Acid reflux symptoms, why do they fluctuate

If you have had Acid reflux symptoms for a long time then you should have seen a doctor. They may give you recommendations to follow. Changing your diet may be one and it can help. However you may already have changed to a diet that will lower the chances of you having acid reflux symptoms. If you have found that it did not improve after you have changed to an acid reflux diet then it may be something else. Eating habits and stress are also causes so it may not just be the food we eat.

There are other causes of heartburn besides the food we eat. Acid reflux symptoms can fluctuate from day to day because of many different factors.

Your eating habits play a big part.

What you can do is listed here:-

Sit up straight when eating- Do not slouch?
Eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly
Eat smaller portions- Six small meals a day are better than three large ones
Try not to drink during your meal- especially alcohol
If you have tried the small changes above and still have problems then there is a great system called “heartburn No More” that can help. Find out more about the holistic system “Heartburn No More” in this article.

Trouble can be had with the way you eat as well as what you eat. One enormous help is changing the way you eat. The digestion system is overloaded when eating large amounts of food which also takes longer to digest. This in turn creates more acid which exasperates the problem and the excess acid ends up in your esophagus. Smaller portions should be eaten on a more frequent basis to aid digestion.

Sitting up straight when eating allows your food to have better entry into the stomach.The lower esophageal sphincter (LES) also has less strain on it. Eating slowly and chewing your food will help as the digestion process starts in your mouth. Food breakdown and digestion starts in the mouth with our saliva.

Once food has been taken what do you do- proceeding with the following can promote acid reflux.

Exercising after a meal
Lying down flat after a meal
Starting activities that need vigorous actions
The chances of refluxing acid into the esophagus increases if you start vigorous exercise after a meal as the digestive process slows down. When the digestion is slow gastric emptying is one of the problems that can occur. The body normally starts absorbing nutrients when the food is digested and enters the small intestine. Emptying of gastric juices is delayed when the digestion is slow. This means that undigested food is sitting in the stomach which in turn needs more stomach acid to aid digestion. This increase in stomach acid means that there is more chance that the stomach contents will be pushed back up into the esophagus and cause heartburn problems. An activity like bending over can be especially bad.

It is a well know fact that we should not exercise straight after eating. Professional sportsman eat well before they start there exercise? Any type of vigorous exercise places a strain on the LES and also slows down the absorption of nutrients into the body. It takes energy to digest your food. Your body becomes sluggish if all your energy is divided between eating and exercising. You will know what I mean if you have tried exercising after eating.

The digestion process is slow and can take anything up to four hours normally. The food in the stomach is semi liquid and the digestive enzymes needed to break down the food work best in an acidic environment, as opposed to a more alkaline environment. For acid reflux sufferers early stages of digestion are important. Because reflux is more susceptible in sufferers they should stay sitting up after eating. At night folk should eat between two and three hours before goings to bed, the longer the better. After eating it is best to stay upright as lying down promotes heartburn.

Stress

Stress is a good thing in our lives up to a certain point. A little stress keeps you ticking over and can be motivating. Although it can help at work there is only so much of it that is good for you. Our physical and mental wellbeing can suffer greatly with too much stress. Indeed it is supposed to be one of the biggest problems in our modern way of living. Stress is one of the factors that can lead to acid reflux.

Stressful conditions are responded to by your body. One of the things it does to combat stress is to send blood to the different parts of the body under stress. This all eats up our energy and takes this vital energy away from our digestion process thus slowing it down. It does not matter where you work on stressful days you feel exhausted and get home utterly worn out. Try not to let this happen regularly or you may find increased acid reflux problems.

Eating the wrong type of food is also a by-product of stress. Usually more alcohol is taken and people smoke more while under stress. Foods that are sweet high in fat and salt are also usually taken when stressed. These habits will increase the risk of acid reflux.

Stress can be avoided or reduced in a number of ways. Relax tension with vigorous exercise or sport. Try meditation like yoga to calm the mind. Get it off your chest, by venting your feelings to someone you can trust. Stress level reduction can also greatly reduce acid reflux symptoms.

Clothing

Sufferers from acid reflux are more suseptible to it depending on what they wear. One thing that can cause acid reflux and puts a lot of pressure on the LES is wearing tight clothing when eating. If you suffer from acid reflux being fashionable like wearing tight belts and jeans should be avoided. Other items that can add pressure to the LES are such things as corsets.

source: http://www.acnecleartoday.com/acid-reflux-symptoms-why-do-they-fluctuate/