I have received tons of repetitive advice, and I take it was from people who’ve never suffered from the condition on a chronic basis. Here, I share with you my advice of things I stopped doing to help me heal acid reflux. 

From what I understand, we experience reflux in many ways, and all experience it differently. What irritates one person does not irritate another. The intensity and duration one will feel will be entirely different for somebody else with acid reflux. But common triggers are widely shared on the internet and other types of resources. The most common culprits are spicy, tomato-based, and citrus fruits. Therefore, whichever path of healing you decide to embark on, document, then you’ll have a trail of what worked for you and what did not.  

In this article, I discuss steps that I took to overcome once and for all this condition that plagued me for years.

I realized that the small things we ingest and how we live our lives impact our digestive system. In developing acid reflux, I was made aware that my lifestyle put a lot of pressure on my digestive organs. I was stressed and hardly took the time to rest and rejuvenate my body and mind. I was constantly eating on the go; this meant eating in my car, on the bus, or on the train. At lunchtime, I often ate at my desk to continue working. At home, I often ate in front of the television because I needed entertainment after running around. While I ate in front of the TV, it would be a surprise to realize I had finished my plate so fast. Looking back, it was rare that I sat in peace and truly savored my meal. I have changed that.

My reflux progressed and became increasingly painful; because of that, I sought more aggressive ways to tackle my heartburn. Here are 6 habits that I adopted to counteract the effects of acid reflux and that I believe have made a change in the whole scheme of healing:

1. I stopped brushing my teeth with mint toothpaste
2. I stopped using mouthwash to clean my mouth
3. I stopped chewing gum
4. I cleaned my food better
5. I stopped drinking cold drinks
6. I stopped drinking tap and bottled water

1. I stopped brushing my teeth with mint toothpaste.

Why you might ask! I am an adult, but I realized that I was most likely swallowing a little bit of my saliva, which contained the minty paste because by rinsing my mouth, the back of my throat was still minty. Through research, I learned that mint is an herb with relaxing effects on the body. This is positive; however, relaxation reaches the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). Mint relaxes the LES and, through that action, makes it possible for acid to splash back into your throat.

The second reason I stopped using mint toot hpaste was to avoid ingesting additional chemicals, such as the basic fluoride, which we know to use to protect our teeth against cavities. I learned that this substance can have adverse effects on our health, some of which are neurological. Other chemicals irritate the skin and within our mouth would irritate the gums.

Due to that discovery, I switched to using natural toothpaste with fennel flavor instead of mint, and deficient in fluoride. A good option would be Tom’s Natural toothpaste without fluoride – Fennel

2. I stopped using mouthwash to clean my mouth

Much like above, it was to eliminate the risk of swallowing the saliva carrying the product, containing chemicals and mint flavoring.

A few dangerous chemicals in mouthwash are Ethanol (ethyl alcohol) and Hydrogen peroxide. Of course, one would consume them in large amounts, but because my digestion was weak, I avoided putting on any burden that was not required.

I chose to stop using mouthwash as per the toothpaste decision and reason described above, due to the mint flavor and out of caution for ingesting it.

Instead of using mouthwash after lunch at work, I brought a set of toothbrushes and toothpaste that I would use to clean my mouth.

3. I stopped chewing gum

Not too far from the two reasons provided for stopping the use of mint toothpaste and mouthwash. I started by not chewing mint gum and later progressed to avoid gum altogether. I did that because I needed to reduce the amount of processed foods going through my body. I could not digest processed foods without triggering heartburn and other acid reflux symptoms, such as an itchy palette, itchy inside the ears, and constant throat clearing.

I avoided the mint gum clearing because I would be swallowing mint saliva. But I stopped chewing gum entirely because I realized I also was intolerant to sugar. Any processed sugar would irritate me and sometimes give me heartburn which I hated.

4. I cleaned my food better

Yes! I cleaned my food before, but there was room for improvement. There are tons of organisms in the meat and fish that we eat. Raw meat is the perfect environment for viruses, worms, parasites, and all types of bacteria to grow and multiply. Although most of it dies during the cooking, cleaning meat and fish beforehand provided me with the knowledge that I have killed the maximum amount of harmful organisms that can devastate my body. The cleaning of the meat also has an effect on the taste of it; it tastes cleaner and is more pleasant to eat.

I mostly use lemons to clean meats and fish, but depending on the meat or fish, I could use vinegar, salt, or ginger.

Fruits and vegetables also get a royal cleaning treatment. Not only do I use water to clean them I, I use a natural fruit and veggie spray that gets rid of much of the wax, chemicals and other impurities that stick to the skin of the food.

5. I stopped drinking cold drinks

I learned this through a consultation at the Traditional Chinese Medicine clinic. The doctor detected that my “digestive fire” was weak, so she provided me with tips on how to strengthen the fire. One was to feed my body warm food; warm food would feed the fire and help it burn brighter, thus allowing me to digest better. And it worked! Not only did the warmth soothe my body, but it also helped me eliminate waste better.  

6. I stopped drinking tap and bottled water

Did you know that the water from the tap is full of bacteria and other harmful species looking for a warm home-like within your body? And every time you drink tap or bottled water, which contains just as many of these toxic species, you are ingesting their colonies!

Instead, I boiled all the water that I was to drink to make it easier on my body. I sought every possible way to eliminate the need for my digestive organs to work extra hard so that there would be increased opportunities to heal and regain strength in my digestive system.

Conclusion

Although these habits seem insignificant, I needed to apply them to my daily routines because my digestive system needed rebuilding. My stomach lining needed a chance as well to rebuild so that I would feel less and less pain.

Even with these recommendations, remember that a doctor’s examination and opinion is the best guidance to follow. If you are somehow dissatisfied with the current advice you are getting from your physician, consider an alternative; several medical professionals can assist you in reaching management or healing goals. You can start right here with: 4 Types of Doctors Providing Treatments for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)

What have you tried that’s helped you in your healing journey?