Many lifestyle changes and dietary habits can contribute to GERD symptoms. These signs and symptoms of GERD can be debilitating. If permitted to continue, they can cause complications, including esophagitis, an inflammation of the esophagus. Make changes to your lifestyle can help alleviate your symptoms of GERD.
How can you alter your lifestyle to relieve symptoms of GERD?
There are many changes you may make to your lifestyle that may help relieve or reduce symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). You can try a few ideas.
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Quitting tobacco use
The nicotine from tobacco causes the valve between the esophagus and stomach (lower esophageal sphincter) to relax. This can allow stomach acid and the chemicals that break down food in the stomach to flow back up (reflux) into the esophagus, which causes heartburn. If you smoke or chew tobacco, stop.
As the nicotine in tobacco is addictive, stopping the use of tobacco is more difficult than simply changing a habit. People who successfully quit using tobacco generally use a combination of approaches that may include:
- Professional counseling, either by phone or in person.
- Using medications to help overcome the addiction to nicotine.
- Participation in an established smoking cessation program.
- Having a support group of peers that are also quitting or who don’t smoke.
Deploying more than one of these strategies greatly improves your odds of successfully quitting. Quitting tobacco use may require several attempts.
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Changing your eating habits
– Developing healthier eating habits, losing weight if needed, and avoiding foods that increase symptoms of GERD can make heartburn less likely to occur. It’ll be much easier to make changes in your diet if your family knows what you will need to do and why.
– If you are overweight, lose weight. Being overweight adds pressure on your stomach that increases the chance of heartburn occurring. Weight loss of 5 to 10 pounds can help.
– Certain foods can be associated with reflux. Though they won’t cause GERD, eating these foods can make the symptoms worse, and avoiding them can help reduce heartburn. These include citrus fruits, mint (like peppermint and spearmint), fried and fatty foods, onions and garlic, tomato-based foods such as spaghetti sauce, spicy foods, and pizza. Many people notice that their symptoms get worse after drinking coffee, soda, tea, or anything with caffeine. If you see that your symptoms are worse after eating a particular food, you might want to stop eating it and see whether your symptoms improve.
- Once you eat, wait two to three hours before you lie down. Late-night snacks are not a fantastic idea. When you’re lying down, the contents of your stomach can push against the valve between the esophagus and stomach (lower esophageal sphincter). Exercising allows gravity to assist food and stomach juices in the esophagus drain back into your gut.
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Improving sleep position and habits
– Raising the head of your mattress 6 in. (15 cm) to 8 . (20 cm) will help keep stomach acid from flowing into your esophagus when you’re sleeping. You can do it by putting blocks underneath your bed frame or by placing a foam wedge under the head of your mattress. Using extra pillows won’t work.
– Lying down soon after eating will also increase the possibility of getting heartburn. Once you eat, wait two to three hours before you lie down. Late-night snacks are not a good idea.
- Avoid tight clothing over your stomach. Tight belts, waistbands, or pantyhose can push from the stomach and make your heartburn worse.
- Use caution when lifting and bending. Bending over tends to increase the quantity of stomach acid that may enter your esophagus. When lifting, bend your knees to prevent bending at the waist.
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Ayurvedic Home Remedies For GERD
- Eat small meals in a serene atmosphere, chewing the food correctly.
- Avoid heavy meals and stress
- Try yoga, meditation, etc. to calm your mind.
- Take 5-6 tulsi leaves (basil), and boil them in water for 10-15 minutes. Filter and drink hot.
- Chew 1 teaspoon of gently roasted fennel seeds, along with one teaspoon of raw sugar daily after meals.
- Fasting half a day each week. Drink boiled water (once chilled ) and eat sweet fruits while fasting.
- Quit smoking and alcohol.
- Sleep with the head propped to minimize acid reflux at night.
- Take 2-3 cardamom and boil them in 1/4 liter of water. Filter them out with a sieve and beverage warm.
- Before going to bed, take one spoon of honey or a glass of honey. Prefer organic honey. It soothes the gut and adjusts the body’s pH, neutralizing the stomach acids.
- Eat one banana every day after adding a little honey or sugar and a pinch of cinnamon powder to it.
- Drink two teaspoons of aloe vera juice or gel prior to having your meals
- Eat one banana every day after adding a little honey or sugar and a pinch of cinnamon powder to it.
- Require 1/2 tsp ginger powder with one teaspoon of honey for 1- 2 weeks. It protects the gut from acids by neutralizing them and helps the body combat stomach and esophageal erosions. To be avoided by people with always higher blood pressures.
- Chew a clove once or twice per day. A pinch of clove mixed in honey also gives relief.
- Drink fat-free chilled milk.
- Drink two teaspoons of aloe vera juice or gel prior to having your meals
