What Causes Acid Reflux   

Finding out what causes acid reflux can be a helpful tool in preventing acid reflux disease.  However, as an acid reflux sufferer, your focus should be a lot broader than just the cause.  Ultimately, you want to key on what actions and behaviors you can take to remove the symptoms of acid reflux and keep the disease in check.  To help you with this process, we have put together a list of tips. 

1.   Adjust your diet by avoiding foods that aggravate Acid Reflux. 

Many people believe what causes acid reflux is a weak lower esophageal sphincter (LES).  In addition, it is believed that eating certain foods can weaken this muscle or cause it to occasionally relax.  For this reason, you should consider making adjustments in your diet where foods that weaken this muscle like fatty foods are reduced and foods that are likely to cause it to relax like chocolate, spices, and onions are reduced as well.  By simply substituting these foods with others, you can help improve your acid reflux treatment. 

2.  Cut back on Smoking and Drinking. 

These bad habits have been linked to causing the LES muscle to relax.  When this occurs, acid can reflux back into the esophagus and cause you to get acid reflux symptoms.  For this reason, it is a really good idea to cut back on these activities.  Not only will it help your body in regards to acid reflux disease, it can also improve your health by reducing risk to all different types of cancer and other ailments. 

3.   Find ways to reduce Stress. 

Stress has a knack of wreaking havoc on the body in all kinds of ways.  It is no friend to your battle in preventing acid reflux either.  Sadly, stress can cause you to create more acid in your stomach and make your LES muscle less likely to respond properly.  This combination of events can result in you getting acid reflux symptoms when this acid is refluxed into the esophagus.  For this reason, anything you can do to help reduce your overall stress level will improve your prevention and treatment of acid reflux disease.  Common methods for reducing stress are exercise, meditation, prayer, and yoga. 

By keeping these tips in mind, you can rest easier knowing what causes acid reflux is not nearly as important as you treating it with a comprehensive approach.  By attacking it at all likely angles, you have a far great chance of getting satisfactory acid reflux relief.