Home Remedies for GERD Can Be Effective

Written by Thomas Green

GERD, or gastroesophageal reflux disease, can be a potentially debilhitating illness, and can also be very costly to treat with medications and surgeries. While it's inadvisable to avoid seeking medical care for an illness with symptoms as severe as GERD, you may want to try some home remedies before going in for a doctor's visit.

GERD is an illness of the gastrointestinal system, and as such, what we eat and other lifestyle habits can contribute and even cause the illness. Conversely, engaging in new eating habits and lifestyle choices can have a postive impact on the illness, helping to manage symptoms and in some cases eliminate the problem.

There's a clear benefit in trying home remedies to handle GERD. The cost of surgery to fix the lower esophageal sphincter, which is the root of most GERD cases, can cost thousands of dollars. Medications to eliminate or manage the symptoms of GERD can also be costly, and instead of a one shot cost like surgery, these medications will take a little bit out of your pocket every month. These costs will only increase over time, as inflation, the growing cost of caring for an elderly population and industry and governmental pressures continue to exert upward momentum on health care prices. Finding a way to safely manage GERD on your own can be a very large money-saver to you and your family.

It's also advisable to get GERD under control from a quality of life standpoint. GERD's trademark symptom is hearburn, but other uncomfortable symptoms such as a salty mouth taste, nausea, hoarseness, night asthma and dry coughing also may come with GERD.

Self-discipline can be a great home remedy for GERD. Because certain foods and drink can exacerbate GERD symptoms, it's a good idea for you to avoid, or at least consume in moderation, these things. It's a proven fact that things such as acidic foods -- like citrus fruit -- and fatty foods, greasy foods, spicy foods, caffeine and alcohol all can contribute to GERD symptoms. By cutting out or cutting back on these items, you can help greatly reduce your GERD symptoms. Denying the instant gratification of that fast food order or that extra soda can be trying, but considering how uncomfortable the symptoms of GERD are, it's entirely worth it to indulge in a little self-denial.

Obesity has been linked to GERD, as shown by a recent Baylor University study. This is a bad sign, as more than 60 percent of the American population fits into the definition of being overweight. According to the Baylor study, folks with high body mass indexes (a measure of body fat) are much more likely to develop GERD than those of use with lower BMIs. Folks with high BMIs are more than 50 percent more likely to develop GERD than people with lower BMIs. It's not clear why obese people are more likely to develop GERD, but researchers have theorized the excess weight makes people more likely to develop hiatal hernias, an important contributor to GERD, or put more pressure on the lower esophageal sphincter.

Bottom line: Get out the sweatpants and the jump rope. Losing weight can greatly reduce your chances of developing GERD, and improve your general health.

Just as there are a number of foods that aggravate GERD, there are also foods that can help alleviate symptoms. Hard candy can help the esophagus let acid back into the stomach that has been refluxed upward. Some of the best choices include mild fruit flavors, butterscotch and root beer-flavored candies. Another good choice to alleviate the symptoms of GERD is eating an apple, which can help neutralize some of the stomach acid in your esophagus.

Foods with good enzymes to aid digestion and neutralize stomach acid include, figs, yogurt, pineapples and decaf tea. A simple solution to mitigating your GERD symptoms is to increase the amount of water and skim milk you drink.

Also, believe it or not, chewing gum can help alleviate the symptoms of GERD. Chewing gum stimulates the production of saliva, which acts as a stomach acid neutralizer.

Changing your sleeping habits is also an effective home remedy for GERD. By sleeping with your head elevated by about six inches, you can put gravity to work for you, exerting pressure on the lower esophageal sphincter to stay closed, and not to let stomach acid reflux while you sleep.

While these home remedies may prove effective in mitigating your symptoms of GERD, it is advisable to see a doctor to give you further advice or to determine whether GERD is your only problem. GERD can be a precursor of esophageal cancer, so getting checked may help you catch a potentially life-threatening illness early.