Acidity? Get rid of it naturally with these simple methods!

Acidity is becoming a more common and more prevalent condition than before, especially with the changes in the lifestyle and eating habits of the average person. Food habits and irregular routine can cause a lot of acidity and acid re-flux symptoms. 

The reason for the increase in acidity problems are attributed to the fact that people have started eating out regularly; there are drastic changes in our food and sleep patterns and the stress related to our work and personal life. All these factors can alone or together become a little too much for our stomach to handle. Other causes might include an improper functioning of the digestive system, eating junk and oily food, fasting for a long time etc.

Acidity is caused by excess secretion of HCL in the stomach. Normally HCL aids in the digestion process of the body but when the acid level increases, it causes acidity. There are however several protective mechanisms to combat the excess production, but when there is an imbalance in the system, the mechanism fails and leads to the condition known as acid re-flux or acidity. Symptoms varies and needs special attention to prevent conditions developing into other serious problems.

Symptoms that point to the problem are a feeling of heartburn or a burning sensation in the stomach or chest, a feeling of nausea or bloating, a stabbing sensation in the upper abdomen etc. The burning sensation is caused by the backing up of the stomach acid into the esophagus. Other symptoms might include constant hunger, belching, a bitter taste in the mouth, or loss of appetite in some cases.

Cure and Remedies:

Food habits play a major role in causing acidity and a change of food habits can give you the answer. Include wholesome and nutritious meals with two to three portions of fruits and vegetables, and start eating foods rich in fiber. Use herbs and condiments like fennel, mint 

and cumin which have carminative properties.

Drinking herbal tea after eating a heavy meal is a very good way to help in digestion, used by the Chinese since ages. Also drinking cabbage juice which is one of the best aids to relieve acidity and drinking peppermint or ginger teas before food also will help in getting relief.

A glass of cold milk, especially before going to bed has proven to work wonders in helping to get rid of acidity.

Also, you will need to increase your intake of water to get rid of acidity. Drinking 8-12 glasses of water will help in getting rid of toxins from your body and aid in proper functioning of the digestive system. But the intake of water should not be between meals as this dilutes the digestive juices getting produced in the stomach.

Basil leaves are known to be helpful in heartburn and acidity; chewing a few will help in easing the problem.Watermelon and cucumber are natural coolers with their high water content. Drinking their juices will help keep acidity away.

There are various foods which trigger acidity like citrus juices, alcohol, oily food and spicy food, food which is rich in sugar, food containing caffeine like tea, coffee and colas, fried and processed foods, high fat meals etc and these need to be seriously avoided if you want to get rid of your acidity problem.

Stress also contributes a lot to acid re-flux because blood flow during a stressful situation is less to the stomach which slows down the digestive process. Keeping all these things in mind will definitely offer you a lot of relief.