Acid Reflux Solutions

CAUSES OF ACID REFLUX

After coming home from a party of heavy eating and drinking you might have experienced a burning sensation in your chest. You might even feel a considerable discomfort in your stomach as well. Chances are this is the sign of acid reflux. Reflux in Latin word refluxus which means to flow back. So what is happening in here is that acid in your stomach is flowing back to your esophagus. This  is usually common among people with a weak lower esophageal sphincter. Your lower esophageal sphincter acts as a valve between your esophagus and stomach, once it is weakened the acid from your stomach would flow to your esophagus causing this discomfort.

Why does my lower esophageal splinter get weakened? Good question here since if it isn’t weakened then we wouldn’t experience any acid reflux at all. Basically it would be weakened by a chronic digestive disease or what we call Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Once it is weakened, the barrier between your stomach and esophagus would not function properly.

So what really causes acid reflux? Most people think that eating lots of food while consuming alcohol would lead to acid reflux. This is true but then there are other causes as well. If you constantly suffer from acid reflux then it might already be a medical condition and should be consulted with your doctor.

Large Food Intake

There have been lots of articles written regarding acid reflux and food. The truth about this is that there really are certain food that can cause acid reflux. When you consume large quantities of these type of food you can be sure of getting acid reflux. There really is no definite kind of food to avoid since it varies from person to person What can cause acid reflux on one person might not have any effect on another person. The best thing to do is to get a history of the food you eat and list down which ones causes acid reflux and which ones doesn’t. However, as a general rule it is always best to avoid foods high in fat and caffeine sine they are known to cause acid reflux.

Pregnancy

Pregnant women generally suffer from acid reflux. This condition is most noticeable during their third trimester of being pregnant. Although it could only be seen during the period of pregnancy, it is rarely dangerous. Why does this happen during pregnancy? During a womans third trimester the uterus would have become large which in effect pushes the abdomen. Our stomach, which is in our abdomen would in turn push its way to our diaphragm. Our lower esophageal sphincter would be affected by this causing it to weaken which would ultimately result in acid reflux.

Hiatus Hernia

A hiatus hernia is simply the condition where the stomach pushes to the thorax due to a weakening in the diaphragm. There are many causes on why this happens such as obesity, hereditary, smoking, etc. but the fact is that once this occurs an acid reflux would soon follow. If you are part of the 60 percent of the population that suffers from hiatus hernia you would notice that you would sometimes get a burning sensation in your chest. This is your stomach acid that has backed itself up to your esophagus.

Obesity

Many studies have shown that as a person gets fatter the chances of getting acid reflux also increases. What is the connection between obesity and acid reflux? There is still no clear explanation regarding this. Most scientists believe that the excess fat in our body distorts our stomach thus creating a condition that can weaken our lower esophageal sphincter. Although this is just a theory,  one thing is for sure , if  a person is overweight it really is time to consider losing weight to avoid further complications aside from acid reflux.

Smoking

If you are a heavy smoker and don’t know why you suffer from acid reflux well the bad news is that smoking does indeed contribute to the cause of acid reflux. Like what the doctor would advise you, you should really quit smoking and get a healthy lifestyle. Smoking affects the body in many ways that we develop acid reflux. First, smoking induces our body to produce more stomach acid. If we have more stomach acid than we need it would soon back flow to our esophagus. Second, smoking reduces the production of saliva. Our saliva protects our esophagus from the effects of our stomach acid, when we produce less saliva there would therefore be less protection. Finally, smoking can damage our digestive valve. This valve keeps our stomach acid where it should be, and that is in our stomach.

Increased Alcohol Intake

Consuming large quantities of alcohol can lead to acid reflux. When we drink alcohol we tend to get relaxed. This is in fact also happening to our body parts such as our lower esophageal sphincter which

Asthma

A lot of people suffer from asthma which strikes us at any age. Studies have shown that people with asthma are more likely to experience acid reflux than people who don’t have asthma. There is still a debate going on right now though to determine if it is asthma that causes the acid reflux or is it the other way around. One thing is for sure though, once you have asthma, you will most probably experience acid reflux. The theory on this is that once a person gets an asthma attack there would then be some changes in a persons chest which would trigger the acid reflux.

Insufficient Digestive Enzyme

Lack of digestive enzymes can also lead to acid reflux. When you lack digestive enzymes the body would take a long time in digesting the food you take. The longer your body digests food, the more stomach acid would accumulate. Once there would be an excess of stomach acid this would then backflow to your esophagus causing an acid reflux.

These are just some of the common causes of acid reflux. If you are suffering from acid reflux then check out the list above to see what may be causing your condition. Better yet, try to consult a doctor to get a professional opinion.