Natural Remedies for Gas and Heartburn

The body’s pH levels should be slightly acidic.  When the body’s pH is off, one may experience symptoms associated with acidosis, like insomnia, bad breath, teeth that are sensitive to acids, fluid retention, low blood pressure, constipation and/or diarrhea, acidic sweat, etc.

Severe acidosis can be fatal, although in most cases, the body is capable of regulating its pH on its own, keeping values at normal levels.

Types of Acidosis

There are two types of acidosis; respiratory and metabolic.

Respiratory acidosis: This occurs due to the lungs’ inability to remove carbon dioxide.  Generally, conditions such as asthma, airway obstruction, and bronchitis can cause mild to severe respiratory acidosis.

Metabolic acidosis: This occurs when chemical changes in the body alter pH levels, leading to excessive acidity.  A few conditions related to acidosis include diabetes, kidney problems, or excessive aspirin consumption.  Some of the most common risk factors include stress, obesity, an insufficient diet, liver problems as well as gastric ulcers.

Dietary Recommendations

Because diet can unleash gastric problems like heartburn and gas, it’s important that you make a few changes in your diet.

Include raw fruits and vegetables: They are sources of nutrients and fiber, which helps improve digestion.  Recommended fruits include citrus fruits, bananas, pears, strawberries and apples, while you should avoid too much of plums, mango, figs, etc.  All vegetables are recommendable except for those that cause flatulence, like cauliflower, cabbage, cucumbers and radishes.  We recommend eating them raw, as they will retain more of their properties this way.

Reduce your consumption of animal proteins: the modern diet is generally saturated with animal products.  Animal products make up a large part of our diets, although you should avoid eating them in excess, as they could create acidity in the body.  There are other sorts of plant proteins, like those from walnuts and almonds and legumes.  It’s better to avoid beans, however, whenever you have gas, until your discomfort passes.  It’s best to choose white meats, like poultry and fish.

Chew well: digestion starts at the mouth, and bad eating habits could lead to bad digestion.  Often times we eat while in a hurry.  Unfortunately, whenever we do this, we swallow air, and don’t chew our food well.  Experts recommend chewing every bite around 30 times.

Avoid sodas: Sodas are high in simple sugars and can cause inflammation.  That’s why we recommend drinking entirely fresh water or light drinks made of natural fruit juices.

Avoid eating high-fat foods: Foods are difficult to digest, especially trans and saturated fats.  We recommend avoiding them.  It’s best to use cooking methods that are low in fat, like boiling, grilling, or steaming.  You should avoid cooking with lots of fat, like frying.

Cilantro Remedy

One natural remedy against heartburn and gas, consists of drinking one teaspoon of cilantro seeds, or dry cilantro leaves, in one cup of boiling water.  Allow to steep for about 5 minutes.  Do this a half an hour after eating, drinking up to two cups a day.

Black Pepper

This is an anti-gas remedy, although we don’t recommend it for heartburn, as it could make it worse.  We recommend using half a teaspoon of black, ground pepper in one cup of milk.  Sip throughout the day.

Sodium Bicarbonate

Bicarbonate is use as a natural remedy against heartburn because of its alkaline nature, which helps neutralize acid, including stomach acid.  It can also help against gas.  We advise consuming half a teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate in one glass of water.  Drink daily until your symptoms disappear.  You could also add a few drops of fresh lemon juice.

Fennel Seeds

These seeds are excellent for treating indigestion and gas, and they are also easily included into the diet.  Simply blend half a teaspoon of toasted fennel seeds, and add to warm water.  Drink twice a day.

Caution

We do not recommend using these remedies for prolonged periods of time.  If your heartburn or indigestion doesn’t get better, this could be a sign of a disease.  If you don’t experience any improvements after making dietary changes, or using these remedies, we recommend consulting your physician.

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