Effective Natural Remedies for GERD Relief

Pickle Juice

Posted by Babs1968 (Marietta, Ga, Usa) on 06/09/2011
★★★★☆

Here it is at 2:55 AM and I have been up for over 2 hours now pacing with my GERD. I am a pretty healthy person and I am also a Chiropractor. I was recently diagnosed when I went to the ER because I thought I was having a Heart Attack. I am 42 years old, eat pretty healthy, get adjusted regularly, and do moderate physical activity. Even as healthy and holisitic as I am, I succumbed to omeprezole because the pain was so severe. I had such a bad reaction to it. I was severely nauseous and dizzy. I went back to the GI Dr. (trying to be a good patient) and he gave me aciphex. I am refusing to take it. GI Doc says that it will allow the acid to subside and let the esophagus heal. I think that is a load of bunk and based on what I have been reading on this site, many of you feel the same. I have not taken perscription meds since I was a kid, why was I going to do so now? Here I am at 3:00AM, with severe pain, so I went to the web and came across your website. I did not have any Apple Cider Vinegar, so I turned to the pickle juice idea. I was in doubt that it would work but at 3 AM, I was feeling desperate. I love pickles and have stayed away because I thought it would make my GERD worse. I took a shot (about 1/2 cup) and now I feel much better. I started taking digestive enzymes today (Alka Pan and Alka Green) suggested by another Chiropractor. They are not working yet. I am hopeful that they will. I also like the apple idea. I usually have them around and will be buying more tomorrow. Thank you all for your suggestions and Thank you Earth Clinic for having this awesome website. I have added it to my favorites. Sweet dreams all.

Almonds

Posted by vanya (Frankfort, IN) on 03/13/2009
★★★★★

ALMONDS have to be raw!!! If they are roasted your reflux will get worse! Other nuts will not work for reflux! I eat raw almonds every time when I feel the acid is comming back, and it works... thanks

Baking Cocoa

Posted by Diane C. (California) on 01/16/2022
★★★★★

Baking Cocoa helps GERD or Stomach acid/Acid indigestion!

I just wanted to share with people what has helped my husband's stomach indigestion and acid problem!

He was diagnosed with GERD. He has tried different antacids for years and nothing helps him. He discovered that "baking cocoa" in warm water or milk as a chocolate drink takes away his acid completely and instantly! This is how he uses it:

1. 1 teaspoon of baking cocoa in a cup of warm water to dissolve it,

2. A little bit of coffee creamer or any type of milk.

3. You can also use stevia or sugar to taste.

Cocoa is very good for your health! Check out health benefits on line.

My husband uses the generic brand to cut cost and it works fine!

Baking Soda

Posted by Stephen K. (Clayton, Ca) on 06/26/2021
★★★★★

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

Posted by Bry (Escondido, CA) on 05/23/2021
★★★★★

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!

Betaine HCl

Posted by Art (California) on 05/24/2021 2681 posts

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

Dietary Changes

Posted by Charity (Faithville, Us) on 02/06/2018

https://ted.earthclinic.com/cures/gastrointestinal_disorders2.html

According to Ted, "The simplest remedy for people who can't stand the ACV is the lemon and baking soda (8 teaspoon of lemon and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda in 1/2 glass of water), or just 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda in 1/2 glass taken twice a day. The alkalizing should detoxify most of what is going on. However it may take about a month before the negative reaction of foods are reduced. The liver needs to clear them of fats and vitamin E may help.

I have had a similar case like that, which was toxicity buildup in the liver and heavy metal. The more chinese parsley cannot be tolerated, the more important is the remedy, but the less the amount the body needs such as once or twice a week, taken at 1-4 leaves only.

This has happened and after the baking soda and quite possibly magnesium supplements, the allergic reactions to many foods were reduced gradually until the second month where it was possible to eat most of the foods quite normally.

Magnesium, baking soda and sometimes sea salt is used to detoxify the body fluids, while lecithin detoxify fats and oil buildup since it is a fat emulsifier. Other supplements such as taurine and milk thistle may further help. Sea salt such as 1/4 teaspoon in 1 liter of water may help reduce the irritable bowel syndrome taken throughout the day for a couple of days.

Getting both urine pH and saliva pH to 7, is important to reduce the cancer problems by increasing the body's oxygen by reducing the body's excess acidity and carbon dioxide much like adding baking soda to a soda water. It takes about a month of alkalizing to notice improvements in cancer conditions or at least 3 weeks. Most gastrointestinal problem is the body's inability to neutralized the digested acidic foods where the digested acid food has a tendency to digest the persons' gastrointestinal organ, and hence the sickness."

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Joe (Manteno, Il Usa) on 12/14/2015
★★★★★

Here's how I cured a LIFETIME of suffering of GERD: I took ~1 tablespoon of organic apple cider vinegar to ~12 ounces of water in a glass bottle. Took a sip whenever you feel gerd coming on. Have this bottle by your side at all times. If you don't feel instant relief this process may not work for you. You may need to protect your teeth from the vinegar by drinking through a straw.

Also very important: When starting this process, I weened my self off of prilosec by switching to one pill every other day then after a few weeks 1/2 pill every other day. You can't split a capsule so just open the cap and pour half out. Prilosec (omeprozole) will cause lifetime damage to your body so this is important to get off of it.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Dropjaw28 (Washington, DC) on 09/02/2014
★★★★★

Wow. I have been suffering with GERD for 10 years and like most people, have been using proton pump inhibitors every day. I've also been anemic (iron and B12 deficient) for at least the past few years. I only recently connected the two issues through research on my own after taking iron and B12 supplements didn't help my anemia. Prevacid was preventing my stomach from absorbing needed nutrients - is the theory. I wanted to get off of the Prevacid, but my acid reflux was debilitating.

I've used ACV many times for sinus infections, but taking it every day wasn't something I was sure I could do. After about 4 weeks of taking it 2-3 times per day (2 teaspoons in cold water) my reflux was completely fixed to the point that I'd forget to drink it since I wasn't dying from reflux symptoms. I'm not gonna lie, it was difficult; ACV is acidic itself and can cause temporary worsening of reflux, it also doesn't taste great. While using it for sinus problems I'd always mix it in green tea with raw honey, but honestly the cold water mix was easier to get down.

I've been making an effort to drink it once per day for general health, but I have gone weeks without it with no reflux, even when I sometimes drink coffee or wine. Thank you Earth Clinic!

Apples

Posted by Jessikah (Keep Portland Weird!) on 02/10/2014
★★★★★

I have suffered from GERD for years. I am that magical one percent in the world that cannot take any modern medicine aka I get really sick (no joke my skin fell off last time I took a zpack.) I tried ACV with a straw and my teeth hurt so bad after a week I had to stop. I tried pickle juice and that made me toss my lunch every time. I sucked on mustard bottles (all I can say is eeeek, gak, ugh! ) So I tried half an apple ten minutes ago. Not absolutely perfect but a whole lot better. I'd say I was left with a two on the one to ten scale (ten sucking like Rancor breathe.) I will try a Granny Smith apple next time, this time I had a Gala apple.

Digestive Enzymes

Posted by Paolo (Bloomington, In, Usa) on 05/16/2013
★★★★★

My mother has GERD pretty bad a many senior citizens do. Of coarse things like dairy, sugary products, fatty meats, etc, exacerbate it. Controlling her diet is helpful but not always possible as she feeds herself as well. She used to be on nexium which I hear is the number one selling medication in America. I guess a lot of people have GERD. This worked but was expensive. I also found out not told by our doctor but through personal research that people who take nexium have an increasingly high risk of hip fractures as the medications stops the acid but also blocks to uptake of Important minerals like calcium.

So I got her off the nexium and started giving her all natural antacids which contain blueberry leaf and power. This worked much better than the tums which actually seemed to make things worse. But still it was a battle.

Finally I read a doctors newsletter that spoke of this condition and he among other things recommended digestive enzymes to relieve the stress on the digestive system. This worked like a charm. I give her usually just one digestive enzyme with her dinner since the evening is when it acts up the most. Since then not a single bout of GERD has come up. Thanks God this did the trick. I can't highly recommend this remedy enough.

L-Glutamine

Posted by Annette (North Branford, Ct) on 12/01/2012
★★★★★

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~

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Cheryl (Va Beach, Va) on 08/14/2011
★★★★★

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...

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Rosario (Virginia Beach, Va) on 11/06/2010
★★★★★

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.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Gina (Philadelphia, Pa) on 04/29/2010
★★★★★

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! :-)

Licorice Root Extract

Posted by Betsy (Santa Fe, NM) on 11/20/2008
★★★★★

Thank you all for your comments regarding ACV and GERD. I have had this annoying problem for a couple of years now. My nurse practitioner suggested using DGL or"Deglycyrrhizinated" Licorice Root Extract. It is available from several different companies at any local health food store. It is not a cure, but it is very soothing. Two tablets in the morning keeps acid reflux away all day for me, but I will try ACV too. Will report back...Thanks!

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Carri (Lake Forest, California) on 08/11/2008
★★★★★

My husband was on proton pumb inhibitors for GERD, Prilosec being one of them. From my reading of nutrition books and alternative medicine I know how dangerous it is to have your stomuch and bowels out of whack and how it effects the rest of your health. So I zealously urged my husband to get off his medicine and that I would find some way that would work. I googled natural cures for GERD and gathered info from different sites(without having to buy their products) and we tried all the different things we found. Plus I also put him on a low carb high protein diet. It took a few months but he no longer has stomuch pain and the GERD is gone!
From what I can remember here's what he took.

DGL (deglycerized licorice)
Lemonene (or something like that)
Digestive enzymes
probiotics
NO coffee (until GERD is completely gone!)
Acid defense by garden of life and a few other things we found in health food stores.
In Protein Power (the book) they claim that the diet cures GERD, so we also did that and my husband lost 35 lbs too.

I'm not sure exactly what cured him because we threw everything at him and it worked! Don't blindly believe everything doctors or even well meaning friends and family say.There are cures for many things if we learn to work with our body instead of trying to suppress it's natural functions through the many pharmaceuticals the docs are throwing at us.

Almonds

Posted by Nick (Johnstown, PA) on 10/03/2008
★☆☆☆☆

See i have the opposite reaction, when i eat any kind of nuts, my acid reflux gets hella worse.

Dietary Changes

Posted by Diane (Long Beach, NY) on 01/04/2007
★★★★★

I used to eat a high fiber,low fat diet (norm robillard's low carb approach). The gas started to build over several months resulting in terrible stomach pains after every evening meal. My cholesterol shot up as well. I decided to get rid of the high fiber breads and cereals. I don't eat dairy. After a few days, my gas decreased and I didn't need my aciphex for gerd anymore. When I cheat, I get gas and reflux. Also, my cholesterol dropped back to normal. My diet is vegetables, some protein, small amounts of fruit, some nuts. I walk almost everyday and use a recumbent bike on rainy days. Sugar in any form is the worst High carbs are sugar. Bread in any form makes my reflux worse. I can cheat but not everyday. I was able to take my bed off its blocks back to ground level and could also lay down after eating.