At Health, Nutrition, and Wellbeing I discuss nutritional and natural remedies which others have used to address Acid Reflux. But what is Acid Reflux?

When the inside of the throat becomes inflamed and swollen as a result of regurgitation of the contents of the stomach, this is called “reflux esophagitis” or “acid reflux.”

Almost anyone has experienced something like this at some point – where the contents of the stomach rise up into the throat.

But some people experience this more than others, and some experience it severely and frequently.

We live in a drug-happy society. So there are of course a variety of drug-related treatments available to address this condition. And plenty of people are making plenty of money off of these drug treatments. The drug industry is big – whether we refer to the legal drug industry, or the not-so-legal one.

But for those of us who do not wish to fall into the pharmaceutical trap – what can be done about acid reflux?

Some of the drugs on the market as “treatments” for acid reflux have been said to be very harmful. Some of these drugs, for example, reduce the amount of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. Hydrochloric acid is what the body uses to digest food. So reducing hydrochloric acid can be very harmful to one’s ability to digest, and this can carry other consequences as well. A failure to properly digest one’s food can put one at risk of other diseases, can reduce one’s resistance to infections and harmful organism borne in foods, can increase susceptibility to food poisoning, and can put one at risk of chronic degenerative diseases.

While I am not one to recommend testing human problems on rats or mice, it does bear mentioning in this article that tests on mice performed by scientists in one university did indicate that reduction of hydrochloric acid could be exactly what not to do in treating acid reflux.

As time moves forward and as the “information age” progresses, many of us become more and more aware that drugs are not the answer.

There are a number of natural methods of addressing acid reflux.

But first, lets look at the alternative – drugs. Why do I recommend so strongly that you avoid drugs and “acid reflux medicine?”

Some drugs sold for treatment of acid reflux include: “Prilosec,” “ Nexium,” “The Purple Pill,” “Prevacid”, “Zantac”, “Pepcid” “Tagament.”

My advice? Stay away from drugs, pharmaceutical or otherwise. I mean … there must be a reason why many of these drugs are only supposed to be used for eight weeks as a maximum.

As a general rule (and this goes for street drugs, psychiatric drugs, “anti-depressants,” over-the-counter pain killers, etc.) drugs don’t solve anything in the long run. They only mask the problem. And in the long term, they often make it worse. Used sparingly and infrequently in moments of extreme pain or urgency, I can admit that some drugs can have their uses. If you are on that vacation you have waited for for five years, and your jet-lag is giving you a headache from hell, I won’t blame you for grabbing a painkiller from the local supermarket. I’ve done the same myself.

But – in terms of truly handling an illness or long-term condition, it is always my advice to stay away from drugs! And most level-headed people would say the same. There is just too much evidence of the harmful effects of drugs, physically and mentally.

For information on natural treatments of acid reflex, please see Acid Reflux Help which gives further information on this. I hope this information is of use to you or to any of your friends who may be battling this ailment. Something can be done to relieve it for real, and it doesn’t have to come with a prescription.

- By Anna Stone

Vegetarian and Low Calorie Recipes

Most people consider acid reflux as an adults only disease but its also a problem for babies and is known as infant reflux. Below is some info about infant reflux as well as a few things you can do to ease or help the problem.

As with adults, infant reflux occurs when your baby is not able to digest food properly, and the hydrochloric acid in the stomach flows into the esophagus. This can happen for a number of reasons, so you’ll want to monitor your infant closely if you suspect acid reflux. If you take your child to the doctor and your physician notices that stomach acid frequently finds its way to the baby’s throat area, this is definitely a sign of reflux, and should be treated right away. There are certain medications you can get from your pediatrician, but you may want to try these tips first.

Be sure to position your baby in a way that will allow him to breast feed or eat from a bottle without having to lie down. This can alter the digestion process, and cause your baby to choke or spit up. You should also make sure that you are not feeding your baby too much at one time, since this could cause infant reflux to flare up as well. This makes it harder for your little one to digest the formula or breast milk, and could cause him to have trouble sleeping.

After you have fed your baby, don’t put her to bed right away. Also, don’t rock baby right after feeding; this makes it easier for the stomach acid to end up in the esophagus. If you put your infant to sleep right away, there is not time for the nutrients in the breast milk or formula to turn into energy into the baby’s system, and this could make for a very irritable little one, especially during the wee hours of the morning. Babies tend to fall asleep while they are feeding, so if you notice that your little one is dozing off, gently wake him so that you can finish feeding. Be sure to burp your infant after feeding as well, in order to get rid of any air pockets in the stomach that could cause discomfort later.

Babies usually grow out of infant reflux at around 12 months old but its great idea to still pay attention to what they are eating. As they grow, making sure they enjoy fruit and vegetables will give them a good start in life as will trying to limit the amount of fried foods they eat. If they are eating healthy as youngsters they will be much less likely to avoid problems later in life such as child obesity and acid reflux.

Although cases of acid reflux in children is not as common as infant reflux, it pays to plan ahead!