Almost everyone would have experienced heartburn at some time or the other. Having occasional heart burn is nothing to worry about. But if the heartburn last for couple of days, and is recurring then it should be classified as chronic acid reflux disease. Acid reflux symptoms in women are slightly different from that of men; however the root cause of this disease remains the same in both cases.

Today the awareness for this disease is so high, that everyone knows the root cause of this disease. Many think that Acid reflux is due to the diet and the lifestyle changes, however that is not entirely true. These may be contributing factors, but not the root cause of this disease.
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The main reason is LES or the Lower Esophageal Sphincter muscle opens up. It is located in the food pipe above the stomach. The purpose of this muscle is to act as a value, when we swallow the food, it opens up and allows the food inside and it will not allow the food from the stomach to come out in the wrong direction. So even if we lie down, or bend towards the knee or even hang upside down, the food we consumed will not reach the mouth again.

But if this muscle relaxes and opens up, then the digestive juices and acid (the inherent hydrochloric acid that is present in the stomach) will move out of the stomach and reach the esophagus and sometimes even to the mouth. This will result in the erosion of the esophagus and sometimes even can cause ulcer.

Symptoms of severe Acid Reflux (GERD – Gastroesophageal reflux disease):

1) Consistent heart burns
2) Difficulty swallowing the food as the food pipe will shrink.
3) Continuous belching
4) Bad breath (No matter how often and how well you brush and floss your teeth)
5) Inflamed gums accompanied with frequent sore throats
6) Disrupted sleep, which may result in overall lower quality of life.

In a recent survey it was estimated that nearly 10 billion dollars were spent by people suffering with Acid reflux on medications, and out of this 70% is spent on suppressing the symptoms. The English medicine or the modern medicine is targeted at reducing the effect and not cure the root cause. Like we discussed before the root cause of this is the relaxing of the LES (Lower Esophageal Sphincter) so the right approach is to correct that, but almost all the medicine is targeted at reducing the symptoms. The most common medicine is the proton pump inhibitor; proton represents the hydrogen ion, which is released by the acid in the stomach. These medicines neutralize that, and the acid in the stomach is neutralized. Is it the right approach? The whole purpose of acid is to aid the digestion, and kill the germs that we take along with the food; there is a mucous membrane in the stomach to prevent the acid from corroding the walls of the stomach. The digestive enzymes require acidic conditions to function properly. So by suppressing the acid, what we effectively do is screw up the digestive system and create enzyme imbalance.
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This improper digestion would create spike in the blood sugar levels, and result in fat storage. This can directly attribute to obesity. This is a lose-lose cycle, obesity creates more pressure on the stomach and the abdomen and will result in the strain of the sphincter muscles and result in LES, and this in turn spoils your digestive system and create more obesity.

Permanent solution for Acid Reflux:

Address the root cause. Before addressing the root cause, what we need to do is take some preventive actions to reduce the symptoms naturally and then to cure it permanently
1) Eat 5 to 6 times a day, but only till you are less than half full. (Sattvic food is preferable)

2) Eat food which is rich in fiber, avoid starchy and oily food. Avoid citrus fruits.

3) Eat good amount of vegetables, avoid chilies, spices, onions and garlic.

4) Eat legumes like chick pea (u can take it as a meal)

5) Don’t drink water immediately after taking food, and drink plenty of water after an hour (after having a meal)

6) While sleeping make sure that your head is raised well above your abdomen (a wooden stand can help, your chest as well as head should be on a higher plane than your abdomen).

7) Avoid Alcohol, smoking, caffeinated drinks and carbonated drinks.

Permanent Cure:

The permanent fix for this issue is to tone your abdominal muscles, and by proper breathing.

1) Obesity results in lot of strain in the abdominal muscles, so we need to work cautiously in controlling obesity and becoming slim.

2) By proper breathing technique this can be cured quickly.

3)  By practicing Padahastasana and Paschimottanasana . A minimum of 5 to 10 minutes in both postures.

4) Eat healthy fiber rich food (Preferably Sattvic food)

You can get your acid reflux completely cured if you do these for 6 weeks continuously.