Your Health Blog

Living with acid reflux can be hard enough, but when you add other problems to that, it can be downright life altering. There are some reflux sufferers who also have problems with gas and indigestion, and those problems mixed with acid reflux are enough to make anyone miserable. You may not think they are related, but there are times when gas indigestion problems are directly linked to your acid reflux, or are aggravating your condition.

In the case of gas, it might be making your reflux worse, or might even be the cause of it. When food sits in the stomach for too long, it begins to break down but does not necessarily move through the digestion tract quickly enough. That creates gas in the stomach and can put undo pressure on the muscle between your stomach and your esophagus that is meant to stay closed to prevent reflux. When opened, or even pushed open repeatedly by excess gas, you run the risk of having acid splash up into your esophagus.

When it come to indigestion, you may think it is just a natural part of acid reflux, but that might be related to the gas problem you are experiencing. Gas indigestion problems can feel much like acid reflux symptoms, but are more likely the cause of your reflux. All of these things go together to make you feel very uncomfortable.

Some sufferers think that they are producing too much stomach acid and that is the root of all of their problems. However, what most people don’t realize is that as you age, you actually produce lower amounts of stomach acid, and that may be what is at the root of your gas indigestion problems. When there is not enough acid, food is not digested as quickly and can not move through your system. Instead, it sits in the stomach producing excess gas as a result. It’s a vicious circle.

If you think that gas indigestion problems might be a concern for you, there are a some things you can do. One is to take a digestive enzyme supplement. Digestive enzymes aid digestion and can help food move through your system in a timely manner. That can help eliminate many of the problems associated with gas building up in your stomach that makes acid reflux worse. Some acid reflux sufferers suggest having apple cider vinegar diluted in water fifteen to thirty minutes before a meal as a way of balancing out your digestive system.

You can talk with your doctor about digestive enzymes, and modifications to your meals to see if slow digestion might be the root of your gas indigestion problems.

By: Kathryn Whittaker

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