Those who suffer from the painful digestive issue of acid reflux don’t have to turn to prescriptions, harmful over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and surgery to find relief. A handful of natural supplements and lifestyle changes can help reduce the occurrence of the heartburn-causing aliment.
Brie Zeltner, in an article posted on The Plain Dealer, said she received flack from several readers and holistic health practitioners after she posted an article on the debate between medicine and surgery to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), aka acid reflux. These readers said she left out the best way to treat digestive woes: natural remedies. Making simple lifestyle changes and adding some natural treatments can safely reduce acid reflux with fewer side effects than prescriptions or surgery, the readers told her.
Acid reflux causes heartburn because the tube that is used to intake food from the throat to stomach is not strong enough to handle the acid. Thus, acid flows back into the oesophagus from stomach. Other symptoms of reflux include regurgitation and nausea.
The article quoted Dr. Brenda Powell, a family medicine physician who consults for the Center for Integrative Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, who recommended five lifestyle changes to reduce GERD. She said those who suffer from it should eat only small meals, not eat two or three hours before bed, maintain a healthy weight, avoid foods that irritate the stomach (e.g. alcohol, carbonated or caffeinated drinks, chocolate, citrus, milk, peppers, tomatoes and peppermint), and not smoke.
Another way to reduce acid reflux is to reduce stress. The article said techniques, such as meditation, biofeedback and massage, which promote relaxation, may help.
After those changes are made, one can look to natural supplements for help Zeltner said. Dr. Jeff Romig, a former emergency medicine physician who runs Green Holistic Medicine, said he has successfully treated about 500 patients over the past 11 years with a natural supplement called deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL). Licorice root has been used for its medicinal properties in Asia and Europe for centuries, Zeltnerwrote, noting studies of DGL have shown that it reduces symptoms associated with ulcers, and animal studies have shown that it improves the production of mucus in the intestinal tract.
The article said other small studies have shown evidence for nontraditional GERD treatments, but noted they need to be tested further.
D-limonene, a compound found in the oil from orange peels, was found to relieve symptoms of GERD in 86 percent of those who took it after two weeks, compared with only 29 percent in the placebo group. However, this study was small and is unpublished, Zeltner wrote.
A larger, published Brazilian study found a combination of melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle, and certain vitamins and amino acids caused all symptoms of GERD to cease after 40 days. The study compared the natural combo with Prilosec, a proton-pump inhibitor now available over-the-counter. Those in the Prilosec group experienced a 65-percent regression of symptoms.
While not a supplement, acupuncture was helpful to treat GERD is a “slightly obscure" paper published in 2005, Zeltner said. Stimulation of an acupuncture point on the wrist called Neiguan, which is frequently stimulated to treat nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy treatments in China, reduced the number of times the stomach muscles relaxed, which could cause acid to travel into the oesophagus.