Acid Reflux, sometimes called GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) is an affliction that affects every person on earth at some point in their lives. Most people only have to deal with reflux on a case by case basis, but some of us have a more serious problem where we cannot seem to stop it.

The reason that acid refluxes back into your esophagus (or possibly your throat) is because of a little valve that rests on top of your stomach. It's called the lower esophageal sphincter valve (LES for short). Sometimes this valve may relax itself, allowing some of your stomach contents to flow back up your food pipe. This can occur for a variety of reasons: certain drugs can relax the valve, specific foods have been known to relax the valve, and even too much stress can cause the valve to not work like it is supposed to.

All of the existing acid reflux treatments: proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), H2 receptor blockers (tagamet, zantac), and antacids all work on the level of acidity in your stomach, and not on your LES valve. This means that when you pop that PPI before your meal: your LES valve will still malfunction and allow stomach contents to flow backwards. Your stomach contents may have a lower level of acid in it, but it will reflux more frequently because of the fact that your stomach's primary means of digestion has been handicapped. We NEED our stomach acid in order to properly digest a whole range of foods, and by stripping your body of that component you slow the entire process down and expose your esophagus to even more damage than before.

So what can you do to strengthen your LES? For one, you need to find the culprit. Your biggest acid reflux home remedy is to just identify your root cause. Drugs and alcohol can be a serious issue: if you drink caffeine, take an anxiety med, use a muscle relaxant, or drink alcohol you are effectively weakening this sphincter. Many other drugs have been found to relax the valve as well: calcium blockers, beta blockers, narcotics, and nicotine. Cut these drugs out and see if that helps to improve your reflux.

Failing that, it's time to take a look at the foods you are eating. Certain foods tend to promote relaxing of the LES more than others: onions, tomatoes, garlic, chocolate, and peppermint. Cut some of these foods out of your system and see if things improve. It may be difficult to remove these foods from your diet, but just try it for a month to see how you feel. Often times it will be one food in particular that is causing all of your problems, and as soon as you can identify your triggers your quality of life will be so much better.

Along with removing these things from your diet, focus on foods that are easier to digest. Take it easy on the heavy carbs, eat medium sized meals more frequently. Your body can digest better when it is not full. Take digestive enzymes to help speed up the digestion process, and take acidophilus sometime during the day to ensure that your stomach flora is in working capacity. Consider investing in some DGL to help with acid reflux pain on those really bad days: DGL is a form of licorice extract which has a soothing effect on your digestive lining in your esophagus and stomach. It can help tremendously in those cases where reflux seems inevitable.

Home remedies and natural solutions are a much better method of dealing with this disease in the long run: relying on the expensive medications to deal with this problem will cause more harm than good. Just know that we have stomach acid for a reason, and acid suppression is not the correct answer to this problem.