For most people, once they hit their 40s and 50s ‘feeling acidity’ after a late-night meal is very common. Many by this age have also succumbed to the regular use of Eno, popping an antacid pill or 1 odd concoction to supress acidity before it reveals its ugly head.
What causes Acidity?
Undigested food, a weak stomach muscle, wrong combinations of foods, spicey or fatty food, excessive food or just eating late at night are the primary reasons this can happen.
And then there is the ‘stomach has caught a cold’. In cold the stomach’s ability to release/excrete stomach acid gets compromised, leaving food undigested.
Everything above, in a nutshell, can be given the umbrella term ‘undigested food’ that sits in the stomach longer than required, ferments and rots. This rotting food releases gases. If the undigested food is sitting mixed with stomach acid or if the stomach keeps secreting acid to digest the undigested food, you have a very acidic condition starting in the stomach.
A very gassy stomach is also a compromised stomach. Gas has a direct correlation with stomach acid and tone of stomach muscle. Weak stomach muscle means more gas and less stomach acid. Diseases like Gall bladder stones, interfere with the release of bile and stomach acid giving rise to more gas. Often such people burp/belch.
Signs of Acidity: Head, Throat & Bones
– ‘Acid Reflux’, which is felt often as a burning in the oesophagus/throat & chest area, especially as one lies down horizontal at night. It can also show up as a dull pain in the upper back.
-If the absorption of this acid reaches the head, then you have symptoms of ‘Acidic Headaches’, commonly felt at back or on top of the head.
– There is something called an ‘Acidic Cold’, where you have all symptoms of a cold, but the nasal and ear discharges have a slight burning quality. In an acidic cold one has both a stomach
that has caught a cold and heat in the acidic form trying to come out as discharges.
-In bones and joints, acidity corrodes and dries the synovial fluid, hence is mostly felt as ‘Stiffness’, especially in the mornings. The stiffness gets better as the body and muscles moves.
4 Foods that Cure Acidity
“Foods in Naturopathy refer to items that can be eaten in large quantities and calm hunger”
Raw coconut, green lettuce leaves, ripe papaya and carrots. All 4-kill acidity by absorbing the extra stomach acid and cooling the stomach. All 4 have a mild sweet taste and sweet calms acidity (sour taste can have the opposite effect)
- Raw Coconut: Eating them as freshly cut slices is best. Many people drink coconut water, which is good to maintain the electrolyte balance that can also get disturbed with long term acidity. Also, if acidity has caused ulceration in the stomach, then large quantity of both eat raw coconut slices and fresh coconut water may be needed.
- Papaya: Ripe papaya is what the stomach needs. Eat in small quantities, if it initially doesn’t suit or causes diarrhoea.
- Lettuce: Fresh roman lettuce is what is especially useful: green leaves more than brown. The juice of lettuce is also useful in nervousness & palpitations of the heart. One can mix this juice with carrot juice and have. If there is a lot of accompanying nervousness, anxiety, especially use lettuce.
Learn to eat it just as leaves or make simple salads:
250-350 gm roman lettuce leaves+ 10-15 soaked black raisins
1 green apple (optional)
Mild dressing of honey + some lemon juice+ olive oil (keep lemon juice to the minimum) - Carrots: The ability of carrot to neutralise acidity and heal the stomach cannot be emphasised. There have been naturopaths who keep their clients on mono-diet of ‘only Carrot’ to great results. In carrot season have carrot juice with some lettuce leaves added.
Learn to eat raw carrots frequently as sticks or have as simple salads:
3 grated carrots
15-20-soaked black raisins
Dressing: lemon juice + honey OR freshly roasted cumin+ lemon juice. Infuse for 20 minutes, then add.
Depending on how bad the acidity is and provided you don’t have Constipation, you can switch to the above foods. Best if you can have them in the morning till 12 noon for a week and see the difference. If you are constipated, then resolve that first
4 Habits to Maintain/Change
- Eat early dinners: This habit is mandatory is you suffer from constant acidity. Stomach’s ability to digest food declines after sunset, so late dinners will sit as undigested food for long.
- Tone the stomach muscle: The simple fact is that stomach is a muscle and the more toned it is, the better will be your digestion. 30-45 minutes of walking is the minimum you need to keep your muscles going. But to tone you need to incorporate what are called GUT/Core exercises. Yoga has enough routines to accomplish this. Else pick a workout that strengthens your core. Pilates too does it wonderfully.
- Keep stomach empty: Learn to do intermittent or short fasting. Rest your stomach from time to time. The emptier it is, the more it will regain its tone.
- Learn how to do ‘Kunjal kriya’ from Naturopathy and use it if acidity builds up. Best to learn and practice it under supervision initially.
