What is Hyperacidity?
Nowadays, due to unhealthy eating habits and lifestyle, people are facing
problems with acidity i.e. gas in people. Many patients come and say that “they
are having gas”, “having problems with acid”. Hyperacidity is one of the most
common reasons why people are facing “gas problems”. It is seen in all ages,
all classes, and all community.
The stomach secretes Hydrochloric Acid, a digestive juice that breaks down food
particles into their smallest form to aid digestion. When there is an excessive
amount of hydrochloric acid in the stomach, the condition is known as
Hyperacidity. Let us understand what the causes of hyperacidity are:
Causes of Hyperacidity
Our stomach consists of acid (HCL- Hydrochloric acid), the amount of acid in our
stomach is of pH 4.Which means, there is a lot of acidic environment inside and
this is also important for us because whatever germ comes in our stomach
through the food that we consume, they die in the acidic environment, so this
acidity is important. But in some cases, this acidic nature becomes more than the
required level, and that acidity starts to hurt.
- Signs and Symptoms of hyperacidity
- Heart & chest burn
- Throat burn
- Prolonged sour taste in the mouth or bitter-tasting acid that backs up into your
throat and mouth - Chest pain.
- Dry Cough
- Asthma
- Chronic Sinusitis
- Ear pain
How to cure Hyperacidity in Naturopathy?
Naturopathy uses a combination of therapies to support your mind, body
and spirit. For preventing and curing acidity, it recommends the following:
- Food items like yogurt, fermented vegetables, and chutneys help
to restore the gastric balance and improve digestion. - Raw apple cider vinegar helps to improve the acid content in the
stomach. About 3 teaspoons of ACV with 10 ml honey helps to
prevent acidity. - Foods like spinach and beans help to improve the folic acid
consumption in the body that helps to significantly bring down the
acid reflux in the body. - Indian gooseberry is also known to have a very calming effect.
- You can add some ginger and tulsi to your diet. Nothing like a warm
cup of tea with tulsi and ginger, honestly. Ginger has anti-
inflammatory properties and helps really well with gastrointestinal
problems. Tulsi has anti-ulcer properties and not just helps to prevent
acidity but also reduces the resultant effects on the stomach. - Pomegranate juice, pumpkin juice with sugar, and amla powder
mixed with honey are other remedies that are known to work well. - In a Naturopathy Treatment we are advice for enema and hip Bath,
this two treatment in naturopathy it’s really beneficial. - Mud Therapy also helps in this condition.
- Hydro Pack like Gastro Hepatic Pack (G.H Pack) helps to cure
Hyperacidity condition. - Apart from what goes into the body, you can also control acidity with
the help of what you do with your body. Go yoga!
Kunjal is a great asana for reducing hyper-acidity because it helps to wash
off the strong acid from the stomach. Other asanas
like Bhujangasana, Sarvangasana, ViparitKarni, Pavanmuktasana and
pranayamas like Sheetali and Sheetkari help to improve digestion and
provide relief from the acid reflux in the stomach.
How to cure Hyperacidity in Ayurveda
- Ayurveda views it as caused by the exacerbation of Pitta dosha. At the
point when Kapha is related with this irritated Pitta, the Acid begins
climbing the throat. This is precisely the hyperacidity for a large portion of
us and is deciphered broadly as-Heartburn, Acid Reflux, Acid Brash and so
forth . - As indicated by Ayurveda, indigestion is caused when the warmth vitality
inside our cells, known as Pitta, winds up plainly imbalanced. Pitta is
situated in the stomach and is symbolized as a sharp, extraordinary, hot
and acidic vitality. At the point when an individual expends pitta irritating
sustenances like vinegar, citrus juices, tomatoes, chilies, onions, garlic,
liquor and browned nourishments, it prompts acid reflux. Expending
caffeine and soft drinks likewise bothers the pitta. Stress, sporadic eating
designs, lack of sleep and taking painkillers and anti-infection agents
additionally expands creation of warmth poisons which prompts acid reflux.
We should discover more about heartburn treatment in ayurveda. - In Ayurveda Hyperacidity is known as Amlapitta . It is a condition described
by an expansion of sharpness and warmth in the body. The bothered Pitta
hinders the stomach related fire, prompting ill-advised assimilation of
sustenance and creation of ama (poisons). This ama gets gathered in the
stomach related channels and causes Hyperacidity. In Ayurvedic treatment
concentrate is on placating the bothered Pitta Dosha, disposal of poisons
from the body which prompts better processing. - Hyperacidity is known as Amlapitta in Ayurveda (Amla implies harsh and
Pitta implies warm). Hyperacidity in this way is a condition described by an
expansion of acridity and warmth in the body. The exasperated Pitta
hinders the stomach related fire, prompting disgraceful assimilation of
nourishment and generation of ama (poisons). This ama gets aggregated
in the stomach related channels and causes Hyperacidity. - The Ayurvedic treatment of Hyperacidity is centered around assuaging the
exasperated Pitta Dosha. Purifying herbs are likewise managed to
dispense with poisons from the body and purge the channels. This
naturally upgrades the stomach related fire, prompting better processing.
Eating routine and Lifestyle Advice
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 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. - 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. - 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. - 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. - 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. - 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. - Avoid Stress ,it 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.