Effective Natural Remedies for GERD Relief - Holistic Approach

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.

Pickle Juice

14 User Reviews
5 star (13) 
  93%
4 star (1) 
  7%

Posted by Kaylabrooke (Big Spring, Texas) on 09/14/2009
★★★★★

Wow, the pickle juice actually worked! I have had acid reflux since i was born and finally got put on meds when i was 12 (now 20). i was on nexium 40 mg and it really seemed to work, enough that i took myself off it about two years ago because i thought it was gone. i had no more problem until about a month ago, ive been getting gerd attacks again. i really didnt want to get more meds since i'm in between doctors but the pain is killing me. then i found this website at 1:30 in the morning trying to make the pain stop. thank you so much cause i took a few gulps of the pickle juice and about 5 minutes later i think i can finally go to bed!


Pickle Juice
Posted by Karen (Monticello, IA) on 01/13/2009
★★★★★

I just had 0100 am GERD attack while sleeping. For the first time ever I went to your web site and found people suggesting pickles. All I had in the house was Sweet pickles and IT WORKED.

1/2 cup of sweet pickle juice and two (2) sweet pickles (medium) and pain is gone within 15 minutes and I am ready to go back to bed - pain free.

Sincerely
Karen Tharp


Pickle Juice
Posted by Chris (Jacksonville, Florida) on 04/07/2007
★★★★★

No Way!!!! This was unbelievable!! It's 11:00 at night and my girlfriend was in tears from her GERD pain. I read the pickle juice comments and as a last resort prior to the ER had her try the pick juice remedy. IT WORKED IMMEDIATLY!!!!! totally recommend this to everyone.


Pickle Juice
Posted by Stacy (Royal Oak, IL) on 04/12/2006
★★★★★

Unbelievable!! I am 2 days away from an endoscopy which is the first step in surgical correction for GERD. I have suffered from GERD for over 12 years and in preparation for my next pregnancy, have decided to have the issue corrected. Mine became so bad after my first pregnancy that for the last 5 years, I have been taking double dose OTC Prilosec with only partial relief. To prepare for the procedure, I have to be off of Prilosec for 5 days prior and 2 days post. This scared the tar out of me since I am usually in burning pain if I am even 2 hours late with my pills. I am now 3 days off of the pills and have been, so far successfully, fighting the urge to call and cancel the whole thing just so I can get back on some Prilosec ASAP. With my doctors ok, I have been taking above the max dose of Tums but when I hit about 30 for today, I figured that couldn't be too good. Looking for alternatives, I found this website and read about the pickles. Ironically, I had a pickle from lunch that I had not eaten for fear that it would make me worse. I went and got it and decided, at this point, nothing could be worse. Right after eating it, I noticed a difference. More than I had gotten with all the Tums all day long. Unfortunately, I only had one spear and will have to stop and get more on my way home but this really was amazing. Absolutely worth a try.


Raw Potatoe Juice, Baking Soda

1 User Review
4 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Reflux Master (Brazil) on 04/16/2014
★★★★☆

GERD: Things that I tried that didn't work for me:

1: remedies 2: surgery (actually it got worse!! ) 3: Betaine Hcl 4: probiotics 5: ACV 6: Almonds 7: Lemons 8: Apples 9: Kale 10: Gluten-free, Dairy-free diet

Things that works for me, but didn't cure:

1: Raw potato juice 2: Baking Soda

Replied by Dave
(Fountan Inn, Sc)
04/17/2014

Hello, Reflux Master from Brazil;

You list the things that didn't help and the two that did, both alkalizing in effect. So that may tell you that the issue is largely (in your case) and in most cases the issue on reflux is usually ACIDIC body in nature. Try this experiment... which works for me; For one MONTH... get off ALL acidic foods; really...hard to do but the biggest source of base line acidic issues. Get off COFFEE, even decaffed. (It's acidic too.) No chili products, nothing with tomato, like Ketchup...and I know that in Brazil you may have lots of such acidic food temptations.

Next: reduce your red meat intake after 1:00 pm especially. The body has trouble digesting too much dense proteins. Let up on those a LOT. Eat salads at night and finally: Fish and chicken are OK. NO milk products after 1:00. Like: Ice Cream.

At night take this digestive remedy. Around 9 pm take a tablespoon in a glass of water with one third teaspoon of baking soda...Let finish fizzing and drink. An hour later take an HCL-Betaine tablet.

And finally eat a few bites of papaya...the miracle digester. And careful for too much SUGAR...that's the wild card and often overlooked in getting the body alkaline. OFTEN sugar is the main culprit. SO...NO sugar after 1 pm. The idea is ... let your digestive system catch up with the foods you give it and give it alkalizing items and let up on acidic items. 90 percent of people who follow the DIET logic and the DIGESTIVE logic of the above formula will get substantial relief. I take that back...95 percent. REALLY. Try it. I know the coffee break is hard but the coffee I found was about half of my problem.


Raw Potatoe Juice, DGL Licorice, Probiotics

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Mjake (Ny) on 06/18/2013
★★★★★

I found myself very sick at the beginning of this year. Ended up in the hospital twice in one week because I was so sick, could not eat, could not drink.

I went to the GI and they did an Endoscopy but found only inflammation in the LES, no Pyloria and no ulcers. I was diagnosed with GERD, and the doctor put me on Nexium for 3 months. During those 3 months I didn't feel 100% but I felt ok enough to continue my regular life.

I just came off the meds about 3 weeks ago. I lost about 1lb a day. I couldn't even go to work. I had a host of symptoms: weakness, head pressure, stomach pain all the time. I don't even remember the last time I felt hungry because all I felt was pain. I had gas, bloating and pain, not to mention just wanted to get in bed, which is now super uncomfortable because I raised it 6 inches like they recommend. I tracked my calories and at some point I was eating less than 500calories because eating was so painful.

What I've done to help me:
1. Checked for Candida - according to saliva test I was positive: I bought probiotics and stomach enzymes. Not to mention started drinking Kefir and Kombucha.
2. I started a paleo diet. This has been quite hard since I'm barely able to eat period, and restricting what I eat has made even finding what to eat quite hard. But I heard it was good, so I've done it. I eat veggies and meats/protein.
3. I did the HCL test - both the 6oz of protein, and the baking soda test (2 days). It seemed positive, it took me well over 5 minutes to burp. So I started to supplement with HCL. I felt something after the first pill, but ok so continued. I still couldn't eat really. On the 2nd day's dinner I didn't really feel great, but thought maybe I needed more HCL. I took 2 HCL pills on the 3rd day's breakfast/lunch meal and felt so sick I had to drink a glass with a tsp of baking soda, this helped but I wasn't feeling great. Obviously low stomach acid wasn't my problem.
4. Back to square 1. Most sites now, including this one only discuss the need for HCL supplementation. I felt very depressed, but during one small blog line somewhere mentioned that if the HCL test fails, then you should try taking: Alkabase, Gastric Complex-HP and/or Mastica.
5. I bought Similase, which is suppose to be like Gastric Complex-HP, and some Mastica.
6. I started taking DGL Licorice and Similase, along with the probiotics and the enzymes. This seemed to help but not that great.
7. I was afraid of Alkabase because of the high sodium, so I looked for something else that could act like an "alkaline. " I then heard from a friend of the family that raw potato juice is good for stomach ulcers and GERD. I then read that the raw potato juice acts as an alkaline, so I figured this could work instead of the Alkabase. I just peel the potato, chop it, put it in the blender with some water, puree, then pour it into a strainer and get the juice. I drink that, keeping away from the potato bits because I read those are bad.

For 3 days now I'm doing this: fresh raw potato juice 30 minutes before every meal (empty stomach), 2 DGL licorice chewables 10 minutes later, and 1 Similase and 1 probiotic just before I eat my meal.

I have to tell you, it almost brings tears to my eyes to think of how much better I've been feeling. I finally stopped my weight loss, I was down 13 lbs in 20 days. Every day I feel stronger, and like I can eat. I read this potato juice thing should be done for about 10 days. I will check in then. Good luck to you all.


Rutin

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Zark (Emerald City, The Land Of Oz) on 03/18/2014
★★★★★

Yes, I did try ACV for my reflux. It did work but I had to take it regularly, and I was concerned about my teeth - they started to hurt from all the acidity.

Rutin worked better for me as the reflux has now been gone for a few weeks and I don't need to take anything regularly to keep it that way. In other words it was a proper cure. Just don't take when pregnant as it could possibly bring on delivery.. maybe.


Soft Cheese

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Shana (Philadelphia, Pa) on 09/09/2010
★★★★★

I just wanted to comment on what helped get rid of my acid reflux in case it can help someone. I see so many cures on your site and this one may help someone too. I had severe acid reflux starting last May from eating too many grapefruits, lemons, pizza and spaghetti all in a span of two weeks. My body shut down and I developed severe acid reflux with mild inflammation of the esophagus. I had pains in my throat sometimes and I was up every night almost all night because the Pepcid didn't work well enough and I was allergic to Previcid and afraid to try other medicine. Plus, I didn't want to be on meds.

I discovered 2 months later by accident that soft cheese helped get rid of my gerd. I was famished one night after a workout and had to rush myself to the nearby restaurant which happened to be Cosi. I ordered their signature salad which has cheese on it. I had been told to not eat cheese because it could make my gerd worse, plus I never ate cheese much due to it causing my nose to always run. Long story short I had very little Gerd that night and could sleep better. I decided to experiment and ate a little soft cheese at each dinner and each night I was better. I've been off medicine three weeks and my esophagus feels normal. I have very little Gerd and can sleep now a full night. In case this helps someone else, I wanted to be sure to put this on your site. I also have read that zinc salts healed 100% of the people in the study so perhaps zinc supplements will help people as well.

Gerd is horrible, but don't give up. You'll find a cure so you won't have to stay on meds. Don't overeat, don't eat spices or tomato sauce, don't eat fat or fried foods, and you'll get better.


Strawberry Powder Extract

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Lewpatrick (Thailand) on 12/26/2015 2 posts
★★★★★

A remedy I used to successfully treat my acid reflux GERD of over 20 years is strawberry powder extract. There was a study performed on a series of patients who had Barrett's Syndrome which is a precursor to esophageal cancer. The patients took one ounce (2 Tablespoons) of the powdered strawberry in 8 ounces of water(not tap water, filtered water, no chlorine) 2X/day. This protocol was for six months. The study resulted in a positive result in over 80% of the participants.

I had an upper GI to determine the extent of the damage to my esophagus. Fortunately, it had not progressed to the Barrett's esophagus stage. I found a source for the powder on the internet and ordered several pounds(if you want to do the whole six months figure 2 oz./day times 180 days or approx. 22 pounds.) I took the solution after meals in the morning to allow the extract to coat the esophagus and refrained from drinking and eating as long as possible.

The second dose was taken a couple of hours after dinner and before bedtime. In approximately 8 weeks my reflux symptoms had disappeared. Before I could not sleep on my left side. To sleep on my back I had to elevate my head. I also greatly reduced my refined sugar intake. Also, no sugar after noon.

Randomized phase II trial of lyophilized strawberries in patients with dysplastic precancerous lesions of the esophagus.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22135048

Hopefully this will help some of you out there with potentially life threatening problem.


Supplements

2 User Reviews
5 star (2) 
  100%

Posted by Rob (London, Ontario) on 06/01/2016
★★★★★

I've been going through the GERD remedies here, and I'm surprised nobody has bothered to quote a 2006 study on a natural treatment for GERD that had a 100% success rate with all 175 subjects cured within 40 days.

The abstract of the study- ( from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16948779 )

"The prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is increasing. GERD is a chronic disease and its treatment is problematic. It may present with various symptoms including heartburn, regurgitation, dysphagia, coughing, hoarseness or chest pain. The aim of this study was to investigate if a dietary supplementation containing: melatonin, l-tryptophan, vitamin B6, folic acid, vitamin B12, methionine and betaine would help patients with GERD, and to compare the preparation with 20 mg omeprazole. Melatonin has known inhibitory activities on gastric acid secretion and nitric oxide biosynthesis. Nitric oxide has an important role in the transient lower esophageal sphincter relaxation (TLESR), which is a major mechanism of reflux in patients with GERD. Others biocompounds of the formula display anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. A single blind randomized study was performed in which 176 patients underwent treatment using the supplement cited above (group A) and 175 received treatment of 20 mg omeprazole (group B). Symptoms were recorded in a diary and changes in severity of symptoms noted. All patients of the group A (100%) reported a complete regression of symptoms after 40 days of treatment. On the other hand, 115 subjects (65.7%) of the omeprazole reported regression of symptoms in the same period. There was statistically significant difference between the groups (P < 0.05). This formulation promotes regression of GERD symptoms with no significant side effects."

Replied by Timh
(Ky)
06/03/2016
2043 posts

R: Thanks for posting this report.

If I may add, in addition to the said benefits of Melatonin, Tryptophan, and the anti inflammatory and analgesic effects, it seems an intended or unintended oversight to not mention the fat burning effects of Methionine, B-12, Folic Acid, and B-6. Maybe it was discussed in the larger content of the study, but certainly worth mentioning here as there is an increase in fatty liver in the western diet particularly due to increase sugar intake and the single worst sugar High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) which is known to cause obesity and fatty liver.

I have been using these fat burning nutrients for several yrs to keep the fatty liver at bay; if I don't take them I get the common symptoms reported of GERD but mostly constipation, both of which are a result of decreased bile flow from F.L.

Also the Lipotropic nutrients listed above are also great "methyl donors" in the extensive biochemical reactions influencing physiological functions over the entire body.

Replied by Beverly
(Texas)
03/09/2022
★★★★★

Wondering if anyone has ever tried Iberogast.............made in Germany and from botanicals?

Integrative Medicine for Gastrointestinal Disease (nih.gov)

STW 5 (Iberogast) is a commercial formula that includes nine botanicals: Iberis amara, Matricaria chamomilla, Carum carvi, Mentha piperita, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Melissa officinalis, Chelidonium majus, Silybum marianum, and Angelica archangelica.10 In three studies of functional dyspepsia that included patients with GERD symptoms, those receiving STW 5 were more likely to have improvement in symptoms than those receiving placebo. STW 5 was most effective for epigastric pain, retrosternal pain, and acid regurgitation. Adverse events were similar to placebo and included dermatitis, angioedema, digestive intolerance, and one case of allergic asthma. The product has been sold in Germany for 40 years and has a good safety profile.



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