GERD Diet – 3 Natural Heartburn Remedies
Heartburn Remedies – Add These Ingredients to Your GERD diet
Living with Gastroesophageal reflux can mean rather large changes to your current lifestyle. Considerations can include watching what you eat, knowing how often you should eat and knowing when you should eat. Many people suffer from heartburn but do not suffer from acid reflux. These people typically experience painful burning in the chest area without the commonly related acid taste in their throat and mouth.
If you suffer from heartburn, without acid reflux, there are a few natural heartburn remedies that may help ease your pain and make your food choices a bit easier to manage.
1. Ground Red Pepper – This particular treatment option goes against conventional beliefs. I will agree that it seems strange to try and combat painful burning with sometimes spicy, but it does work. Researchers believe that it most likely works by reducing the sensitivity of the nerve fibers of your digestive system. Basically it reduces the pain signals that your nerve fibers send to the brain.
Red pepper can cause a burning sensation during bowel movements, so it is important to practice restraint. Assuming that you eat three meals a day, most experts suggest starting with one capsule (500 mg or less) before every meal. As you are better able to determine your tolerance to this heartburn remedy, you may consider increasing the number of capsules that you take before lunch and dinner to two.
It is recommended that you do not exceed 5 capsules a day since this will reduce the overall effectiveness of this form of treatment.
2. Artichoke Leaf Extract – Health stores are quite simply an amazing shopping experience. You can find almost any herbal treatments there. An herbal preparation of artichoke leaf extract works very well to relieve minor symptoms of indigestion, which can include heartburn.
3. Slippery Elm and/or Chamomile Tea – Slippery Elm can be made into a delicious tea. Since it is a demulcent herb, which means it helps aid in digestion, it can help reduce the effects of heartburn. Demulcent herbs have a tendency to coat and soothe a troubled stomach.
Chamomile is a fascinating herb. It falls into the carminative herb category and works wonders at improving digestion. Heartburn remedies do not taste much better than this!
If you experience occasional heartburn, without the associated acid reflux, and want to avoid over-the-counter medications, there are a few natural remedies you may want to consider. Ground red pepper, artichoke leaf extract, slippery elm and chamomile can all be found at your local health store or online. Each of these natural products have been proven to reduce the painful symptoms associated with heartburn.