increasing saliva production which improves digestion, and masks the feeling of heartburn with the flavor of the gum instead. Ensure your head and upper chest is elevated when you sleep to assist gravity in keeping the acid splash from the gases where it belongs. This can be accomplished with a wedge pillow or 6-8 inches of bricks under the bed.
As a last resort, keep a box of baking soda on hand; dissolve 1/4 tsp of baking soda in 4-5 ounces of water and drink. Most recommend 8 ounces. In my experience, less water works better. This will neutralize acid so that if gases are causing splashing on the esophagus, it will be neutral & (relatively) symptom free. I often need to consume 1/4 tsp baking soda to sleep comfortably. Just be aware that 1/4 tsp of baking soda is somewhere around 300mg of sodium. That being said, it is loads better than the 1, 680mg I was consuming every night.
This is every tool in my toolbox that has had any sort of positive effect on controlling and moving towards curing my Hypochlorhydria. I recommend equipping yourself with all of these tools, but if I could only choose three I'd take the Papaya Enzymes and an Acid Producer (Red Wine, ACV, etc.) daily, while keeping the baking soda on hand for emergencies. Remember, consuming spicy foods will render every single tool ineffective. However, following these guidelines has allowed me to manage this condition, but I can't guarantee the same for everyone.
Apples
★★★★★
Melatonin
★★★★☆
★★★★★
Apples
★★★★★
Digestive Enzymes
★★★★★
Gum
You are better off taking iodine as it regulates stomach acid and cures the problem. Research "iodine stomach acid".
Gum
★★★★★
