What is acid reflux? Why happens? Why do I feel burning in my stomach that food chokes me?
Do I feel bitter sensation in the mouth? In this talk I am going to tell you what it is and why reflux occurs, what the symptoms are. But mainly I am going to tell you how you can improve by improving your habits, what foods and drinks are the worst and worsen this condition, what exercises can you do while you eat to improve heartburn?
And we are also going to talk about sleeping tricks and other tips that can improve this burning sensation in the stomach. And finally, I am going to tell you, do antacids work? When should you use them?
Let us begin. What is reflux? The reflux is simply Look at this that is here is your stomach.
When food from the stomach returns to this portion of the esophagus. The esophagus is a tube that connects the mouth to the stomach and the esophagus. It is not prepared to receive the acid that is in the stomach that actually eats away at the esophagus.
The problem is that when we eat, the food goes from the mouth, through the esophagus and reaches the stomach. In this area, in the lower area of the esophagus, in the connection with the stomach, there is as if it were a valve, several special muscles that close or open. These muscles open to let food pass and then close, while the stomach acts like a washing machine.
When the stomach is full after eating, food accumulates there and the stomach begins to act like a washing machine, destroying the food and mixing it with its acid. The problem is that every time the stomach contracts, the pressure in it increases. And if this muscle here at the connection of the esophagus to the stomach doesn't work properly, some of the food and stomach acid backs up there and damages the esophagus.
Prolonged and persistent damage causes the esophagus to become irritated, and that irritation hurts. And that is where we have the symptoms of reflux and heartburn that are discomfort, pain in the upper part of the stomach, a burning sensation, a feeling that the food falls heavy, a feeling that I am choking, I can feel acidity in the mouth or a sensation bitter teeth, because sometimes the regurgitation is so important that small amounts of acid reach the mouth and damage the teeth. The dentist often tells us this.
Sometimes the damage occurs in the larynx and there is laryngitis. You have hoarseness in the morning. Small aspirations of that acid that go into the lungs can cause a disease very similar to asthma because it irritates the bronchi and causes the lung to close.
So, it really is an important condition and we can do a lot to improve it in our house. So, the first thing to eat is very important that you know that there are foods that are very nutritious and very good, but that irritate your stomach. For example, our beloved Garlic.
Garlic is one of the best vegetables. We have said it many times. Antioxidants Improves pressure, helps improve intestinal function has countless benefits.
The problem is that garlic irritates the stomach, especially when you eat it raw and on an empty stomach. So you like garlic and you have heartburn. Avoid it.
You don't want to avoid it, cook it slightly or cook it slightly to reduce its acidity. Another thing you can do is eat it with food. However, if you have a lot of acidity, we recommend avoiding it.
The same happens with the onion, which is a relative of garlic, irritates the stomach. The same happens with fats, fats, fried foods, very fatty red meats, sausages such as sausages, chorizos, salamis and many sausages and much more cause this muscle to not work properly. Fats first make the stomach empty more slowly, that is, it has more pressure on it and on the other hand, they make this muscle that is on top relax more, be more lax.
So what's going to happen? It's going to come back more acid and more food. That is why whenever you have reflux, especially when it occurs many times during the week, they will ask you to reduce fried foods, red meat, very fatty, chicken, skin.
They will ask you to reduce, you can eat chicken, you can eat fish, you can eat lean red meat, but you should avoid fat as much as possible. What about the tomato? We know that tomatoes, especially tomato sauce, are irritating.
So, if you have a lot of reflux, a lot of acidity, maybe you should avoid or reduce its quantity and especially avoid processed tomato sauces. In any case, do it at home, but if you have reflux, avoid it for at least four to six weeks to improve this condition. What about citrus, lemon, grapefruit, pineapple and much more?
They are irritating, especially. Because we drink water with lemon. In fasting we know that lemon water helps us a lot, it helps us stay hydrated, it allows us to stay away from other toxic drinks.
We have talked about it. Now, if you consume it on an empty stomach and consume in excess, you will irritate your stomach. This should not be avoided in people who do not have this problem, but in people who already have heartburn and reflux, avoiding lemon is a good idea.
The same goes for chocolate. Chocolate relaxes this muscle that is here and has some amounts of fat that are not good for our body. So avoid chocolate.
Chocolate is one of the foods that causes the most reflux. I give you other quick examples so you don't get bored. Spicy foods, chili, pepper and others increase reflux, mint increases reflux.
Let's get to the drinks. Here is a problem of interests with me. I love coffee, but coffee is one of the main causes of heartburn.
In general, if you have a problem with heartburn, do not exceed two cups per day. Same for tea. Now you have a lot of acidity.
Avoid coffee for several months while you treat yourself with your doctor to improve that condition. Another drink is alcohol. Alcohol is toxic in every way.
In general. At Doctor Bell we recommend avoiding it and especially if you have reflux. The alcohol is going to irritate the lining of your stomach and it's going to relax the lower esophageal muscle and that's going to cause more reflux.
And finally, carbonated drinks, soft drinks, soft drinks, especially with gas. Because? Because the gas inflates the stomach and by inflating the stomach its pressure increases.
On the other hand, they contain large amounts of sugar or sweetener that will cause you to have reflux. Then avoid these foods and you will see that you will improve quickly. Eating good food properly will allow you to significantly improve reflux, but also how to eat.
And this is very important. It is not enough to avoid food, it matters a lot how you eat. The first piece of advice that I am going to give you.
Did you know that our saliva can reduce the acidity of our stomach and improve reflux? The problem is that we always eat in a hurry, we eat watching television, we eat in ten minutes, we eat walking and running to work. Take time to eat, chew food properly every time you chew, your salivary glands produce saliva.
This is very important because the more saliva you have, the better or less reflux you will have. Number two Eat less and smaller foods, cut smaller foods, chew them more, but you eat less, you don't have to feel full, feel heavy, feel, feel bloated. Because?
Because if you eat that extra plate, which you are going to do out of gluttony, surely not out of necessity, you are going to increase the pressure in your stomach and when the pressure in your stomach increases, you will have more chances that the acid will return. And if you do this every day, you're going to have gastroesophageal reflux disease and you're going to have these annoying symptoms. And the third advice, do not lie down after eating.
Eat at least two to three hours before going to bed. What do we do? Shall we eat and throw ourselves on the couch?
We throw ourselves on the bed. Mistake. This will cause you to have more reflux.
Because? Because while we remain standing or sitting, gravity pushes food down and helps it not come back. When we go to bed, it's much easier for him to come back.
So what do I recommend? After eating, go for a 30-40 minute walk. It will help your digestion, it will allow you to exercise and it will reduce reflux.
But don't lie down two hours after a real meal. Take the time. Advance your meal to improve the feeling of reflux.
Now, how can we, while we sleep, improve heartburn and reflux? There are two big things I'm going to tell you. First, if you can sleep to the left, this may partially improve your reflux symptoms.
But what will improve the most, and this with super scientific evidence, is that you raise the head of the bed. For that the guidelines of the head of the bed are suggested, add some small blocks or bricks and raise about 15 to 20 centimeters. This fact alone allows gravity to drop and significantly improves symptoms.
You can also put a wedge-shaped pillow in the form of a triangle, so under the mattress there are special pillows. Now, if you fold two or three pillows, this won't work. Because?
Because you are only going to be raising the neck and what we need is to partially raise the chest about 15 to 20 centimeters. These tips have proven very useful for treating mild reflux. What else?
Other tips Clothes. If you wear tight clothing, many leggings, tight belts, you will increase the pressure in your belly. By increasing the pressure in your belly, the acid can come back and it can be a weight problem.
Just as raising the bed was very important and eating good food was important. Losing weight is one of the main allies in reducing reflux, because. Because the abdomen itself when we are very potbellied or when we are overweight, increases the pressure in the stomach.
It is known that losing between 5 to 10 kilos significantly improves gastroesophageal reflux. What about some medications? Aspirin, ibuprofen, diclofenac, corticosteroids, antibiotics?
It happens that they can make reflux worse. Because? Because they irritate the walls of the stomach.
This does not mean that you cannot take them. This means that do not take them without a prescription, do not take them on your own because they will be harmful and will harm your stomach. Now the antacids, doctor, will do.
Well let me tell you something. Antacids, for example, those salts that have magnesium, aluminum hydroxide, etc. are good, but they are good for symptoms.
What do those salts that you take with water do? They decrease stomach acid. They do it five minutes after you take this medication and last about 30 to 60 minutes.
The problem is that they don't solve the problem. They are only symptomatic relief. That's why you can use it.
They are free sale. Remember that magnesium can give you diarrhea and aluminum can cause constipation, but they are used only in mild cases. When you have heartburn sporadically less than once a week, less than once a month, or when you ate a very heavy meal.
Very interesting. In those cases it can help you. However, the treatment of reflux, when it is moderate to severe, requires that you go to the doctor because he will give you other medications.
For example, proton pump inhibitors. You may have heard of omeprazole, pantoprazole, lansoprazole, etc. They are all drugs that will decrease the function of special pumps that are in some cells here that secrete acid.
This will not give you immediate relief, but it will decrease the acidity of your stomach. That is why the treatment is done for 6 to 8 weeks and it will reduce the fact that this acid can damage your esophagus. Now, the problem is that this decrease in acid compromises the way in which you digest your food.
That is why those drugs must be prescribed by a doctor and must be taken in the medium to long term. On the other hand, if you have many symptoms and very frequently, I really advise you to go to the doctor because you may require studies such as an endoscopy. When the esophagus is irritated many times for a long time, its cells can mutate and these mutations first become irritated, then accommodate to the acid and then change to give rise to what is called Barrett's esophagus.
Barrett's esophagus is a premalignant lesion that if we detect it in time there is no problem because we treat it. The problem is when we have heartburn for months and years and we let ourselves be and do not do the corresponding studies. You will get tips like this talk in our book, It will be available around the end of July.
We hope we can be with our book in your house. We send you a big greeting from our part of the world. Bye Bye.
