Unless your diet has been pure as the driven snow for your entire life, you’ve experienced an over-acid stomach now and then. And if it’s a regular unwanted companion in your life, you’ll know too well how miserable it can be.
Rather than reaching for quick fixes through over-the-counter non-natural preparations which tend to shoot the messenger, we vote for finding natural solutions wherever we can – going to the underlying causes and sorting out those instead.
We’re learning more and more all the time about the value of great, balanced nutrition and using our food choices to support our well-being.
And when it comes to having excess stomach acid and reflux, there are plenty of things you can do to counter it naturally. If the problem persists, please see your healthcare professional and discuss it with them.
But meanwhile, let’s look at what can cause too much acid in the stomach and acid reflux and what we can do naturally to bring that into balance. Take heart, because there are plenty of ways you can be proactive!
First, we’ll brush up on the mechanics of reflux and how it occurs.
The oesophageal sphincter is a circular ring of muscle between our tummies and the oesophagus. This normally stops the stomach acid from coming up into the oesophagus. But certain things can cause it to relax and loosen and when that happens: hello, reflux! Here are a bunch of things that can cause excess acid in the stomach and/or unwanted relaxation of this important muscle:
Caffeine is quite a culprit! Tea, coffee and cola drinks contain caffeine, unless you seek out the decaf options (and be careful if you do, because you’ll want to find those that have used natural decaffeination processes). Fun fact: caffeine has a bitter taste and it’s added to cola drinks in order to help achieve the distinctive cola flavour. Not fun: you may love caffeine and/or cola, but it doesn’t really love you. And the good news keeps coming, because you can add chocolate to that list, too. Its caffeine, fat and cocoa all combine to make it potential stomach acid issue.
Carbonated drinks can tax the stomach due to their bubbles – so fizzy cola drinks can yield a double whammy for your tummy (not to mention added sugar’s influence on inflammation in our bodies but that’s a post for another day).
Alcohol and fatty foods can cause the oesophageal sphincter to relax (remember, this is unwanted relaxation when it comes to our bodies – unlike the wanted relaxation of an awesome massage or inhaling Young Living Lavender, Peace and Calming™ or Stress Away™!).
Processed foods in general tend to be acid-forming, so avoiding them is a great rule of thumb.
So what are beneficial things for our tummy acids?
From a dietary perspective when it comes to healthy balance, it should come as no big surprise to find that plenty of fruit and veggies, nuts and legumes and plant proteins are all great at countering acid-forming foods like dairy, eggs, fish and meat.
That’s not to say you should ditch the latter, because they also have valuable nutrients. But as we often say here at The Good Oil Daily, great well-being is about balance and interaction. So if you’re high on acid-forming foods and low on alkaline foods pretty much every day, you’re on a path to imbalance. And that’s not great.
Specifically, these foods have been found to be super-helpful when it comes to excess acid in the stomach:
- Fruit and veges that are high in antioxidants
- Melons and bananas
- Good quality natural yoghurt
- Brown rice
- Ginger (add a drop of Young Living Vitality Ginger essential oil to water for a refreshing ginger tea – please note that it’s only safe to add essential oils to food and drink when the label specifically states to do so, as is the case with this one)
Try a simple dinner of steamed chicken breast and your favourite greens on a bed of organic brown rice, drizzled with yoghurt infused with a drop each of Young Living Vitality Ginger essential oil and Young Living Vitality Lemon essential oil.
After you’ve eaten, be sure not to exercise until your stomach’s had plenty of time to do its digestive work.
How About Supplements?
We’re glad you asked!
We love adding a teaspoon of Young Living AlkaLime™ to water and drinking its gently fizzing lemon-lime goodness (thanks to the pure Young Living essential oils and organic lemon powder it contains) as a natural way to balance our stomach acid and body pH levels. Thanks to its beautiful blend of minerals and essential oils, it safely helps to neutralise excess stomach acid, relieve heartburn and soothe the occasional unhappy tummy.
AlkaLime™ includes biochemical mineral cell salts which help to support optimal pH levels in the stomach. It’s a very gentle antacid for the tummy and citrus oils are mood-lifting, so it helps to cheer your day, too. What’s not to love about all that! You’ll find full directions on the bottle for how to use it, and please be aware that it includes potassium and sodium so do check the specifics in the product description before ordering if you need to be careful with those intakes.
Essential oils are potent, so as always, please follow directions on the bottle and the usual guidelines for safe use of authentic essential oils.
Please ensure you are choosing a brand with complete transparency from seed to seal, such as Young Living. You can learn in this short video why we only ever recommend and choose Young Living oils and love them so much!
This will also connect you up with The Good Oil Team for our personal support and coaching. We'd love to help you on your journey to vibrant well-being the natural way!
Any questions? Please get in touch via our Contact page.
