Are you suffering from acidity often? I am sharing with you some tips to prevent as well as relieve acidity. Acidity is rightly termed as a hurry curry worry syndrome in which there is hyper secretion of gastric acids characterized by heart burn caused due to stomach acid reflux. Acidity may be caused due to several factors which need to be understood to prevent it. These are usually related with lifestyle and eating behaviors.
- Poor Eating Habits: It is the main cause of acidity which includes eating fast, irregular meals, consumption of spicy and oily foods, non-vegetarian food, over eating, eating just before sleep, consumption of late and heavy dinner.
- Lack of Physical Activity
- Obesity
- Stomach disorders
- Consumption of alcohol
- Smoking
- Lack of sleep
Most of these factors are modifiable and should be considered to prevent acidity. Acidity can show various signs and symptoms including burning sensation in stomach, throat and heart, belching, chest pain, head ache, difficulty in swallowing, regurgitation, restlessness, nausea, bad breath, indigestion and constipation. Severe long term acidity can cause severe chest and abdominal pain, excessive vomiting, gastric ulcers and cancers.
Here are some tips to prevent acidity. Preventing acidity is important than treating it.
- Avoid hurry: Eat slowly and pace your meals. Take ,minimum 20 minutes to finish your meals.
- Avoid curry: Avoid fried, oily and spicy foods that cause you acidity.
- Avoid worry: Emotional, mental and physical stress needs to be managed.
- Avoid late night dinner.
- Do not lie down immediately after meals.
- Avoid too much of coffee and tea. Try to restrict intake to 2 small cups. Keep large mugs away.
- Take a good sleep at night.
- Make a note of which food has caused acidity. Strictly eliminate those foods.
You can also consume some natural foods to relieve acidity.
Consuming water early in the morning (1 to 2 glasses) can help to maintain stomach acidity. Ginger is a natural remedy for acidity. Ginger juice along with salt and cumin powder helps to maintain body pH. Chewing mint leaves along with warm water helps to relieve acidity. Almonds, cucumber, bananas, watermelon and other natural fruits and nuts are also recommended. Other easy important home remedy is fresh onion juice. Anise seeds (sauph / badishop) when consumed along with warm water helps to keep acidity at a bay. Milk also may help to relieve acidity.
It’s not a good idea to rely on home remedies if symptoms are severe. Also even though antacids are available over the counter, one should not consume them frequently. Consumption of antacids can affect absorption of vital nutrients and can cause deficiencies. I feel prevention of acidity is very important to prevent complications. Eliminating the cause of your acidity is the best prevention. Know what suits you the best. Ease your acidity….