Natural Cures for GERD

How I cured my GERD was to take a half teaspoon of baking soda with an 8 oz glass of water on an empty stomach three hours after I eat dinner and nothing else.

I did that for so many weeks and I cured my GERD.

Stephen

Betaine HCL worked like a miracle for me too after many months of suffering from GERD (chronic heartburn or acid reflux). It felt like a rat was living in my tummy, gnawing my insides every day.

It is necessary to take 5-7 caps instead of the 1-2 the bottle says, and ONLY take it with protein meals, never with light meals. Made my suffering that lasted for months go away in several days. I still maintain my stomach health by using this supplement occasionally with a heavy meal. (If you take betaine HCl with a light meal you will probably feel burning in your stomach.)

If you have been suffering, you have got to try this method. The reason it works is because when we get older and the stomach acid level drops, the signal sent to the brain weakens and the sphincter closing the esophagus off from the stomach relaxes and lets a tiny bit of the very strong HCl (hydrochloric acid) through. It is counter-intuitive, but raising stomach acid during a protein meal will send a stronger signal, and the esophagus sphincter will shut tightly again.

Using a drug that shuts off stomach acid can be detrimental since stomach acid kills germs that you do not want entering your intestines, and makes minerals from food available to the digestion. Mineral deficiencies can start a new host of illnesses.

Actually, sipping a slightly strong ACV drink with a protein meal *might* create the same situation of raising stomach acid during a heavy, protein-laden meal. God bless!

Bry,

You have to remember that Betaine HCL comes in different strengths and taking 5 to 7 caps of a high strength product can cause damage.

It is also important to remember that if you take too much and you are feeling the burn, you can neutralize the acid with a half teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in a small glass of water. To let the burn continue can cause damage to the stomach.

Art

Dear Steve and MtM,

I am old and never heard of liver/gallbladder cleanses until joining EC and know nothing about them.

When and how was it discovered they needed to be done and why? Please explain what a cleanse is and how does it work? Wouldn't this damage internal organs? If I get indigestion, which is rare now that I know what has happened to our food supply, I take 1/2 tsp. BS in 1/2 cup water.

I do not experience indigestion until I have ingested too many carbohydrates and now that our food is being engineered to last longer I have learned this can come from any combination of dairy, eggs, meat, produce, medication and/or supplements. It's been a piecemeal endeavor by the process of elimination for over two decades.

Thank you in advance for any reply.

KT

Healthy fat helps liver drop bile into gallbladder for digestion of food.

Make sure you are seeing an endocrinologist to rule out a parathyroid tumor that can cause GERD. Removal of the tumor can help cure GERD permanently for 60% or more patients. Parathyroid tumors can cause tons of other issues. Removal of the tumor is the only cure.

In my case AVC did not work. It exacerbated the issue!

I have been trying different things for acid reflux. Raw almonds worked better than anything else. I didn't even eat very many. I ate about a tablespoon of slivered almonds. Fantastic results! I will be buying more almonds tomorrow! Thank you.

Regular drinking of ACV will sensitize the teeth so drink the dilution through a straw or swish with water afterwards if you have problems.

I have been suffering with GERD since March of 2012, I am 52 years old, and recently after many months of researching the best natural treatments, I must say that Glutamine along with Chamomile tea is absolutely amazing. My GERD is nearly 90% gone. I take the Glutamine on an empty stomach or between meals, 1/4 teas. In water. And I drink a cup of chamomile tea about 20 minutes after I eat a full meal. And now my GERD is nearly gone within a few days. Brown rice and sweet potatoes are a staple side dish in my everyday meals and this has also helped tremendously. I just wanted to share this with those suffering from GERD. All the best~

I'm 29 years old, I've had Acid Reflux / GERD since at least 2009. During 2009, I was in a bodybuilding transformation contest, and I worked out 5 days a week. After 4 months of weight training, my acid reflux became severe, and I went to the hospital to get an endoscopy. They found nothing, except that my esophagus was red. Well I laid off the weight lifting for a couple years and started again in 2011. It took a whole year before the acid reflux kicked in again, and this time, it returned with a VENGEANCE! I felt paralyzed by the pain, I was getting tingles in my arms and legs, had a hard time breathing, could barely swallow, felt like I was going to choke on every bite of food, had panic attacks, even felt like I was going to randomly swallow my tongue. I couldn't lay down at night, without feeling like my whole body was in shock, due to the acid in my esophagus. I had a hunch that it was the acid hitting some vital nerve in the esophageal area, which was subsequently causing the all of these other symptoms I described above. Sure enough, I was right!

I went to the E. R. In August of 2012, and they put me on a 2 month supply of Protonix. This immediately stopped all of these symptoms, including all of the acid reflux. I have also tried Aciphex, which works well too, but it has a lot more side effects than the Protonix. I'm a health nut though, I've never drank, never done drugs, I work out, eat well, etc.. So I wanted to get off of these PPI pills. I decided to look on here, where I found Pickle Juice. I have also tried apples which helped for a short time, but then they stopped having a powerful effect, and I started waking up in the middle of the night with acid in my throat.

Well I just now came across this site, looking for other remedies that might help, instead of the pharma-pills. I saw all these about pickle juice, and figured I'd give it a shot. I went to the store and bought 2 bottles of 'Polish Dill pickles with garlic. ' I ate one spear of a pickle, just to test the waters. I was afraid it might cause a worse worse reaction, but to my surprise, not only does my acid reflux seem gone, but I noticed that it made me feel like I could breathe better?? I'm not sure if pickles have ever helped people breathe better, but I certainly noticed that my lungs seemed to open up more and the congestion in my chest seemed all but gone! I will post more as the days go on, and I try more pickles each night. Thank God for this site!

I recently was made aware of an article by Dr. Bruce West, M. D. , who said that it's very possible that "diaphragm strain" is the CAUSE of many cases of acid reflex, GERD, and hiatal hernia! To me, this is a landmark document and anyone interested in healing their stomach issues should definitely check into it. ARTICLE 2: Hiatal Hernia, Indigestion, Heartburn, Reflux, GERD And Esophagitis. If this is the cause of many cases of acid reflux and hiatal hernia, these could be fixed without surgery or drugs - just by contacting one of the specialists (chiropractor-kinesiologists) on a list Dr. West mentions in his article. Most doctors don't seem to know anything about this (no surprise here! ). I think the article does say you need to be a member of HealthAlerts to get access to the practitioner list, but a small price to pay if you find you have a hiatal hernia and want to avoid surgery, drugs, and working only with the symptoms for the rest of your life! It's worth a shot by anyone with symptoms of GERD, hiatal, hernia, etc. I go to my doc. NEXT Fri to find out if I have a hiatal hernia, since I did the barium xray series last Fri. If he says yes, the first thing I will do is locate one of those practitioners and see if I can get relief that way! In fact, even if he says no, I plan to check it out -- tests don't tell you everything always, and my symptoms are 100% of every symptom Dr. West mentions for this problem (yes, 100%- acid reflux, weakness in my body, fatigue, headaches (I never had headaches before I got the reflux), sore ribs, poor appetite, nausea- horrible nausea, and wt loss)! ).

Another thing-- I began fresh cabbage juice, undiluted (not bad tasting) and find it helps with increasing my appetite - even if not resolving the underlying problem of acid reflux, etc. (Just juice 3 days-worth of cabbage in a juicer or blender -- take 1 oz. 3 times a day for 3 days, meaning juice 9 oz. Of juice each time. Don't think you can keep in fridge longer than 3 days fresh, but maybe; then, before you drink your last 1 oz. of the 3 days' worth, juice 3 more days worth! Do this for 2 weeks- or more, if you find it's really helping. ). I have been on the cabbage juice for just 3 and a half days and I have had three-four bigger appetite "bonuses" since getting the reflux months ago! Having small meals is also a good idea and has helped me. My idea of a small meal is a reasonable-sized pc. (between the size of your palm to even the size of your palm plus fingers! ) of fish or a cube steak cooked in a little bit of sunflower oil (my favorite), salt, and perhaps pepper for flavor, and about 6 tbsps of corn or other veggie, and then frequent small meals after, whenever you get hungry (don't overeat at any of them--limit yourself, knowing it could cause a bad reaction AND knowing you can eat again in 2 hours! ). Have the cabbage juice on an empty stomach. What I do is have 1 oz cabbage juice when I get up, wait 2 hrs, then have a reasonable meal- 4-6 oz. Plain Seven Stars (Original, full fat) yogurt from health food store (more creamy and less sour than Dannons or others I've tried-- you can add stevia too, and it's quite nice! ) and fresh fruit, or a medium-sized Kyo-Green drink and some protein (like 1-2 slices Swiss cheese and/or yogurt) plus my vitamins, and then I wait 2 hrs more without food ( I might have water after a half hr after eating, or 1 oz. of aloe vera juice, diluted w/ water or not), then another 1 oz cabbage juice, wait another 2 hrs (most people can wait 4 hrs to eat, can't they?), and have another meal. I like fish or meat, with fresh or frozen veggies -my favorites are artichokes, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, and if you feel like it , a small salad, and there is also rice! I have a last 1 oz. of cabbage juice before bed. It took away a queasy stomach last night! This appears to be improving my appetite and is also cutting down a lot on the nausea, my major gripe with all the symptoms! Reflux is less troublesome also, esp. at night. It seems to have improved my quality of life enough to keep me content until I can get a firm diagnosis, and hopefully fix the issues without conventional medical intervention!

Aloe vera juice is very helpful too- said to kill h. pylori in studies (http://www.mangosteen--juice.com/aloe-vera/aloe-vera-juice-research.php) -- cabbage juice does too, but there is a protocol by Dr. Shallenberger- think you have to get his newsletter -so will tell you the gist: it involves the use of 1 oz. of cabbage juice 3 times a day as I'm doing but adding 1 cayenne pepper cap with the cabbage juice 3 times a day, for 2 weeks- -- he says this kills the h. Pylori. The BIG caution I discovered is : you can ONLY use the cayenne pepper caps if you have ulcers but DON'T HAVE acid reflux or hiatal hernia! SO, DON'T USE the cayenne/capsicum if you HAVE acid reflux or a hernia! That's why I decided not to assume I had h. Pylori now-- I hope I don't. The ulcer protocol ALSO uses "mastic chewing gum" (find on Web) that kills h. Pylori in mouth and esophagus, AS WELL AS mastic gum capsules (I think mastic gum is OK to use with acid reflux/hiatal hernias, but pls check before buying). It also says to use a new toothbrush before you start as h. Pylori can exist on your toothbrush! Clean it with tea tree oil nightly to keep the h. Pylori down.

AND for acid reflux, also remember Slippery Elm losenges. I suck on those at night if I get reflux after I've gone to bed and don't want to get up. I take as many as 4 over a hr or two, if I stay awake. They're safe! Good luck and hope this helps! I may not be back on this site but this should get you started if you want to try some of these things...

I can attest to the fact that the ACV has cured my GERD! I've been taking Nexium since May 2009 until Sept 2010. Initially, the Nexium helped ease my GERD but in recent months, my condition was back to square one with having acid reflux/heartburn each time I ate and difficulty sleeping at nights. Thank goodness I found this site! I decided to start drinking the organic ACV tonic at a low dosage of 2 capfuls in 4 oz. Water, plus 1 tbs of raw honey, three times a day. 6 weeks later, my upper GI endoscopy results showed normal esophagus/stomach with no signs of tissue damage... Plus, no hiatal hernia! A small one was discovered a year prior so maybe it shrunk?. My surgeon couldn't explain why it was no longer there, but he encouraged me to continue taking the ACV while it obviously worked for me. I'm now able to sleep at nights with one pillow versus four!

One day, I forgot to drink the tonic, realizing that the I didn't have any symptoms that usually trigger or remind me to take it. I'm now just adding two capfuls of ACV and honey in my cup of hot tea that I drink an hour before bedtime. In addition, my cholesterol levels improved dramatically to normal levels and my physician even took me off my high blood pressure medication. I'm just sooooo happy and thankful for finding this site. Now I'm not only able to share my experience here but by forwarding this site to other people I know that suffer from this disease.

Right after having my gallbladder removed, I developed uncontrollable asthma. After years of misery, I was diagnosed with LPR (reflux of the larynx). No matter what I ate, I had heartburn and coughing/wheezing. I was on two reflux meds and 4 asthma meds. I started taking 1TB of ACV twice daily, and the LPR FINALLY responded. I now take no meds for asthma or reflux. It appears the ACV is doing the trick (it's been a year now). And a nice side effect has been my lower blood pressure! :-)

Eating a handful of raw almonds stops GERD dead in its tracks. My daughter ate almonds throughout her pregnancy whenever heartburn hit. It worked for her also.

Hi, until now, tums, and PPI / H2 blocker meds were the main way to treat heartburn. With all the side effects and health risks (double the chance of pneumonia, for instance) many people are looking for alternatives. The meds reduce acid but don't stop the reflux that contains other stomach and intestinal enzymes that can damage the esophagus. I recently completed a book called "Heartburn Cured The Low Carb Miracle" on the root cause of GERD. My theory (I am a microbiologist) is that reflux is caused by gas pressure in the intestines caused by microbes that produce gas from carbs. The gas creates pressure pushing the LES open thus causing reflux. Consuming excess carbs provides the fuel for your own gut microbes. These same microbes (mostly bacteria) produce little or now gas from fats and proteins. Controlling carbs stops reflux so you are treating the root cause of GERD thus completely stopping reflux and heartburn symptoms. I have found much evidence supporting this theory and talked to many people who found complete relief after trying my approach. Give this approach a try.

Ok folks here we go. I got rid of my GERDin about 7-10 days doing everything I was told not to do. I refused to take PPI's and the aluminum packed ant-acid pushed on my by doctors.

1. I started with the traditional tsp. baking soda in small amount of water morning and night. It helped.

2. I ate a thick slice of raw organic ginger root with every eating. It has natural antibacterial and huge amounts of digestive enzymes. And it really helped.

3. I ate lots of dill pickle spears. Felt good.

4. Soak in a glass jar, steel cut organic oats in pickled juice / water over night in fridge and ate by spoonful as needed. Lasted several days. Was filling and stopped acid. This was working but I felt this overwhelming hunger to rinse my stomach with beer. Previous to this it had been about 10 years since I drank alcohol.

5. One evening I drank 6 lights beers. It felt SO GOOD RINSING MY STOMACH WITH THE SUDS.

6. The next morning (with a little headache) I felt a need for grapefruit. I bought a bag of 9 grapefruit and ate EVERY ONE of them. And it felt so good. Citrus is supposed to be a no-no.

7. I started eating about two big salads of whatever MIXED GREENS DAILY. With 2-3oz fish protein, canned salmon or shrimp. THIS DID MORE FOR ME THAN ANYTHING.

Today, although I am not thrilled with drinking beer, I drink a light beer on the days I feel the need. BEER WITH CORN STILL HURTS MY STOMACH. BEER WITHOUT CORN SOOTHES MY STOMACH.

No more butt burning acid gas, hoarse sore throat or upper stomach pain.

Here is the biggest thing I learned from this. Have you ever watched a dog sniff food before it eats. If it sniffs good he scarfs it down, if it sniffs bad he walks away. SNIFF FOOD BEFORE YOU EAT. YOU WILL KNOW IMMEDIATELY IF IT IS GOING TO HEAL YOUR STOMACH OR HURT YOUR STOMACH. For instance, any kind of apple does not smell good to me, and if I eat it my GERD will flare up.

CONCLUSION: For me eating lots and lots of mixed green leaves is the number one thing that keeps GERD away. A daily grapefruit is refreshing and soothing. An occasional corn free beer. A few dried cranberries WITHOUT SUGAR is good.

Experiment with small amount to see what your body wants and does not want.

Grapefruit hack: Stop trying to spoon out a grapefruit half, that is just plain silly. Cut the grapefruit into six wedges; then eat it holding like a watermelon or easily pull out of the peel to eat in one piece.

I have been dealing with bad GERD since I was 18 and have not gotten any relief exept taking prilosec which I know is horrible for you. I have tried Nexium and other antiacids but Prilosec seems to work the best. I'm now 25,6'0 and weigh around 125 pounds because it's a struggle to eat everyday. I eat about 1 meal a day which isn't a lot and after about 4-5 days I have to do a day of fasting to get my stomach to settle down and relieve the bloating and reflux. I've also been taking senna laxative because that seems to help me out too. I have done a lot of medical tests including the pill cam which didn't pass through me before the battery died (7 hours) so they had me do it again but made me drink laxatives first and it passed through fine and they didn't find anything.

I tried the FODMAP diet which didn't help and I also tried align but that seemed to upset my stomach. I recently bought aloe vera juice, digestive enzymes, AVC, honey and a colon cleanse called Oxi-Powder. Been thinking about trying some CBD oil too but the good stuff can be pricey. I'm open to pretty much anyhthing if anyone has suggestions... I can't keep living like this.

Wondering if anyone has ever tried Iberogast.............made in Germany and from botanicals?

Integrative Medicine for Gastrointestinal Disease (nih.gov)

STW 5 (Iberogast) is a commercial formula that includes nine botanicals: Iberis amara, Matricaria chamomilla, Carum carvi, Mentha piperita, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Melissa officinalis, Chelidonium majus, Silybum marianum, and Angelica archangelica.10 In three studies of functional dyspepsia that included patients with GERD symptoms, those receiving STW 5 were more likely to have improvement in symptoms than those receiving placebo. STW 5 was most effective for epigastric pain, retrosternal pain, and acid regurgitation. Adverse events were similar to placebo and included dermatitis, angioedema, digestive intolerance, and one case of allergic asthma. The product has been sold in Germany for 40 years and has a good safety profile.

A remedy I used to successfully treat my acid reflux GERD of over 20 years is strawberry powder extract. There was a study performed on a series of patients who had Barrett's Syndrome which is a precursor to esophageal cancer. The patients took one ounce (2 Tablespoons) of the powdered strawberry in 8 ounces of water(not tap water, filtered water, no chlorine) 2X/day. This protocol was for six months. The study resulted in a positive result in over 80% of the participants.

I had an upper GI to determine the extent of the damage to my esophagus. Fortunately, it had not progressed to the Barrett's esophagus stage. I found a source for the powder on the internet and ordered several pounds(if you want to do the whole six months figure 2 oz./day times 180 days or approx. 22 pounds.) I took the solution after meals in the morning to allow the extract to coat the esophagus and refrained from drinking and eating as long as possible.

The second dose was taken a couple of hours after dinner and before bedtime. In approximately 8 weeks my reflux symptoms had disappeared. Before I could not sleep on my left side. To sleep on my back I had to elevate my head. I also greatly reduced my refined sugar intake. Also, no sugar after noon.

Randomized phase II trial of lyophilized strawberries in patients with dysplastic precancerous lesions of the esophagus.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22135048

Hopefully this will help some of you out there with potentially life threatening problem.

I was on the purple pills for years. Had GERD type problems on and off 2004-2012, only got worse as time went on. Tried many of the remedies here, and some did help, some didn't. Learned not to eat Tomatoes.

Long story short, I have no problems anymore, eventually developed a strange combination thus:

I take 1/4 cut lemon juice and mix in two capsules worth of powdered "grape seed extract", after it's mixed I add a packet of the vitamin c powder.

I drink this slowly on empty stomach, at first twice a day, now occasionally. I would like to say why it works, bla bla bla biofilms etc., but I do not really know myself. General theory:

The plenol compounds in the grape seed won't mix with water but will with the lemon juice. Lemon juice by itself did seem to help but also kinda burns!!! But if acidity is tamed with the vit C powder it does not burn.

Hope it helps others as it did for me!!

Worked Temporarily

Has anyone had problems with ACV not working anymore? I have been taking it 3 times a day for over 2 months and was reflux free and a few days ago just started to feel some symptoms again. Am I taking too much? Or can it stop working?? Please help. I am so devastated as it seemed a miracle that I was cured.

Hey there Cornelia,

About Acid Reflux and how the ACV is not working...well, ACV will work in mild Reflux cases, but you have to do your part as far as making sure the food you eat is within Reflux Control Bounds.

For instance, it is well known that coffee and ice cream, all milk in fact and red meats, chilies, and even too much sugar products at night can all contribute to the problem of reflux. The diet has to be moderated and made as alkaline as possible. If you do that you'll find the ACV will carry you the rest of the way to getting the reflux greatly under control.

This has been my experience at least. Reflux control is dual; right diet and right digestion.

Hello, Reflux Master from Brazil;

You list the things that didn't help and the two that did, both alkalizing in effect. So that may tell you that the issue is largely (in your case) and in most cases the issue on reflux is usually ACIDIC body in nature. Try this experiment... which works for me; For one MONTH... get off ALL acidic foods; really...hard to do but the biggest source of base line acidic issues. Get off COFFEE, even decaffed. (It's acidic too.) No chili products, nothing with tomato, like Ketchup...and I know that in Brazil you may have lots of such acidic food temptations.

Next: reduce your red meat intake after 1:00 pm especially. The body has trouble digesting too much dense proteins. Let up on those a LOT. Eat salads at night and finally: Fish and chicken are OK. NO milk products after 1:00. Like: Ice Cream.

At night take this digestive remedy. Around 9 pm take a tablespoon in a glass of water with one third teaspoon of baking soda...Let finish fizzing and drink. An hour later take an HCL-Betaine tablet.

And finally eat a few bites of papaya...the miracle digester. And careful for too much SUGAR...that's the wild card and often overlooked in getting the body alkaline. OFTEN sugar is the main culprit. SO...NO sugar after 1 pm. The idea is ... let your digestive system catch up with the foods you give it and give it alkalizing items and let up on acidic items. 90 percent of people who follow the DIET logic and the DIGESTIVE logic of the above formula will get substantial relief. I take that back...95 percent. REALLY. Try it. I know the coffee break is hard but the coffee I found was about half of my problem.