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.
Dietary Changes
Posted by Sarah (Santa Monica, Ca) on 11/12/2010
★★★★★
I suffered with nearly constant acid reflux from the time I was a small child. By the time I was 12 or so it was really bad, and in late middle or early high school I was diagnosed with GERD. Many visits to the gastroenterologist, including an endoscopy that nearly killed me from a severe allergic reaction to Demerol, found no potential cause. By late high school I was experiencing heartburn pretty much 24/7, usually as a constant slight throat discomfort and burning accompanied by rather severe nausea and sometimes as very painful chest burning.
Finally in college after some other crazy health experiences that caused me to reexamine my entire lifestyle I narrowed the acid reflux down to one cause alone: grains, especially wheat. I ate processed, white flour several times a day on average, but I find that any form of grains, even whole grains and non-gluten containing grains, will trigger the heartburn all over again (as well as depression, fatigue, nausea, body aches, the list goes on and on). Wheat and rice are the worst, but even supposedly healthy grains like whole oats and quinoa set off these symptoms. This includes even raw, freshly sprouted grains. When I avoid all grains (and cutting out processed sugars, high-sugar fruits, and chocolate has helped a lot too), I virtually never have any acid reflux at all. I know that I am unusually sensitive to grains. But I also strongly believe that humans have not evolved to digest grains properly since we have only been eating them for 10 thousand years or so (not a very significant timespan evolutionarily). I am convinced that most people would benefit at least from reducing the amount of grains in their diet, especially processed flours. Most people's diets are very heavy in just a few grains and eating so much of the same foods, especially foods that we aren't really designed to eat, seems to put quite a strain on the body. P. S. This is my first post here but I absolutely love this site, and expect many more posts from me in the future!
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Rosario (Virginia Beach, Va) on 11/06/2010
★★★★★
I can attest to the fact that the ACV has cured my GERD! I've been taking Nexium since May 2009 until Sept 2010. Initially, the Nexium helped ease my GERD but in recent months, my condition was back to square one with having acid reflux/heartburn each time I ate and difficulty sleeping at nights. Thank goodness I found this site! I decided to start drinking the organic ACV tonic at a low dosage of 2 capfuls in 4 oz. Water, plus 1 tbs of raw honey, three times a day. 6 weeks later, my upper GI endoscopy results showed normal esophagus/stomach with no signs of tissue damage... Plus, no hiatal hernia! A small one was discovered a year prior so maybe it shrunk?. My surgeon couldn't explain why it was no longer there, but he encouraged me to continue taking the ACV while it obviously worked for me. I'm now able to sleep at nights with one pillow versus four!
One day, I forgot to drink the tonic, realizing that the I didn't have any symptoms that usually trigger or remind me to take it. I'm now just adding two capfuls of ACV and honey in my cup of hot tea that I drink an hour before bedtime. In addition, my cholesterol levels improved dramatically to normal levels and my physician even took me off my high blood pressure medication. I'm just sooooo happy and thankful for finding this site. Now I'm not only able to share my experience here but by forwarding this site to other people I know that suffer from this disease.
Aloe
Posted by Kay (Houston, Tx) on 11/06/2010
★★★★★
You can cure your acid reflux by taking 4 oz of Aloe Vera Juice (purchased from any health food store) in the morning and before bed. It will be cured in about a month (or less). I was diagnosed with GERD - Gastroesophageal reflux disease a few years ago, did some research & came across a natural cure "Aloe Vera juice". It heals the esophageal tract. The taste is horrible, but worth it. Mix it with NON-ACIDIC juice, if you can't stand the taste. I would pour the aloe vera juice into a shot glass (lol), hold my breath, "down it" & chase it with water. After a while I got used to it. Try "LILY OF THE DESERT Stomach formula - in mint flavor". This works too! You can buy it at any health food store or order on-line. TRUST ME! It will cure it.
You have to do your part and stay away from acidic foods while you're using this remedy, so that your esophageal tract can heal properly. It's been 4 yrs and I've had no more bouts with acid reflux since. My father was recently hospitalized with GERD. I told him about this remedy, he tried it & sings its praises (this is saying a LOT considering my father is a skeptic & believes in NOTHING! ) The aloe vera cure made him a believer & he told me "I'll try any natural remedy you tell me about, from now on! " Please try this. Good luck!
Soft Cheese
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.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Becky (Yamhill, Or) on 07/16/2010
Gil, a number of years ago I came home from work with severe chest pains. I finally told my husband and he took me to the hospital out of fear it might be a heart attack. After thousands of $$$ of testing, my heart was fine and they ruled it as acid reflux. So I take daily Omeprazole. I am starting tonight with Organic ACV, because it has natures "mother" in it which is benefical. From what I have read it is also good for your skin, washing with it starting with the feet and working up. This is an inside out product.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Joanne (Keller, Tx) on 06/29/2010
Hi.. back again. I figured out what set off my attack. I was taking some eye vitamins. They are a good product and my eye dr. liked them..He is great and hates those gerd pills...Well, I really got sick with my intestines etc...I read the replies and decided tonight to start on my unpurfied acv again before bed. I have had an ultra sound of my gut..seems spasms and stress...I am having the stomach test where they put the camera down me...I have done alot of reading. anyone hear about orange peel extract for gerd...cant use with uclers tho. Acidophilus I read is supposed to be good for gerd too. I read about breathing with abs area too. I know the vinegar worked for me before. I started drinking it in june of 09...Then I reached a point I didnt drink it all..I thought I was cured. This last sunday, when I took the eye vit, it burned. And it was then when it hit me....What had I changed in may...today is the first day of no eye vit, and I am drinking my vinegar as I type this out.
I want to thank you for responding to me. I am not going to say much to the specialist when I see him. Someone just suggested let your primary doctor know and leave it at that.. I dont understand why so many allopath drs refuse to believe in anything but pills.
Dietary Changes
Posted by Jane (Steamboat Springs, Colorado) on 06/15/2010
★★★★★
Acid Reflux - Beware of Caffeine!
I was diagnosed with GERD at age 44 and like so many of you I tried Nexium and Prilosec with minimal relief. Basically the meds just masked the symptoms. The reflux was severe making me miserable and I was losing weight I could not afford to lose; my clothes were baggy and I looked gaunt. I researched online and learned about dietary triggers. One of the biggest triggers is caffeine. Also, deep-fried foods don't digest well in the stomach, so I cut them out of my diet. Some sauces like tomato or certain dressings can also bring about reflux. Finally, large meals leaving you overly stuffed, can activate reflux.
People, pay attention to what you eat and take note of foods that trigger your reflux. I have had my reflux under control for five years now, am back to a healthy weight and enjoy decaffeinated coffee and tea daily even chocolate. For me caffeine hands down was the worst trigger. If I have any symptoms in future, I will most certainly try apple cider vinegar.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Anchorman (Lanc., Pa) on 05/25/2010
Joanne, Been on meds for 20 years. I started taking half the meds 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda with the 2 Tablespoons of ACV and 8oz. water after every meal and take a ginger capsule once a day. Try introducing everything slowly. Some people are giving up too quick. Aloe drink might help. Good luck.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Carly (Seattle, Wa) on 05/22/2010
Those gerd meds are terrible things from what I have read...They keep you from digesting anything...which means you are not getting much nutrition out of the foods you eat.
If you had been off the meds for months, and been okay...well, doesn't it stand to reason that you may have picked up some kind of a flu bug?
Personally, I think that that specialist isn't all that special. I would look for a more forward thinking doctor if I were you. Best of luck Joanne!
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Joanne (Keller, Tx) on 05/21/2010
★★★★★
Please help me... I stopped taking a gerd med. I started drinking the unpurified apple cider vingegar. I got sick with a bug recently and had to go to an instant care...they gave me an anti naus. med. The specialist is upset with me for stopping the gerd meds he recommended. He says I shouldnt be drinking the unpurified vinegar as its acid and I have too much acid in my system. I have been drinking about one oz to 8oz of water a day...Sometimes, I do it twice a day..mostly once a day...when I have an attack or so, then I increase. I have been doing real good..stayed off the meds for months.
Please help me out...I read the site's new recommendations and will try the new dose...the gerd meds cause a number of problems as I have been reading.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Gina (Philadelphia, Pa) on 04/29/2010
★★★★★
Right after having my gallbladder removed, I developed uncontrollable asthma. After years of misery, I was diagnosed with LPR (reflux of the larynx). No matter what I ate, I had heartburn and coughing/wheezing. I was on two reflux meds and 4 asthma meds. I started taking 1TB of ACV twice daily, and the LPR FINALLY responded. I now take no meds for asthma or reflux. It appears the ACV is doing the trick (it's been a year now). And a nice side effect has been my lower blood pressure! :-)
Pickle Juice
Posted by Rita (Miamisburg, Ohio) on 03/04/2010
★★★★★
Thank you so much for this site. I have been suffering for years but more since I was dropped from medicaid and could not get any of my medications. I love pickle juice but never drank it thinking it would make the GERD worse. BOY WAS I WRONG! It does help and for the first time in months I am acid free and out of pain.
Pickle Juice
Posted by Janie Y (Mattoon, Illinois) on 01/30/2010
★★★★★
I have been suffering from Gerd for years. There are some foods that really irritate it the most. I find that by leaving the caffeine (anything chocolatey!), and tomatoes(the red ones as the yellow ones seem ok and aren't that bothersome) alone, I am fine for the most part and seem to suffer less. But, oh how I love to eat them both! Thank goodness I have discovered (because of your website) pickles/pickle juice and anything pickled! When I feel the Gerd coming on (because I am only human and vulnerable to these temptations,I have slipped and eaten those things to which I shouldn't have and thus pay the price),and... that is when I will grab a pickle slice or two. I also like pickled asparagus spears/pickled cauliflower, pickled beets, etc.(most of these are found at our local health food store. These things seem to really do the trick and with-in seconds after gobbling a few of these up, wa-la the Gerd has disappeared! I also drink a tab bit of the juice as well. Maybe a couple tablespoons full. Anways, thank you for your website and for everyone who contributes.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by Chieko (Albuquerque, Nm) on 01/16/2010
★★★★★
The following work most of the time for me. Sometimes I have to do all of them to finally get relief. I take an OTC acid reducer that just doesn't cut it so I frequently end up with painful GERD, even though I tend to healthy and organic.
*vinegar (distilled or ACV)
*pickle juice (not the sweet ones)
*juice from pickled hot peppers (capsaicin is an anti-inflammatory)
*juice from pickled ginger (another anti-inflammatory)
*1/4 tsp sodium bicarbonate, 1/2 tsp citric acid in 4 oz cold water (like Alka-Seltzer without the aspirin)
*12 oz club soda with lemon or lime and a dash of bitters, no ice, quickly consumed with a straw (helps to prevent the ingestion of too much air)
Apples
Posted by Modern (Langhorne, Pa, USA) on 01/07/2010
★★★★★
I just wanted to weigh in on the subject of Acid Reflux & Gerd. At the end of my statement, I have another idea that I have tried that seems to work on the same principle as the Apple Cider Vinegar, so read on. I am 48 years old and several months ago I started getting these symptoms that puzzled me. This eventually evolved into losing my regular voice and experiencing chronic laryngitis. I finally broke down and went to see a doctor. He scoped my esophagus and saw all the redness and a polyp/cyst. With this, I was diagnosed with Acid Reflux/Gerd. First thing he did was subscribe prilosec for a month, one tablet before bedtime. This did nothing, in fact I got worse. Then the Doctor subscribed prescription Zantac AND an inhaler used for asthma. The inhaler has removed the polyp and my voice is back after 6 months and the Zantac has helped reduce the redness but not eliminated it. The Doctor wants me to take the zantac for 3 more months. But like so many of you, I don't want to be ingesting meds for so long. I started researching other remedies and I came across one that seems to be working nicely. Instead of the vinegar, all you have to do is eat a few slices of Apple before meals and before bedtime. It seems to accomplish the same results as the ACV but much easier to ingest and easier to carry along with you. I think I will use the Apple method before bedtime because it seems to be more of a time released effect and perhaps drink the ACV before meals that are suspect for acid reflux. Even though I have cut out coffee which was real hard to due and now I drink herbal and green tea and I try to watch what I eat.
Apples
Posted by Aara (Washington, Dc) on 12/27/2009
★★★★★
I'm pregnant 32 weeks, and had started to feel GERD-like discomforts from 2 weeks before. (I didn't know it was GERD then of course - until yesterday) I thought it was gas, as that was what the Ob-Gyn had said it was, and abstained from eating my favorite Fuji Apples - (apples supposedly cause more gas) only for the reflux to become increasingly worse, especially at night when bile and acid would travel from my stomach up through the esophagus and lodge its acidity into my throat. (Sleeping on both left or right side didn't matter at this point)
It had gotten so bad at one point that I thought I was drowning from my own acidic bile/saliva that would travel up my mouth and nose. I didn't know what was happening to me and the fear was immense, when I decided to research on the exact things I was feeling (not assume it was gas, but acid taste in throat) when I was led to this Earth CLinic site and realized GERD is what I have and NOT just plain ol' pregnancy-belching-gas.
I had of course tons of apples at home, and ate 1/2 a Fuji delish apple and for not having slept for two days, I was exhausted, and not only was I able to just sleep (with head raised a little on left side), the acidic taste in throat and esophagus was gone by the time I fell asleep, and the next morning I'm as good as new!
APPLES REALLY work! and I'm back to my happy-easy-pregnancy again!
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Cyndi (Fort Walton Beach, Fl) on 12/26/2009
★★★★★
About a month ago out of no where, GERD showed up. I went to the hospital not knowing what I had. Pain in my stomach, lump in my throat, could not burp, terrible acid reflux. The doctor gave me Nexium and a few days later no change at all.
Then I found this site and posts on Organic Apple Cider Vinegar. I rushed to the health food store to try anything!
After 2 weeks of sipping 2 tablespoons in a 1/2 cup of water 3 times a day with each meal, it is totally gone! All your feedback here I feel saved me from such misery.
I also cut out coffee and chocolate and watch more on what I eat.
For safe measures, I take a sip of ACV every evening now before bed mixed with some water.
I hope this helps someone like all the comments here helped me.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Athomemom56 (Saint Paul, Mn) on 12/05/2009
Can someone please tell me what time of day to take the ACV, and do you take it at the same time as Zantac? Does taking them together have any negative or positive effects? BTW, I take my Zantac in the morning and in the evening.
Pickle Juice
Posted by Sharon P (Mineral Bluff, Ga) on 11/30/2009
★★★★★
hi my name is sharon have been diagnosed with the medical condition gerd really couldnt understand it until tonite...starting feeling the systoms coming on about an hour ago and nothing at home to take so went to the internet and typed in gerd and found this website...wow read the section on pickle juice and tried about half of cup and starting feeling relief in just a few minutes...will be a full time drinker of pickle juice thanks..im 43 years old
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Dylan (Phoenix, Az, United States) on 11/27/2009
★★★☆☆WORKED TEMPORARILY
Apple Cider Vinegar has sort of helped me: 2 tblspoons a day, 8 oz. of water, 3 times a day.
However, I'm wondering why a lot of posters in the "acid reflux" section do not mention whether they have a couple cases of acid reflux here and there, or GERD, which is chronic acid reflux. There is a big difference, especially when a person posts that ACV has "cured" their acid reflux. Perhaps it did for them, but they may not have had GERD, only mild acid reflux.
I personally have GERD, and I've found that everything, including the ACV, only helps temporarily. I'm getting fairly desperate and worried about my esophagitis (a disease that commonly occurs with GERD that I wish had a section of its own on the Earth Clinic website). I've made dietary changes (cut out coffee, any tea but herbal non-caffienated tea, no greasy foods, etc.) and I think I'm going to cut out most carbs also; see if that helps.
I've taken Zantac (worthless), Protonix (pathetic), and Prilosec (mostly worthwhile, but kind of nasty side effects). I've heard Prevacid and Aciphex are good, but I would also like to stay away from prescription medications if possible; especially since they only stop the problem for a period of time.
For those who'd like to talk to me about their GERD symptoms and what they've done to help themselves, please feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
I'm only 24 years old, healthy (except for GERD), slim/close to thin, and feel like an old person. Any information is greatly appreciated.
