Eating habits – People are likely to experience acid reflux when they eat a large meal and afterwards bend over from the waist or lie on their back. People who love to eat bedtime snacks are at high risk to get acid reflux as well.
Respiratory diseases – Around half to almost all people with asthma manifest specific GERD symptoms. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD patients have also a high risk for developing acid reflux that can likewise worsen their COPD.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) – Postmenopausal women taking HRT have an increased risk of developing GERD. The risk spikes up when these women receive longer therapy treatments and bigger estrogen doses.
Alcohol – Alcohol can make the stomach more acidic. People who have stopped drinking alcohol or those who have cut down on its intake reported of no or decreased incidents of acid reflux in their lives.
Smoking – The saliva contains some levels of bicarbonates in them that can help neutralize the effects of acids in the body. Cigarette smokers are reported to have less bicarbonate levels in their saliva compared to non-smokers. Smoking also inhibits the production of saliva. Furthermore, smoking helps increase the production of stomach acid, retards the digestion process causing more pressure to increase in the stomach, causes bile salt motion from the intestine to the stomach that makes the acids more volatile and weakens the function of the esophageal sphincter. These are all serious reasons to quit smoking for good.
Pregnancy – Acid reflux incidences usually are experienced during the third trimester of a woman’s pregnancy. The growing baby slowly gains weight and this causes the baby to cause more pressure in the stomach often leading to acid reflux. Physicians state that antacids are useless for pregnancy-induced acid reflux. Eating modifications can help though and this means that the pregnant female can eat smaller meals but eat more than three times a day. For most cases of pregnancy-caused acid reflux, the condition disappears shortly after the baby is born.
Acupuncture Health Center
1303 Astor St #101
Bellingham, WA 98225
(360) 715-1824
https://www.bellinghamacupuncturecenter.com/