Do you often experience a painful burning sensation in your chest that sometimes extend to your stomach most of the time? Or do you suffer from sore throat and hoarseness when  talking? Do you feel uncomfortable when swallowing food or beverage?

If you answered yes to all three questions and still wonder what is wrong with your body, you are suffering from acid reflux. Similar to what our  Pambansang Kamao (Manny Pacquiao) occasionally suffers from.

Acid reflux occurs when excess stomach acids or sometimes bile, go up to the esophagus – the tube that connects the throat and stomach -  resulting to a burning sensation on the chest area. When this happens, you may taste sour liquid (maasim-asim) at the back of your mouth or feel a burning sensation in your chest (heartburn).

Eating acidic foods causes the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES) muscle, the valve that separates the stomach and esophagus, to relax and allows stomach acids to flow back to the esophagus.

Don’t worry, it’s not the end of the world for you because this messy condition can easily be treated and prevented if you follow these tips:   
    
1. Eat smartly. Give up fried, fatty foods and caffeinated and carbonated drinks that contain high levels of acids. Load your body with alkaline foods such as green leafy vegetables (ex.spinach, lettuce) and wheatgrass and potassium-rich foods like bananas and apple cider vinegar. Alkaline foods neutralize the acids in the body so don’t feel guilty indulging in these foods.

A word of caution, citrus fruits have high acid content so limit the intake of these.

2. Take meals in small proportions. It’s hard to digest one full meal since the stomach needs to exert pressure to digest the bulk of food that entered the body. When we eat too much, the stomach acids go up to the esophagus since the stomach is already full. So make sure to give your stomach enough time to digest food before eating again.

3. Drinks lots of water. Drinking at least 1 gallon of water everyday helps dilute the acids in the body and restore the stomach’s normal pH level. But drinking too much water in between meals is discouraged as it can overfill the stomach and stimulate reflux.   

4. Chew gum. Believe it or not, chewing sugarless gum helps a person with acid reflux. Chewing stimulates the production of saliva and helps dilute the acids in your stomach and esophagus. Saliva, being alkaline, can neutralize the acids.

5. Don’t lie down after meals. The Mayo Clinic reminds people with acid reflux not to lie down in bed after eating to prevent the acids from going into the esophagus. But if you can't avoid doing it, elevate your head and torso by at least 6 to 8 inches to ease the pressure on the abdomen and keep the stomach acids where they should be---in the stomach.

6. Be active. Overweight people are at risk of acid reflux. Excess fats in the body pressure the abdomen and stomach causing the stomach acids to flow back to the esophagus. Body fats also release chemicals that delay the clearance of acid in the stomach. Get into physical activities regularly to prevent gaining extra pounds.  Adults should get 30 minutes of exercise five times a week for weight management.   

7. Stop smoking.

8. Herbal remedies as alternative remedy. Acid reflux is a result of indigestion. Modern herbalists discovered that herbs for treating indigestion can be effective remedies for acid reflux such as chamomile, slippery elm, ginger root and aloe. Some of these remedies are effective on other people so before trying any alternative, ask the doctor first.

9. Consult your doctor.  It's the immediate thing to do if heartburn occurs several times a week or returns soon after taking an antacid. Over-the-counter and prescription medications provide temporary relief but in severe cases of acid reflux, an operation is the only way to cure your condition.