Effective Natural Remedies for GERD Relief - Holistic Approach

Over the last year, I've noticed occasional burning in my throat that was similar to heartburn. I've also felt like I had something stuck in my throat. Last night when I went to bed, the pain and spasms were so severe, I actually considered going to an urgent care facility. I eventually fell asleep sitting up.

This morning, my internet research indicated that I probably have Laryngopharyngeal Reflux or "LPR" which is similar to GERD, just higher up in the throat.

Looking for a natural remedy, I found this website about ACV. 30 minutes ago, I drank 2 teaspoons of ACV mixed in a glass of water. I'm already feeling some relief! Keeping fingers crossed that this is the remedy I'm looking for! Thank you everyone for taking the time to post your thoughts! I think you just saved me a lot of "heart (burn) ache".

Holly, I haven't tried ACV as a remedy yet but am curious: I am a singer and am curious about your LPR. Did it affect your voice in anyway? Did it make you hoarse or gravely, or noticably reduce the range or resiliency of your speaking/singing voice?

Willie,

10/10/2008: Willie (wwisely [at] earthlink [dot] net) from Los Angeles, CA replies: "Holly, I haven't tried ACV as a remedy yet but am curious: I am a singer and am curious about your LPR. Did it affect your voice in anyway? Did it make you hoarse or gravely, or noticably reduce the range or resiliency of your speaking/singing voice?"

My husband is a professional singer and a few months ago was diagnosed with LPR, along with a polyp on one vocal cord and the other with a slight rupture. UGH! Last thing a singer wants to hear. It does affect your range and can give you a hoarseness, but so can a polyp. I know you don't want to hear this, you should go to a ENT who specializes in singers (ask around) to check for any vocal cord damage. My husband let it go so long he would lose his voice after one night of singing, you don't want that. They tried to put him on an acid suppressor, but we refused, since I was able to control my acid reflux naturally. He modified his diet, gave up alcohol, cigars (occassional), and started taking Digest Gold (plant enzymes). He dones not take ACV, but I do and have had mixed results. If my stomach is burning and it's just in my throat (lump, burning) it helps. But if my stomach is burning, it seems to make it worse. That's me and everyone is different. Go get checked out and if you do have LPR, try the home remedies here and on other sites 1st, before going on a script. I want on a proton inhibitor and it made me way worse, I could only sleep straight up. We need acid to digest our food. Enzymes help alot too! Good luck!

I have both GERD & Hiatal Hernia, and found that the Apple Cider Vinegar tablets made my condition worse (in fact my doctor told me not to take it anymore). So, what brand of apple cider vinegar do you recommend for me to take that Will help?

ACV apple cider vinegar for Acid Reflux. Dont use the tablets use the real thing, _____s make an excellent Oraganic ACV. And with some people it takes longer than just a few times of trying it. I use 2tbsp ACV in 8oz cup of hot water with honey.

Interesting to see yours got worse. Here is an idea.... I buy into a good portion of Dr. Amato's blood type principals. The vinegar or vinegar tabs making your reflux worse suggests to me that you produce enough stomach acid on your own: and that is suggestive of type O.

I am an O and will soon begin a vinegar regiment soon BUT I will bring the vinegar to neutral or more alkaline by adding baking SODA (sodium bicarbonate) to my solution as discussed in places on this site. 1/2 tsp. Baking soda (plus a pinch) should neutralize 2 tbs. of 50 grain / 5% acidity ACV .

My G.E.R.D. was vanquished when I eliminated breads and most wheat products from my diet. Best Wishes

It's only been about 10 days, but the APPLE CIDER VINEGAR remedy for GERD seems to be working (1 TBSP of ACV, 8 oz. of water, 1 TSP of baking soda and a little bit of honey). After endless days of a burning stomach, countless Prevacid pills and baby food jars, jello, applesauce etc., along with extreme weight loss, I'm actually approaching a normal diet now. Taking it slow as my stomach was probably about the size of a peanut and will take time adjusting to whole foods again. I just bought the ACV tablets so I'll see how they compare to the liquid. May God bless all of you as He has blessed me.

Mike: Your symptoms rang out to me and I am compelled to remark and hope that you have also had your cardiac enzymes checked as well as bloodsugar levels with an A1C.

I use a variety of natural remedies for many things but being a heart attack survivor and a diabetic your symptoms caused a red flag for me..... and perhaps that's about me and not you....but I felt as I said compelled to respond.
Be well in all ways.

Re: Kate's reply to my GERD experience and ACV treatment and results.
Thank you Kate. I will follow through on your recommendations.

I am writing to say that I have had GERD for 30 years since I was 10 years old. I was put on the tagament as a child, then prilosec as a young adult, etc, etc. I now have been taken the Zantac 150mg for I guess 5 years with no help. I eat them like candy. I have recently (past few days) ran out of meds and am in excrutiating pain with spasms, etc. I also have the hiatal hernia for 9 years. I have just found this website and I am going this very minute to store to find some Apple Cider Vinegar. I am a little scared it will burn since the burning has been in my ears for (2) days and spasms are relentless. I will let you know how this remedy works and I am praying it will. Thank you for the website's info.

I have had Acid reflux for a year because I went on the cabbage soup diet which involves a lot of tomatoes and onions. For one week that is basically what I ate. I got a cold and lost my voice but my voice did not come back after my cold was gone. My esophagus began to burn all the time. I tried ACV but it burned my throat even more. However no one told me to mix it with water. I took it straight. I only tried it for a few days. I went on prescription medicine and it helped for a while but now this summer I have been eating fresh vegetables and it is happening again. I want to heal so I am going to try ACV with water this time. Thanks.

I have been on all types of acid reduction products since 1970 for acid reflux disease, gerd and a hiatal hernia. I used prylosec when you could only take it for two weeks at a time because it caused cancer in labratory rats.When my Dr.told me I could take it everyday, I asked him if the rats got better? I have been taking ACV for only five days and it seems to be helping. I have been using two tablespoons and a teaspoon of honey in eight ounces of water. I am still not sure whether or not to take baking soda with it and what that would accomplish if I do use the baking soda.

I was reading over natural cures for Acid Reflux, or GERD, and noticed no one mentioned sauerkraut. I have been using this and it does work wonders. I used to get pains like aliens eating through my body from the GERD, and the sauerkraut has helped immensely. I don't like the taste of it, so I'm going to try a few things mentioned on this site. 2 tblsp sauerkraut 2x daily helps clear the nausea and pain for me.

I have suffered with GERD with a year. I could not eat tomato sauce, choclate, soda or fried foods (basically 90% of my diet :). I also could not lie flat in bed. The pain was constant, no matter what I ate, how I ate, when etc. I was put on the typial meds which either did nothing or made the pain worse. I was eating antacids like tic tacs. I asked the MD why I developed GERD as I have no risk factors for it and was unsatisifed with the answer of "it just happens". As a nurse, I need to know the reason why. The pain had to stop. I was not going to go through this the rest of my life. I came across your web-site and thank you and Thank God!! I used the regular ACV and it worked a little. My sister in law talked me into trying the organic ACV with the enzymes and I have used it for two weeks AND HAVE HAD NO PAIN!! I am back to eating whatever I want. I realized I felt better when I had raviloi for lunch followed by pizza for dinner and NOTHING HAPPENED! Previously, I would have been in pain for hours and eating meds and not able to lie down. I still get pain in my stomach if I'm stressed out, combined with bad food, and I rely on an OTC med that works, now one pill is all I need. But I have gone to eating meds to taking nothing!! I checked with my MD first who could neither recommend or dissuade me from using it, but he had no problems with me using it and basically said "knock yourself out". Thank you for being there for us who suffer and I wish someone would do a study on this so that others could be pain free as well.I can also sleep flat again, and on my back, with no pain. I take a tblsp in the morning in 12-16 oz water (be sure to shake the bottle) and again at night before bed. I feel great otherwise as well. It's like my stomach is happy!! Thank you thank you thank you

I have had GERD for so many years and relied heavily on the meds. After reading the patient insert on Prevacid recently, I was scared into seeking alternative treatment. Well, here I am. After trying the ACV, straight like wiskey :-), I burned worse than ever, then went about my day, and after five hours I realized that my symptoms were gone and that I had not taken my usual calcium anti-acids. I understand the new concept that it is an under-production problem and not over-production. This makes perfect sense that an acid would be the cure. I will keep you all posted on my progress. Thanks to Earthclinic for putting this very helpful information "out there".

SUCCESS WITH ACV!

I have been on Nexium for about 3 years. Prior to that, I had been eating Rolaids like candy and taking ranitidine OTC. I had my share of "breakthrough" acid over that period of time, and I had my doubts as to whether or not this was the correct way to treat my heartburn/GERD. It seemed as if we were just treating the symptoms not the underlying issue. Since my insurance company will no longer cover Nexium, I decided that it was time to find another route for relief.

A couple of friends who are studying to be naturopathic healers suggested I check this site. Thank heaven they did! My husband and I tried ACV with the Mother and we found almost immediate relief. We have only been using it for a few days, but I have now been off Nexium and all OTC products for heartburn/GERD, my husband has not awakened with acid problems during the night, and we are very happy with the results thus far. We will continue to use ACV and tell everyone about our wonderful results!

Thank you so much for this site! I will refer to it whenever I am in need of suggestions for other ailments.

Debbie

Hi there. If you are taking ACV in water for acid reflux, you might want to add Aloe Juice, must be organic and natural without additives 15ml morning and evening. It helps soothe damaged tissue and mucosa both in the stomach and esophagus. It works for me.

I was doubter, I wasn't sure to believe the hype about using alternative meds, but after being told I have Acid reflux and trying to deal with the pain I truly believe. Last Tuesday, I got really bad heart burn induced by the stress at work, my boyfriend leaving for the summer to work and eating a heavy breakfast. I got home took a couple of tums and tried to go to bed when I had this sudden burst of wonderful acid up my throat. The pain got to point when it was hard to swallow eat and drink food! Now come on I am a chef tasting and eating food is my life and I am not able to work effectly nor sustain myself it was a complete bummer. Long story short I had this 1 ton elephant feeling on my chest and the raw pain in my thort didn't help either. I wen to urgent care. I was prescibed prevacid and instructed by the doctor that it will take time to heal the irriation in my throat and really there is nothing you can do for the pain. I immediately called my mom because my grandma also suffers from GERD as well and she gave me some helpful tips butI wanted result immediately. I first changed my diet and put my self on eating soft foods and whole grains which I am still doing Completely stopped drinking coffee :( tried honey, drinking kombucha tea which worked but got expensive. And ate soft rolaids like taffy. I fried recommended this site and this simple and inexpensive drink 2 TBSP ACV 1 TBSP desert honey and 1/4 tsp baking soda and 8 oz. of water. I can definately say that after drinking the drink it has soothed my raw throat and I an able to eat and drink things a lot bettter now and the heaviness on my chest isn't as bad but it is still there but at least I can starting eating and drinking since it hot out here ( it was a 107 today) being able to drink the fluids is important. Thank you all for your help.

When treating your acid reflux with ACV (with the mother) raw honey & water, is this on an empty stomach? I'm on day three, taking it in the morning on an empty stomach & my stomach feels like it's being eaten away. A gentleman who spoke poor english at a health food store told me on an empty stomach, I think? I would appreciate your feedback. Thanking you in advance, Pat

I don't quite understand how Apple Cider Vineger even though a low acid, but an acid, would help anyone. I took 1Tb with 8oz of water and instantly I got heartburn and it all started coming back up. The next morning was even better, I had horrible diarrhea for hours. I have had severe gerd with tachacardia for over a year as a result of hydrocodone es and Robaxin (muscle relaxer). The recipe for ACV with Baking Soda sounds even worse, isn't that what makes the volcano eruptions in the science projects? I don't want my stomach to ingest that!

Dr. Jonathan Wright, M.D. has recently published a book entitled "Why Stomach Acid is Good For You." He has been testing hundreds, maybe thousands of patients for their stomach acidity. He says that 90 % of patients that have been previously diagnosed with high stomach acid are really low in acid!

This explains why apple cider vinegar probably works. He recommends more HCl and pepsin (to help disgest protein). He believes that when the stomach acid is strong enough this may kick in a mechanism for the spincter door to shut and thus keep stomach acid away from the esophagus.

chrissy, try one teaspoon in 16 oz of water a just take little sips of this all throughout the day ...make another 16 oz bottle with again one teaspoon of acv , i use organic shake it first....this may work much better for you.

ACV cured my GERD. I've been suffering from reflux for 3 years. My symptoms include sore throat, gas backing up and excessive amounts of phlegm to the point I was having difficulty talking. Also, I would get these "vomit spasms" from my stomach whenever I eat any solid food. X-ray revealed that I had a loosened esophageal sphincter. The doctor gave me Zantac, Patriot and Nexium all with limited success. Finally I gave up and looked on the net for alternatives beside these expensive drugs. Found this site and decided to try ACV, it was 4$ for a large bottle so I really didn't have much to lose. I mix 2 tablespoon acv with water and honey and take it 2 times a day: One morning and one after dinner.

The result was immediate and amazing. All the symptoms disappeared. The spasms stopped, the sore throat is gone and I can speak clearly now. ACV is trully a miracle cure. Thank you so much for this site.

George

I found your website after being given three months supply of omeprazole. I felt I needed to research the condition in more depth.
I am glad I have not had to take any. The Apple Cider Vinegar worked wonders with my very very sore throat almost immediately. The relief from the constant pain was hard to believe. I can now sing in the choir again. My throat feels wide open. It is hard to describe the sensation...
I have had a lump in my throat for years. My throat' was getting more and more dry and hoarse which spoiled the enjoyment of singing in the choir. My breath is much better. My chest is still tight, the sensation of a band wrapped around it, but not as bad as it has been.
I had a very bad virus three years ago with agonising cough and was prescribed strong ibuprofin for the pain from torn chest muscles.
Although I did not take many I did not realise the side effects.

I have stopped coffee and red wine and will try to cut back on bread products. My bed is propped up and I think I am sleeping better.
I take two cap fulls of ACV in 500ml water three to four times a day. It works for me, I understand GERD is a chronic condition and I intend to keep taking the ACV for the rest of my natural. I also mix up a concoction of manuka honey one teaspoon, big pinch slippery elm powder, pinch of powdered ginger, capfull aloe vera juice, capfull ACV, half cup apple juice and top up with water. Give it a good stir and sip during and after meals. It is delicious. I think the internet is just marvellous and your website excellent.

Hi Sriram from India, the sensation you felt was probably not acid reflux. Taking ACV, for me, feels like taking wine. It produces a burning sensation as it goes down the esophagus.

Hi, I've been taking ACV for two weeks now and I am feeling much better (No more sore throat, dull chest pain...). I was diagnosed with GERD about four years ago and was given Prevacid -later prilosec. I thought all was lost unit ACV. Question though, will I have to take ACV for the rest of my life or will I eventualy completely heal?

I've had serious GERD for 8 years. When the meds stopped working I consulted a specialist and bit the bullet and underwent a Lap. Nissen Fundoplication. 12 months after the op. (after a year indigestion free!) the symptoms returned and even worse...the meds (every type I tried!) gave no relief at all. Well I just discovered your incredible site and like so....SO many other testimonials on ACV, I AM ASTOUNDED HOW EFFECTIVE THIS REMEDY IS! From the first gulp I could feel it working. I've just had my 1st day waking up without a burning gullet and mucus filled throat, and even better, the constant throat clearing is gone completely :) All within 1 day of discovering this incredible, yet simple and cheap remedy. ..still astounding that professionals and doctors in the OZ & UK don't seem to know about it? You guys are fantastic - keep up the popularity and spread the word!!