Acidity is something that sneaks up on any adult who has a sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy eating habits, excessive stress, or irregular sleep patterns. As common as it is, it can be resolved with dietary and lifestyle modifications.
Sometimes, home remedies for acidity or ayurvedic medications for gas and acidity can also help relieve the mild symptoms. However, in the longer run, lifestyle changes and eating the right food mindfully are what ensure a healthy gut and overall health.
Let’s discuss what is acidity, its symptoms, common diet & lifestyle triggers, and some simple home remedies for acidity.
Table of Contents
Acidity Symptoms
Acid is produced by the gastric glands in your stomach, which is necessary for food digestion. Acidity results from the production of more gastric acid than is necessary for digestion. Here are the common symptoms of acidity or GERD:
- Heartburn: It is the most common symptom of acidity, which causes a burning feeling in the chest and throat. The pain can increase after eating or while lying down, and can last for several minutes to hours.
- Nausea: Feeling nauseous after eating spicy or acidic food is a common symptom of acidity.
- Bloating: It can be caused by excessive production of gas in the stomach, which is often accompanied by belching and flatulence.
- Loss of appetite: Acidity can lead to loss of appetite as it makes you feel full even after eating very little food.
- Bad breath: Acidity can cause bad breath due to the formation of excess gastric acid in your stomach, which can be expelled through the mouth.
- Sore throat: The presence of too much acid in the throat can irritate and inflame it, causing a sore throat.
- Acid reflux: It is a condition in which acid from the stomach comes back into your esophagus, causing a burning feeling.
Popping acidity medicines every now and then, or resorting to over-the-counter ayurvedic medications for gas and acidity without changing the faulty dietary and lifestyle habits will not resolve the acidity issues.
Reasons That May Cause Acidity To Flare Up
1. Food and Beverages
Certain food and beverages can trigger acid reflux and heartburn in many people. These can vary from citrusy fruits to fatty, deep-fried foods. Even caffeinated beverages like tea or coffee, carbonated drinks, and even alcohol can trigger acidity.
Alcohol relaxes the valve between your esophagus and stomach, letting acid escape more easily thereby triggering acidity.
2. Lifestyle
Everyone knows we must eat healthy food for our own well-being. But how often do we do it?
Besides consuming (or overconsuming) overprocessed food, we even tend to look past other lifestyle choices such as excessive smoking, which reduces lower esophageal sphincter (LES) pressure – responsible for keeping acid in the stomach and out of your esophagus.
When the LES pressure is reduced, the acid can more easily come up and cause heartburn. Other factors like excessive alcohol consumption, eating too much and too often high-calorie foods in one go, and sleeping or lying down right after eating can also be responsible for aggravating acidity.
3. Medication
Certain prescribed medications or even regular or frequent intake of aspirin, ibuprofen, or any sedatives can irritate the esophagus lining.
In response to irritation, the glands in the stomach secrete more acid thus aggravating the symptoms of acidity in your body.
If you are on prescribed medication or consuming any ayurvedic medicine for gas and acidity, but still experiencing discomfort, it’s best to take it up with your doctor.
4. Sleep
Sleep deprivation and poor quality of sleep have a substantial impact on your health over time. Lack of quality sleep can cause your stomach to produce more acid, leading to acidity.
If not looked into, this excess acid production can also irritate and damage the sphincter muscle and its functioning.
Do these factors seem familiar to your life? Keep reading to know.
How You Can Relieve Acidity Symptoms In The Long Run
1. Focus On Your Eating Habits
Skipping meals or eating at irregular times can disrupt the acid production in your gut which is responsible for digestion. Even the consumption of spicy food or food high in salt or low in fiber can have an effect on acid production.
To make sure you don’t suffer from acidity due to food, try keeping a healthy balance of micronutrients in your daily meals and try eating at the same time every day.
Also, probiotics restrict the growth of acidity-causing bacteria like H.Pylori and help restore the gut flora that was affected by stomach acid.
Pro tip: Instead of eating 2-3 heavy meals a day, try breaking down your meals into 4-5 portions and consuming them throughout the day.
2. Pay Attention To Your Sleeping Pattern
While we’re at eating patterns, we also need to look at the importance of maintaining a gap of 2-3 hours between your meal and the time you sleep. In fact, even lying down in bed right after eating must be avoided.
If you frequently suffer from acidity, ensure you regularize your sleep time, and also while sleeping, try elevating your head so your stomach and esophagus are not on the same level.
3. Watch Your Water Intake
Drinking or gulping down water right after your meals does more harm than good to your digestive system and may result in acidity or GERD symptoms. Too much water while or after eating can lead to bloating and over-production of stomach acid for digestion.
It’s best to sip some water if absolutely necessary, or drink water during the later stages of digestion. Some studies have also deemed alkaline water to have therapeutic benefits for people suffering from acidity.
4. Include More Fiber In Your Food
Foods high in fiber like fruits, vegetables, and grains can help reduce acid reflux as optimum fiber quantities in your gut act as a digestive aid. Low dietary fiber intake has been linked to slowed gut and stomach motility as well as delayed gastric emptying.
A high-fiber diet helps optimize acid secretion and improves the speed at which food is digested.
While these changes need to be implemented consistently over time to see results, you can deal with acidity with some quick fixes too (hint: they’re not acidity medicines).
How To Deal With Acidity With Some Quick Methods
1. Turn to Condiments
Carrom seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, and even turmeric added in food or infused in warm water sipped can help control the excessive secretion of gastric juices and act as coolants. Sometimes, the best remedies do come from the kitchen!
2. Buttermilk
The lactic acid bacteria in buttermilk improve digestion and helps you fight acid reflux as it regulates the functioning of the gut. One glass of buttermilk every day post-meal can help you fight acidity if you’re someone prone to frequent acidity issues.
Pro tip: A hint of mint leaves in buttermilk can help relieve acidity much quicker.
3. Jaggery
Jaggery contains potassium and magnesium which reduces the accumulation of acids in the stomach and also improves intestinal strength.
4. Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar contains natural probiotics and antioxidants, making it one of the popular home remedies for acidity.
Apple cider vinegar contains probiotics and healthy bacteria that aid in digestion and keep your gut working smoothly. If you intend to buy it, make sure you look for organic apple cider vinegar.
5. Sleep on Your Left Side
Acidity problems can be quite unpleasant if they happen around the time you sleep. Sleeping on your left side reduces exposure of the esophagus to stomach acid, resulting in lessened symptoms.
6. Chewing Gum
Chewing gum after meals may help reduce heartburn. Chewing increases your saliva production, causing you to swallow more and thereby neutralizing the acid. But make sure it isn’t flavored with menthol or mint – which can cause heartburn.
Final Thought
Acidity may be a common occurrence in day-to-day life and our daily diet and lifestyle habits can be the major cause behind it. The symptoms of acidity should not be ignored even if it is mild.
Now that you know the symptoms, watch out for the triggers, work on improving your daily habits, and do not aggravate them with self-prescribed acidity medicines.
In case of frequent and severe acidity episodes, it’s best recommended to consult a doctor that can help you determine the underlying cause.
