Heartburn and acidity are also referred to as acid reflux is a condition when the muscles of the lower esophagus do not work properly. It results in causing foods and acids from the stomach to flow back or reflux into the esophagus. Heartburn and acidity cause a lot of discomforts as well as irritation. When these issues become severe it can give rise to nausea, vomiting, and chest pain. There are certain medications that help in managing the problem and ease the discomfort. In addition to medicines, there are certain lifestyle changes that help manage heartburn and acidity significantly that are listed below.
- Avoid Going to Sleep or Lying Down After Meals
- Do Not Overeat
- Eat Slowly
- Avoiding Trigger Foods
- Bid Goodbye to Cigarettes
- Limiting the Intake of Alcohol
- Shed a Few Pounds
- Changing the Sleeping or Lying Down Position
- Consider the Medications You Use
- Try Wearing Loose Fitting Clothes
- Bid Goodbye to Cigarettes
1. Avoid Going to Sleep or Lying Down After Meals
It is recommended to eat meals at least two to three hours before going to sleep or lying down. This will give sufficient time for the food to properly digest and get out of the stomach. The levels of acid in the stomach also go down within that time to make sure that the body is not in a position where heartburn and acidity are more likely to happen. Thus, a certain time gap after meals and sleep proves to be quite beneficial in preventing acidity.
2. Do Not Overeat
Overeating is one of the major causes of heartburn and acidity. When one overeats, it is beyond the capacity of the stomach to digest, thereby taking longer than usual to complete digestion and get the food out of the stomach. Therefore, avoiding overeating is considered to be an essential lifestyle change for acid reflux prevention. In this regard, it is always recommended to have four to five meals with small portions instead of having three big meals. Lesser intake of food means lower acid formation, thereby reducing the chances of acidity, hence never overloading your stomach.
3. Eat Slowly
If you wish to avoid heartburn and acidity, you should eat slowly. It is recommended to properly chew the food and eat slowly. It would be ideal to keep a gap of a few seconds to a minute between your bites or simply put the fork or spoon down between the bites. This, in turn, plays a crucial role in the easy digestion of the food. Moreover, proper chewing is a key to proper digestion and hence one should necessarily chew the food properly while eating. Now, when the food is properly digested, the chances of heartburn and acidity are readily reduced. Thus, slow eating proves to be an important lifestyle change for acid reflux prevention.
4. Avoiding Trigger Foods
There are certain food items that cause acidity in us. These are referred to as trigger foods and they tend to vary from one individual to another. It might happen that a particular food causes acidity in one but has no effect on another person. So, one needs to understand appropriately and keep away from certain foods to avoid acidity. Since it varies from person to person, every individual should keep a track of the foods that cause heartburn and acidity. Once proper tracking is done, it would be ideal to refrain from those specific foods to avoid acidity.
5. Bid Goodbye to Cigarettes
Smoking cigarettes causes the body to make less saliva, which in turn releases stomach acid. It leads to a burning feeling or sensation in the esophagus. Tobacco also causes the stomach to produce more acid and at the same time relaxes the muscles at the lower end of the esophagus. This, in turn, results in shutting down the opening between the esophagus and the stomach. Thus, it would always be a very good idea to wave goodbye to smoking cigarettes which is one of the essential yet simple lifestyle changes that help manage heartburn.
6. Limiting the Intake of Alcohol
Alcohol plays a major role in relaxing the muscles around the lower end of the esophagus, thereby making it quite easier for acid to bubble up. Limiting the intake of alcohol would prevent the acid in the stomach to bubble up and cause acidity. If you are looking forward to unwinding a stressful day, it would be much better to try out walking, meditation, yoga, exercising, deep breathing, or stretching instead of having a drink. It indicates that acid reflux can be controlled with lifestyle change.
7. Shed a Few Pounds
Shedding a few extra pounds from the body is another of the important lifestyle changes that help manage heartburn. If you are overweight, the problem of acidity and heartburn might be more, hence losing weight might make you feel better. Different studies have brought to light that overweight individuals who lost more weight were much more likely to wave goodbye to their heartburn and acidity problems as compared to the individuals who lost less weight.
8. Changing the Sleeping or Lying Down Position
If you feel that heartburn and acidity get worse while lying down you should take a few steps to prevent the reflux of stomach acid. First, you need to make sure that the head of the bed is raised so that the head and chest are higher as compared to the feet. It is recommended to put some blocks under the bedposts at the bed’s head or elevate the bed’s mattress to raise it and avoid putting piles of pillows to do the same. It is because putting piles of pillows can put the head at an angle that might put more pressure on the stomach causing the heartburn and acidity to get worse. Putting the top of the bed at a higher position than the bottom makes it difficult for the acid in the stomach to travel up. It is one of the very simple lifestyle changes that help manage acidity.
9. Consider the Medications You Use
There are a number of medicines such as aspirin, some sedatives, ibuprofen, blood pressure drugs, and some others that can trigger acidity & heartburn. Therefore, it would be ideal to get in touch with your healthcare expert and ask if any of the medications you are under cause heartburn and acidity.
10. Try Wearing Loose Fitting Clothes
Wearing tight clothing, including belts and others around the waist might cause the contents of the stomach to push upward. This, in turn, can cause acidity and heartburn. It is certainly one of the easiest lifestyle changes to help manage acidity and hence should be followed to ease the discomfort.
11. Avoid Stress
Stress happens to one of the important causative agents for acidity. It is because stress causes the acids in the stomach to bubble up resulting in heartburn and acidity. So, relaxation to avoid stress is one of the vital steps to prevent the reflux of stomach acid.
So, it becomes quite clear that acid reflux can be controlled with lifestyle change and after reading through one can have a clear understanding of various lifestyle changes that help manage acidity to a great extent. If you feel that you require additional help with heartburn and acidity, it would be a very good idea to visit a specialist. In this regard, Dr. Piyush Ranjan would undoubtedly be one of the best choices. Dr. Piyush is a Liver specialist in this field and with over several years of experience makes sure to offer the best treatment for treating acidity & heartburn. Whenever you feel that heartburn and acidity are troublesome for you, just book an appointment with Dr. Piyush Ranjan at the earliest.
