Gastroesophageal reflux disease (or GERD) is a chronic disease of the digestive system. When acid or stomach content flows back into your esophagus, it irritates its lining, thus causing GERD. While many people actually experience heartburn or acid reflux, if they happen at least twice every week, or if they end up damaging your esophagus, you will most likely be diagnosed with GERD. Depending on the severity of the condition, you’re going to need medication and a change of lifestyle. There are also some natural remedies that you can try using in order to treat the symptoms, and they’re precisely what we’re going to be talking about today.
Natural Remedies for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
Take in the Miracles of Aloe Juice
Aloe juice is used to treat many conditions, and GERD is no exception. Due to its soothing properties, aloe vera helps treat burns, which is exactly what people suffering from GERD experience. The plant helps reduce inflammation, calming down your stomach and esophagus. You can find aloe vera juice in drug stores that sell natural products. What you need to do in order to make sure you benefit from its properties is drink half a cup, either at room temperature or a bit colder, before you eat. Just remember that you can find aloe juice both with and without laxative properties, so be careful which one you decide to go with.
Brew Some Gingerroot Tea
Another miracle worker when it comes to treating the symptoms of GERD is gingerroot. It helps with stomach issues, such as acid reflux and nausea. Thus, we recommend you to drink the gingerroot tea before every meal, just like in the case of the aloe juice. It will serve as a buffer for acid, calming down your stomach before you eat. You will need a couple of pieces of gingerroot that you simmer in water and then cover for 30 minutes. You can drink the mix leaving the roots in or removing them, about 20 minutes before you start eating.
Muster up the Courage for Some Mustard
Even though it might sound strange, mustard can really help with GERD symptoms. Due to the minerals and the weak acid it contains, it can neutralize the discomfort you feel when the acid coming out of your stomach tries to flow into the esophagus. Mustard has alkaline properties, making it the perfect remedy for when you’re feeling a heartburn creep up. Just take one teaspoon of yellow mustard straight and you’ll immediately start to notice the benefits.
Ingest Some More Acid
While ingesting more acid when you’re already dealing with the symptoms caused by acid reflux seems crazy, it’s in fact one of the most effective natural remedies for GERD. The reason why is because acid reflux is in fact not a sign that you have too much acid in your stomach, but a sign that you don’t have enough. The acid is what makes the esophagus close off. Thus, the lack of acid causes the esophagus to relax and allows acid to reach it. The solution might be to drink some apple cider vinegar and see if it makes things better. Mix 3 teaspoons of it with 8 ounces of water and then consume the mixture. The best time to do this is before you eat, but you can also do it before you go to bed. Make sure to stop drinking the mixture if it only makes matters worse. Too much acid can also be quite damaging.
As long as you’re experiencing mild GERD symptoms and you don’t want to treat them with medication, you can try some of the natural remedies we’ve outlined above and see if they end up working out for you.