We don’t have time to take care of our health and eating habits since we commute to work, work at a desk for 8 to 10 hours, and then return home late at night. If your job necessitates sitting at a desk, slouching at your desk immediately after eating lunch at work and snacking while working are two of the main causes of acidity.
What is acid reflux?
The lower esophageal sphincter, a circular ring of muscle at the tube’s base, acts as a valve to keep stomach acid (and digesting food) in your stomach and out of your oesophagus. When this valve is relaxed, food from your stomach is allowed to pass through. When this valve is closed, it prevents food and acid from backing up into your oesophagus.
Acid reflux occurs when this valve relaxes abnormally and allows stomach acid to travel back into your oesophagus. The most well-known and obvious symptom is heartburn.
Acid reflux and heartburn can be caused by an underlying medical condition or, in some cases, a medication you’re taking. However, they are frequently triggered by factors such as your diet and lifestyle choices, making the occasional bout of heartburn fairly common
Heartburn symptoms can vary depending on severity, but they include:
- A burning sensation behind your breastbone in your chest
- A burning sensation that rises toward your throat
- Having a bitter or sour taste in your mouth
Steps to control acid reflux
Perform the following activities before or after office hours:
While thinking about what to eat and what not to eat, one should also think about physical activities. It’s understandable that a 9-5 job with only weekends off makes it difficult to focus on exercising every day. What people do wrong is go too far and begin doing high-impact activities, which usually backfire and aggravate the acidity or acid reflux. Instead, lower-impact activities should be performed to prevent or reduce the effects of acid reflux or GERD. Low-impact exercises such as yoga, stationary biking, swimming, and so on can be done once or twice a week. Maintaining a healthy weight is also essential for people who suffer from acid reflux.
Changes in Lifestyle and Home Remedies to Prevent Acidity:
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Bananas, cold milk, almonds, jaggery, and other acidity home remedies can be found in your kitchen, and you can even carry a few of these with you. Aside from these natural ingredients found in your kitchen, it is critical to make wise wellness and lifestyle choices. These include simple things like wearing loose clothes around your waist to work, heating healthy, maintaining a healthy weight, and ensuring that you move for at least 30 minutes every day because you’ll be sitting at your desk for long periods of time in the office.
Smoking decreases the amount of saliva produced and reduces the effectiveness of the valve that prevents stomach acid from entering the oesophagus, both of which increase the likelihood of heartburn. Quitting smoking can reduce the severity and frequency of acid reflux and, in some cases, eliminate it entirely.
Chronic stress has a physical impact on your body, including slowing digestion and increasing sensitivity to pain. The longer food remains in your stomach, the more likely it is that stomach acid will reflux. Furthermore, having an increased sensitivity to pain can intensify the burning pain of heartburn. Taking steps to reduce stress may aid in the prevention or relief of acid reflux and heartburn.
Sleeping with your head and chest higher than your feet can help prevent and relieve acid reflux and heartburn. This can be accomplished by placing a foam wedge under the mattress or by raising bedposts with wood blocks. Piling pillows isn’t usually effective and may even make your symptoms worse. Sleeping on your left side is also thought to aid digestion and may help to limit stomach acid reflux.
Dietary habits:
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There are numerous remedies for acidity. Some of these are even mentioned in the preceding point. But, rather than discussing how to treat acid reflux, let’s focus on how to prevent it, given that you’ll be doing the majority of the things that cause heartburn at your workplace. The first step is to avoid foods that increase acidity, such as fatty, spicy, and greasy foods. Coffee, tea, and other carbonated beverages are not permitted at your desk. Have you eaten a large lunch? Do not sit immediately! Instead, after you’ve finished eating, go for a short walk. Because of the acidity, you will feel quite uneasy.
Laying down with a full stomach can cause acid reflux and worsen heartburn symptoms. Avoid eating within 3 hours of going to bed to give your stomach enough time to empty. You should also rest for at least two hours before exercising.
Ayurvedic Acidity Supplements: Ayurvedic supplements provide immediate relief from acidity and can help improve digestion. The potency of well-known ayurvedic herbs such as Giloy and Shatavari significantly alleviates the unpleasant pains associated with gastritis and improves digestion overall; it alleviates acidity symptoms and effectively reinforces the stomach’s ability to achieve complete balance. You work for one-third of your life. So, make sure that you’re healthy to make it all worthwhile. Apart from the things mentioned above, it is best to concentrate on drinking enough water and resting your body to allow it to recover.
