Do you secretly stash bottles of antacids around your house, in your car, your office, or your purse? Do you find yourself reaching for antacids often? Or, are you like me and experience uncomfortable bouts of heartburn less frequently but often enough to warrant a great need for relief? If so, your body is trying to send you a clear message that something’s up, and guess what? You SHOULDN’T be reaching for those antacids.

Everything You Thought You Knew About Heartburn is a Myth!

I remember as a child watching my grandfather walk to the medicine cabinet on a daily basis and grab out a huge bottle of antacid. He would literally take a swig from it before and after every meal, sometimes between meals as well. After a while, that bottle had a place of honor at his side at all times. I used to ask him what it was that he was taking and he said “It’s for my belly ache.”

Now, just in case you were wondering, my grandfather, is the type of person who you literally need to knock over the head and drag by the feet for him to go to the doctor. He’s very stubborn, but after a decade (yes a decade) of suffering from severe heartburn that steadily got worse and worse, he finally relented.

What they found was that he had too little stomach acid, not too much. His years of taking antacids were what perpetuated the very problem he was trying to fix.

It sounds completely counterintuitive, but when you take acid blockers and other antacid drugs you’re actually causing an endless and vicious cycle.

A Stressful Lifestyle and Poor Food Choices Reduce Stomach Acid

You may think that stress would increase stomach acid, but it actually lowers it. This is why many people in high-stress jobs have a bottle of Tums sitting on their desk. Low stomach acid not only leads to uncomfortable heartburn, but it can also cause bloating, gas, constipation, thinning hair, brittle nails, and hormone issues as well.

Taking heartburn meds further lowers our stomach acid levels. By making the stomach more alkaline, it FEELS like the heartburn is going away, but antacids don’t keep stomach acid from getting into the esophagus. Keep in mind too that food does not digest well in an alkaline environment. This is why people often experience gas and bloating while on heartburn medications.

When our stomach is producing the right amount of acid, the valve at the top of the stomach will close completely to keep acid out of the esophagus. Not producing enough acid is what allows stomach acid to leak into the esophagus.

So what do we do to remedy the situation?

Get more acid in the stomach of course!

More Consequences of Low Stomach Acid

Aside from causing a vicious cycle of unrelenting heartburn, low stomach acid often causes a number of other ailments and abnormalities to occur.

Some of which include:

• The inability of the stomach to break down proteins and amino acids.
- Low levels of amino acids in the blood are the precursor to depression and other mood disorders.
- The mal-digestion of proteins makes nails brittle and leads to hair loss.

• Imbalanced gut bacteria.
- Low stomach acid gives pathogens and other unwanted bacteria a better opportunity to settle in our digestive tract.
- As such, our gut flora becomes overrun with bad bacteria and can potentially allow candida to take over.

• Leaky gut
- Since low stomach acid digests food very poorly, there is an opportunity for undigested starches to create tiny holes in our digestive tract. Food particles are then able to get through these holes.

As a result, our body reacts by attacking the particles as if they are foreign pathogens.

It’s important to keep stomach acid levels in prime condition. Taking the recipe below on a daily basis will not only ensure that your stomach acid levels stay in tip-top shape, but it will also get rid of heartburn instantly!

Instant Natural Heartburn Remedy - That Really Works!

This is one of the best natural remedies for heartburn relief I have ever tried,  it's fast and effective and actually has the opposite effect compared to Tums and other acid-blockers. It makes the stomach more acidic instead of more alkaline. This signals the valve at the top of the stomach to close firmly preventing stomach acid from leaking into the esophagus. It also signals the valve at the bottom of the stomach to open allowing food to go DOWN instead of UP.

Don’t believe me? Next time you have heartburn, give the heartburn remedy below a try and see how you feel!

Instant Heartburn Home Remedy

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoon Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
• ¼ cup of spring water (use ½ cup if the vinegar tastes too strong. Also, DO NOT use tap water)

Loving Preparation

• Mix the raw apple cider vinegar with the water
• Drink at the first sign of heartburn and repeat every 5-10 minutes as needed until symptoms are relieved

I have never had to take more than one dose as the vinegar works very quickly to quell heartburn. For best results, take before and after meals and again before bedtime.

If you have trouble drinking this recipe, try adding 1 teaspoon of raw honey or 1 teaspoon of manuka honey to sweeten. You can also try out these great apple cider vinegar recipes! 

To learn more about the amazing healing properties of apple cider vinegar, check out my article on the topic here.

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How a Few Lifestyle Changes Can Prevent Heartburn Flare-ups

Stress Less

Of course, taking raw apple cider vinegar is a great way to treat heartburn on the spot, but how do we prevent heartburn in the long term?

Perhaps one of the most important changes to focus on is NOT to eat while stressed. The stomach has a really hard time producing enough acid to digest our food when we’re stressed. Taking the time to relax and eat with reverence is key to helping up your acid levels during meals.

Abstain From Food Allergens and Sensitivities

In case you didn’t know, low stomach acid has a tendency to perpetuate food allergies and intolerances. Consuming foods that you are sensitive or allergic to aggravates your digestive system and causes inflammation in the body. Avoiding these foods will further assist the body in getting back to normalcy, including proper stomach acid production.

Cut the Fiber

Now, I’m not saying to completely eliminate fiber, but if you have low stomach acid you’re not doing yourself any favors by eating a lot of it.

Grains, in particular, contain a lot of phytic acids, a compound that locks onto certain nutrients like zinc, calcium, iron, and copper making them impossible to absorb. Of course, properly soaking your grains will allow for much better absorption of these nutrients but when stomach acid is too low, you’re not going to have much luck either way.

Having optimal stomach acid levels is what allows us to absorb nutrients from our food.

Don’t Drink Too Much Water

It’s common knowledge that everyone should be drinking 8 glasses of water a day, but when your stomach acid is too low, drinking less is best.

Drinking large amounts of water before meals actually water down stomach acid making it harder to digest and assimilate nutrients.

Instead, I recommend drinking the “Instant Heartburn Relief” remedy above before and after meals to ensure proper stomach acid levels.

Drinking too much water, regardless of stomach acid levels, will actually lower metabolism and cause cellular dehydration. So only drink when you feel the need!

What are your best heartburn remedies? Have you ever tried taking apple cider vinegar?

For more tips and tricks on heartburn relief check out the articles below:

How to Remove Mucoid Plaque Naturally
Diverticulitis Causes and How to Treat it Naturally
Essential Oils for Digestion