Acidity, also known as acid reflux. causes a lot of discomfort and suffering. I've suffered acidity for a long time. Several of my acquaintances complain, at least one of them had to be admitted to a hospital for treatment. After having suffered for years, I did some experimenting and arrived a possible solution.
What causes acidity?
Food that doesn't get along with our digestive system is the primary cause according to my understanding. There are other reasons for acidity: Eating in a rush, not chewing food sufficiently. Some may not be drinking water sufficiently. From my personal experience, even aerosol sprays can cause acidity. When we inhale deodorant fumes they somehow mess up our tummy. There could be reasons out of our control- food contaminated with toxic chemicals affect our health in more ways than one.
Banana's often caused acidity for me. After pondering over it, I felt bananas ripened using chemicals was the cause. Then I found that green chilly was the major culprit. I abstained from green chilly for months to confirm this. On discovering it, we have replaced green chilly with dry red chilly, sometimes pepper if the recipe allows it. Then coffee is another enemy of mine. Coming to tea, I'm okay with one mug early in the mornings. However, even a small cup of tea during late afternoon kicked up acidity in matter of minutes. So, I have tea in the mornings only. Having sweets for lunch followed by a long nap also caused acidity on waking up. Alcohol and cigarettes are big time culprits. Lack of sleep disturbs our body in more than one ways. There are a myriad of causes, one has to take a wide n deep look what we consume, our lifestyle, and identify the culprits.
How to prevent or control acidity?
Once you know the cause or causes, appropriate action is a must. Even if you suspect something, you have to act. As the saying goes "prevention is better than cure" our first step is to find ways to prevent acidity by either avoiding or abstaining from the culprit. Next is to consume friendly food and adopting healthy habits. Having a fresh fruit like papaya or a cucumber a few minutes before a meal. Chopped radish & radish leaves are helpful. Eat food in small morsels or bites, chew thoroughly before swallowing. Avoid distractions while eating food like mobile phones, TV, talking, etc. Eat food peacefully. Chewing a few grains of Ajwan or Jeera after a meal aides digestion, they work like mouth fresheners as well. Avoid sugary or mint flavored mouth fresheners.
To mitigate discomfort caused by acidity, drink lots of water. Sip hot / warm / room temperature water (whichever is comfortable for you) as much quantity as you can. When you sip water, make sure to hold water in mouth for a few seconds until saliva mixes and then swallow the water. Saliva not only helps digestion but also heals.
Apart from food and lifestyle, the way you lie down on the bed matters. Ideally one must allow at least 60 minutes between the end of a meal to lying down for a nap. Your position too matters- lie down on the left side only. Lying on the back with a full tummy pushes fluids out of the tummy towards the esophagus. One could lie on the back or turn to the right side after 3 to 4 hours.
Before closing this article, I would like to add couple more points. Some people are habituated to lozenges to mask cigarette odor or bad breath. Menthol flavored lozenges can damage mucous lining in our esophagus. Please stop chewing them, instead go for natural ways like chewing a clove or cardamom or simply rinse your mouth with water. If you can get salt-water, it works better than a plain water rinse. The other point is to avoid antacids as much as possible. Drinking water slowly over a prolonged period is a safe alternate to antacids.
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