The main symptom of reflux is troublesome heartburn, accompanied by severe burning and pain in the chest area. Sick people, in addition to using pharmacy drugs, try to help themselves at the same time using home methods that effectively relieve even the most unpleasant symptoms. Below are the best of them.
The most important thing in the fight against acid reflux is a proper diet. Among the products recommended and allowed we find:
- Lean dairy products, i.e. yoghurt, low-fat buttermilk, milk, kefir.
- Vegetables – spinach, carrots, beets, potatoes and cauliflower.
- Among the sweets, biscuit cake is allowed.
- Good quality cold cuts (poultry) and lean meat (poultry, veal).
- Herbal teas, still mineral water.
- Spices: fennel, basil, sage, tarragon, oregano, rosemary.
Products that are not recommended and prohibited include:
- Hot spices, e.g. chilli.
- Fatty meats – duck, pork knuckle, salami, pates, gammon.
- Fat dairy products – cheese, processed cheese, camembert.
- Onions, tomatoes, cucumbers.
- Fizzy drinks.
- Strong tea and coffee.
- Alcohol.
- Fast-food.
- Bars, chocolate, chocolate candies, cakes and pies.
- Dishes with the addition of vinegar.
- Orange, grapefruit, tomato, lemon juice.
Food should be cooked, avoiding the addition of fat. Stewed dishes without frying, steamed and baked in foil are also recommended. You should not lie down immediately after a meal, moreover, each dish should be eaten at a slow pace, slowly chewing each bite. It is best if you eat 5 to 6 small meals a day. It used to be believed that drinking milk is a good way, but it eliminates the symptoms only for a moment, so that in a moment they can hit with double strength.
First aid for reflux
As you can see, the diet must be easily digestible and eliminate the symptoms, but at the same time you should introduce products that quickly relieve the symptoms of reflux:
- Sea salt – it can have a soothing effect, but it is exactly sea salt, not the ordinary one that is most often used in Polish cuisine (it causes excessive production of stomach acids, so it must be eliminated from the diet).
- Aloe juice – eliminates heartburn, soothes damage to the esophageal membrane.
- Herbal infusions – infusion of chamomile, sage, licorice root.
- A glass of still water or a solution of water and baking soda.
- Consuming almonds.
- Raw potato juice.
- Aromatherapy – adding sandalwood oil to the bath.