If you tend to belch or you sometimes feel bloated immediately after meals, you might be suffering from too low levels of stomach acid. The lower the stomach’s acidity, the less gastric juice, and pepsin will be produced – which makes the feeling of bloating worse. Stomach acid is also lowered by over-the Counter antacids or enzyme blockers. Although reducing the stomach’s acidity sounds easy, it is difficult to do.
Increase Stomach Acid Levels
One of the best things you can do if you want to know how to increase stomach acid levels is to drink apple cider vinegar. Drink an eight-ounce glass of pure apple cider vinegar daily and mix it with a spoon of honey. Drink this mixture two hours before meals. Mixing an acid with a sweetener will help the body to produce more digestive enzymes. Chewing an apple after eating is also a good idea to help break down the food you have eaten into simpler compounds that can be digested more easily.
There are other things you can do to help lower your gastric output and prevent gastric discomfort, such as chewing gum. Chewing gum can be very helpful, provided that you chew it well before swallowing. Chewing gum will stimulate saliva production in the mouth, which is one of the bodies’ natural ways of helping to digest food. Another simple thing you can do to help in decreasing the amount of gastric discomfort caused by eating is to make sure you always wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing that allows your stomach to expand.
Heartburn
Heartburn can often be a difficult problem to deal with. Heartburn is caused when stomach acids move up into your esophagus, causing some discomfort and burning sensation. You might not even realize you are suffering from heartburn, since the symptoms usually hit during meal times. The best way to reduce the severity of heartburn is to make sure that you always drink plenty of water, which helps to wash away stomach acids. Many people with heartburn problems also find relief from eating spicy or greasy foods, since spicy foods tend to cause heartburn.
Learning how to reduce symptoms of heartburn includes making some simple lifestyle changes, such as getting rid of processed foods from your diet, especially those that contain high levels of fat, sugar, and salt. You also need to make sure you don’t consume too much caffeine, as this is another factor that contributes to increasing symptoms. Also, eliminate or cut back on alcoholic beverages. Avoiding foods and drinks that contain high levels of fat, sugar, and salt also helps.
Digestive Enzyme
Another thing that you can do to decrease the pain associated with indigestion and acid reflux is to add more live enzymes to your diet, as these types of enzymes can bind with the lactose in your stomach and effectively block its entry into the esophagus. Live enzymes like alfalfa sprouts, papaya, and soybean lecithin are excellent sources for this type of enzyme. If you want to learn more about incorporating these enzymes into your diet, then talk to your family doctor or nutritionist, as they can provide you with further details on how they can benefit you. Lactase, a digestive enzyme found in your body, is another factor involved in indigestion, so it’s a good idea to get as much as possible of it, as it helps to break down the lactic acid to keep your digestive tract healthy.
