7 Best Natural Acid Reflux Remedies

 There are many herbs and steeped fruits you can drink prior to eating that prepare your stomach for food consumption. Balancing the acids in the stomach—but not eliminating the acids, as the stomach still must digest food smoothly—can reduce acid reflux before your very first meal. Some drinks include:

1. Lemon Juice—Lemon juice distilled in warm water can neutralize the acids in the stomach with vitamins A and C, and provide a base for added food. A lemon’s acids aid in smooth digestion.
2. Aloe Vera—The gel or juice of aloe vera can sooth the stomach and neutralize its acids. Only consume two oz. a day, maximum, and consult your healthcare provider before using if you are under the age of eighteen, taking other medicines, or are pregnant.
3. Apple Cider Vinegar—As with lemon, the acids found in apple cider vinegar help the digestion process work more smoothly, preventing struggle and making the stomach release excess acid. Remember, the stomach will overproduce its own acid if combating harsh, or hard to digest, foods. Giving the stomach acids first will reduce the chance of acid reflux. Drink two tablespoons a day of apple cider vinegar, or distill in tea or water.
4. Almond Milk—described below in detail.

Almond milk settles the disquieted acids in your stomach, especially because the milk contains added calcium. For the natural remedy, however, almonds use alkaline to neutralize the stomach’s pH balance and reduce or eliminate acid reflux. Drink 4-8 oz. of almond milk if a meal disagrees with you, or eat a palm-full of raw almonds.

Sweet apples, like granny smith apples or red delicious apples, use their sugars and bases to neutralize stomach acids. Like almonds, sweet apples are an alkaline food that cancel out excess acid and restore the stomach to a standard state. Avoid tart apples, as they may aggravate the stomach instead.

Green or white teas—teas commonly full of ginger, mint, or chamomile—will reduce stomach inflammation and pain, as well as neutralize stomach acid. Teas also aid in digestion after the last meal of the day, prior to sleeping when digestion is at its lowest functionality. Target teas naturally prepared to soothe other stomach ailments, too, like stomach virus or morning sickness, where the stomach is similarly irritated.

Surprisingly, mustard is an alkaline food. Mustard may not seem alkaline—or acid neutralizing—because it does contain its own vinegar and, thus, acid. Mustard coats the throat, is safe on an irritated stomach, and quiets burning acid.

Addressed in the tea section, mint deserves its own spotlight for its renowned stomach-soothing capabilities. Mint quiets stomach inflammation and cancels out harmful excess acid. Mint helps clear excess acid and neutralizes acid in multiple ways. First, the leaf itself cools the stomach. Second, chewing mint leaves, or mint-infused chews or gums, stimulate saliva glands. Saliva clears stomach acid naturally; this is part of the reason why we tend to salivate when our stomach is upset. Mint is safe for all users.

While a diet free from all of these foods sounds unappetizing or bland, many adults would welcome sooner heartburn relief from not eating some foods over others. Most foods can be supplemented or replaced with equally appetizing options. Consider reducing the following foods from your diet in small or large increments:

1. Chocolate—The caffeine and processed sugar found in commercial chocolate is shown to increase the likelihood of acid reflux.
2. Excess oils—While oils in small increments can have healing properties, oils in excess can aggravate the stomach and disrupt natural digestion.
3. Fats—Dairy, starchy, or oily fats act like oils when broken down by stomach acid and become difficult to absorb, thus making digestion a struggle.
4. Soda—As with chocolate, soda’s corn syrup and carbonation combined can instigate acid reflux, especially when drunk with a meal.
5. Coffee—Coffee, a high volume source of caffeine, can aggravate and over-stimulate the stomach. Coffee as a bean also comes with its own acids in excess. Studies recommend not consuming more than two cups of coffee, or a brewed equivalent, a day.
6. Citrus—Lemon water once daily can help prevent acid reflux, but an overabundance of these acids, as found in oranges, grapefruits and tomatoes, can instead overindulge the stomach with acid and cause the same problem.