Acid Reflux
Acid reflux is most commonly known as "acidity" in day to day conversation. It is a state where the contents of your stomach flow backwards towards your throat causing heartburns, hiccups, burning sensation in the mouth, etc.
After a heavy afternoon meal people often take a nap or lie down and watch TV. Suddenly they start feeling uneasy, so much so that they cannot lie down again. There is discomfort and pain in the chest. This is a state when the contents of the stomach travel backwards into the esophagus, the tube that connects your mouth to your stomach. It is mainly a digestive problem. It leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. At times it can also be felt in the mid-line of the back. It is mainly related to the eating habits.
Causes of acid reflux: We have a small "flap" or valve between the top of the stomach and the bottom of the esophagus which prevents the stomach contents from traveling back into the esophagus. At times this "flap" does not function properly. It starts to leak which allows the contents of the stomach travel back into the esophagus causing a burning sensation.
The factors responsible for acid reflux include: eating heavy meals, smoking, pregnancy and being overweight.
Eating Habits: Due to the fast life style and busy work schedules people are often seen eating food while on the move or skipping their meals. Alternately they seek satisfaction by filling up their stomachs with heavy meals, thus suffering from various health problems. To maintain a healthy lifestyle more care should be taken to develop eating habits which will help you avoid any health problems.
Smoking: Smoking affects our digestive system and thus affects our eating habits. A smoker is often seen smoking even at meal times to reduce their food intake. More precisely, a smoker can become so addictive to smoking that they loose their appetite and is hardly interested in eating food. This in turn damages the digestion thus causing heartburns and also can cause cancers to occur.
Pregnancy: This is a time when you need to be extra careful about what you eat and when you eat. Eating habits matter a lot during these 9 months of a woman's life. But often pregnant woman feel nausea when faced with some food items. Sometimes pregnant women develop unhealthy food habits, thus causing heart burns. To avoid such things, pregnant women should eat a healthy diet full of iron, calcium and protein during these important months for good health of themother as well as the baby
Being Overweight: As well as causing acid reflux, obesity or being overweight can cause numerous health problems such as high sugar levels (Diabetes), high blood pressure, cancer and so on. Being overweight can be hereditary or may be because of being inactive, eating habits, smoking, medicines, medical problems etc.
Hereditary: Some people are genetically over weight. Genes are an important factor of a person's health.
Inactiveness: Some people are inactive. They do not like to participate in the health regime programs like exercise or sports. Such people are likely to gain more weight.
Eating Habits: The diet or eating habits of a person are major factor to weight gain. Eating high calorie or high fat diet contributes to weight gain.
Medicines: Being overweight can be a side effect of some medication.
Medical Problem: The medical history of a person can also be the cause of being overweight. eg: Thyroid.
Above are some of the causes of acid reflux.
I hope this article provided you with the information and understanding you were looking for.
Brian Waybridge, the author of this article, suffered for many years with the pain of acid reflux before he found welcome relief.