The Ultimate Enzymes

Anna Hart asked:


Some people think ahead, and plan a drink with meals that will help avoid acid reflux. Others Wait, and look for a drink that will relieve acid reflux. Whichever your style, here are a few tips on what to drink for acid reflux.

Acid Reflux - What Not to Drink

There are four beverages you may want to avoid if you have trouble with acid reflux: alcohol, coffee, peppermint tea, and milk.

1. Alcohol: There is some debate about whether or not alcohol causes acid reflux. Some warn against all alcohol, while others caution only against a very dry white wine, which tends to have high acidity. If you have acid reflux on a frequent basis, you may want to experiment as to whether it is worse or better after drinking alcohol.

2. Coffee: There is an ongoing debate as to whether coffee is to blame for acid reflux. People have thought so for many years. In fact, people believed this so strongly that coffee companies finally decided there was a market for a “smoother” coffee that did not cause acid reflux. A relatively recent study by Stanford University researchers, however, found no scientific evidence to support the notion that eliminating coffee gives relief from acid reflux. The study, which appeared in the May 2006 issue of “The Archives of Internal Medicine,” evaluated published medical reports from 1975 to 2004 on heartburn.

3. Peppermint: Many people suggest avoiding products containing peppermint. Peppermint tea, which sounds so soothing, can increase acid reflux. Peppermint appears to permit the passage of acid from stomach to esophagus.

4. Milk: Many doctors agree that drinking milk with meals may cause acid reflux in adults. Non-professionals believe milk neutralizes stomach acid, making it difficult to digest food. The result can be acid reflux.

Acid Reflux - What to Drink

There are a number of drinks you may want to try for acid reflux. Most fall under the category of folk remedy, but many people get relief with them. This information is for educational purposes only, of course. Please seek advice from your physician before drinking any of these.

1. Slippery Elm Bark Tea: Health food stores usually have slippery elm bark tea. Drink the bark tea with your meal to avoid acid reflux. Bark tea coats the esophagus lining, reducing its sensitivity to acid. If you want to make the tea at home, try to purchase the shredded bark. Use the inner part of the bark, and steep it in hot water for your acid reflux tea. This makes a thick beverage, with a consistency similar to runny gelatin. If it is too thick for you, simply add more hot water.

2. Ginger Tea: Ginger tea also is available in health food stores, and is helpful for acid reflux when used either with the meal or immediately following the meal. It is easily made at home. Use 1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger root, or 1,000 mg of ginger powder. If neither is available, use ground ginger from the spice rack. Steep the ginger in 1 cup boiling water for 5 minutes, and then sip. Ginger is helpful for indigestion and acid reflux, especially if caused by spicy foods.

3. Licorice Tea: Licorice tea is also effective in the battle against acid reflux. Purchase your tea, or make it by placing 1 teaspoon of licorice root in 1 1/4 cups of boiling water. Turn the heat low, and simmer the tea for 10 to 15 minutes in a covered pan. Remove from heat, and stir in 2 teaspoons of dried chamomile. Cover and allow your acid reflux tea to steep for 10 minutes. Strain it before drinking.

CAUTION: NEVER use licorice tea for acid reflux if you have high blood pressure (hypertension).

4. Clove-Ade: If you prefer a cold drink rather than tea, you may get relief from acid reflux by drinking a glass of clove-ade. Simply add a few drops of clove oil to a glass of cold water. Stir, and sip the clove-ade slowly to offset acid reflux.

5. Banana Milk-less Smoothies: Bananas seem to be very effective as an acid reflux fighter. Bananas become a natural antacid in the body. Banana milk-less smoothies are a cool way to use the banana’s ability to fight acid reflux. Start smoothies the night before by placing 1 banana, peeled and cut in pieces, into a freezer container. The next day, put the frozen banana chunks in a blender with 3 cups of soy milk, 1 cup of frozen strawberries, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Add sugar or other sweetener to taste, and blend until smooth. Sip slowly to relieve acid reflux.

Heartburn, acid reflux, GERD, or indigestion: people have found relief for all of them by abstaining from drinking certain beverages, making a point of drinking other beverages.

Cindy Heller asked:


Research have shown that Gastro Esophageal Reflux (GER), generally called acid reflux, is common among children of varying age groups but it is often overlooked. About fifty percent of babies, within the first six months of their lives, will experience acid reflux in one way or another. This is extremely painful for the newborn, but may not necessarily be treated as a threat to health in a long term sense unless there are other symptoms that accompany acid reflux. Acid reflux, to infants, is more likely to be the discomfort that causes the pain more than the reflux itself.

Nature Of Acid Reflux

GER occurs when food and gastric acid come back up from the stomach to the esophagus. This happens during or after a meal and is quite painful because of the acid present in the stomach contents and the amount of actual stomach acid that will be present in the throat. The discomfort for this condition is unbelievably painful in infants. For this reason, it is important to know the symptoms of acid reflux in babies so that it can be treated and the child can be comforted when a reflux actually occurs.

The young’s immature digestive systems are easy victims to acid reflux but as they grow up (up to one or two years of age), most children naturally come out of the problem.

Symptoms Of Acid Reflux In Children

There are many symptoms present in cases of acid reflux in children. More commonly seen symptoms include: pain, sudden crying, irritability, colic; repeated vomiting or just spitting-up; losing appetite; unable to sleep well; emission of wet burp or wet hiccup sounds; bad breath. It is essential to bear in mind that these symptoms may not necessarily mean that the infant is suffering from Acid Reflux, but are signs that means the overall digestive system of the child deserves some attention and adequate information. Remember to not get carried away with it, but at the same time nothing should be left unchecked.

Less common symptoms include: difficult to swallow food, gagging, and/or choking; throat infection and the need for constant eating and drinking to soothe it; deprived weight gain, loss of weight; husky voice; respiratory problems like asthma, bronchitis, noisy breathing, pneumonia etc.; ear infections, excessive salvation, sinus infections drooling, and peculiar neck arching.

Treatment Of Acid Reflux In Children

Various treatments are available to deal with GER in children. Most kids recover from it after turning one year old. Till then, correct positioning and feeding methods will provide relief to them. They are to be positioned upright to prevent food and acid flowing from the stomach into the esophagus with help from gravity. Burping frequently and staying away from spicy, fatty and acidic foods will also help. Medications like antacids, motility medicines, acid suppressors, and acid blockers can also treat acid reflux. But in very serious cases of reflux, surgery is performed.

There are, definitely, cases of acid reflux in infants that are significantly more grave and important than others. Monitoring should be done, all cases should, and a doctor should be alerted if the symptoms turn too serious or if the acid reflux occurs more frequent or consistent. If bleeding or loss of important function occurs due to acid reflux, a pediatrician and a specialist should be consulted at once. This is because the acid reflux has reached a dangerous level and should be examined for other possible problem.

A pediatrician, with proper test done, can identify and resolve acid reflux in children. They will be aware of the problem and how your child is affected; enabling them to take proper samples and diagnoses it before getting out of hand. From here, an informed decision can be decided in terms of possible cure options and getting the acid reflux curbed to the best of the abilities. Hopefully, both you and your child can get a good night’s rest with this information.



Reflux Condition And Complications In Acid Reflux In Children

In lots of young babies, regurgitation of some milk, particularly when burping after meals, is a common sight. But beware of complications, usually in the form of heartburn and esophagitis. Acid flowing from the stomach to the esophagus produces a burning sensation called Heartburn. While reddening and swelling of the esophagus due to acid backflow is known as Esophagitis. It causes extreme pain and can kill appetite. In severe cases, it can cause the inflamed part of the esophagus to bleed. Poor growths, difficulty in swallowing and breathing problems are some other complications

The Most Important Reality

Taking care of the child’s emotional needs is one of the most often-suggested remedy and solutions for acid reflux in children. The primary task is to soothe your child and handle their emotional needs, as this is most damaged by the symptoms of acid reflux. It is a frustrating time, for both parent and child, to deal with the pain and to find a cure for the illness and the symptoms.

Sylvia Riley asked:


The raw food diet is as much a life-style as an eating plan; a naturalistic approach which excludes, in addition to cooked and animal foods, processed and refined ingredients.

In the ever-hungry quest for new fads and health panaceas, the raw food diet, with adherents such as Woody Harrelson and Donna Karan, is growing in mainstream popularity. Unlike many other bandwagons however, raw foods (also referred to as ‘living foods’), offer unarguable health benefits and one can reap rewards even as a 50% dabbler. To be a 100% extremist takes commitment, discipline and education and is best introduced gradually to avoid the overwhelm of inevitable detoxification.

A food is essentially ‘raw’ if it is kept below 115 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature above which enzymes are destroyed. Eating raw food ensures an opulent intake of nutrients, fibre, healthy oils and life-giving enzymes. Raw food is much more easily digested, taking half to a third of the time of cooked food, around 24-36 hours compared to 40-100 hours. Raw vegetables and fruits, are also predominantly alkaline so help to optmize the pH balance of the body (around 60-80% alkaline foods being recommended for a healthy internal environment resistant to disease).

Sprouts, raw juices and superfoods are favoured in a raw food diet, and dehydrating ‘ovens’ effectively concentrate the flavour of certain raw foods to assist in the creation of a mind-boggling array of as-cooked dishes. I’ve eaten a raw food pizza that unbelievably contained no wheat, no cheese and no cooked ingredients! It tasted delicious and I was stumped to figure out what it was actually made of!

Raw Power

Raw plant foods are healthy, regenerative, cleansing, energising, predominantly alkaline, and packed with vitamins, minerals, healthy oils, enzymes and antioxidants that promote health, beauty and longevity. As well as enhancing digestion and protecting against aging and disease, a raw food diet has noted weight loss benefits and promotes clear, beautiful skin.

The benefit of raw food becomes even more apparent in view of the effects cooking can have on constituents in food

The Effects of Cooking

Arthur Baker writes in Awakening Our Self-Healing Body, ‘Overly cooked foods literally wreck our body. They deny needed nutrients to the system since heat alters foodstuffs such that they are partially, mostly, or wholly destroyed. Nutrients are coagulated, deaminized, caramelized and rendered inorganic and become toxic and pathogenic in the body.’

The indigestible end products of cooked foods can linger in the gut, clogging the intestines and interfering with healthy elimination. They can cause a build-up of toxins, mutagens and carcinogens. Carbohydrates ferment, proteins putrefy and fats become rancid, creating free radicals that enter the blood stream.

Lipufuscin, the ‘aging pigment’, is an example of a waste product created from damaged proteins and fats. It accumulates in the skin and nervous system and is visible as brown ‘liver spots’ on the skin and eyes.

Toxic by-products and excess free radicals from cooked foods can weaken the immune system and accelerate the aging process.

Enzymes

Cooking destroys enzymes in our food. These delicate, heat sensitive proteins can destabilise at temperatures as low as 115 degrees Fahrenheit, hence even light steaming can render them inactive.

Enzymes, so abundant in a raw food diet, are highly functional catalysts involved in various health-regulating tasks in the body, such as breaking down food in digestion, delivering nutrients, carrying away toxic wastes and strengthening the endocrine and immune system. All living cells contain enzymes which function in cooperation with other minerals. As there is not an unlimited supply of enzymes, eating them in our food lifts the burden off organs to produce digestive enzymes which allows a greater use of enzymes for other metabolic purposes, freeing up more energy for the performance of other tasks.

Nutrients

In cooking food we can loose up to 97% of water-soluble vitamins (B and C) and 40% of fat-soluble vitamins (namely A, D, E and K).

Proteins

Heat denatures proteins, modifying their molecular structure and rendering them unusable. The bacteria in the gut feeds upon undigested proteins that tend to putrefy, giving rise to toxins. Raw foods provide healthy, readily available protein in greater supply without unwanted residue.

Fats

As oils are heat, light and air sensitive, heating can destroy the goodness of the and can alter molecules generating toxins and free radicals. Unrefined oils that are cold-pressed contain all their natural healthful substances (olive oil for example is rich in phytonutrients, flaxseed oil a great source of omega-3 fatty acids and so on). They should be kept refrigerated in dark sealed containers.

Fibre

Fibre is essential for health and helps to flush out the intestines, scrubbing them clean and aiding elimination. With cooked food fibre becomes a soft substance, loosing its brush-like quality. It can partially rot, ferment and putrefy in the gut, causing toxins, gas and heartburn.

Super Raw

Eating superfoods enhances a raw food diet even further. Superfoods are the most potent, antioxidant rich, nutrient dense, disease fighting, anti aging, beautifying, mood enhancing, immune boosting foods on the planet. Raw superfoods ensure an optimum intake of nutrients and phytochemicals for ultimate health, beauty and longevity.

Raw Food Diets For Dogs and Cats

A raw food diet for dogs and cats is natural and species-appropriate. Not only does it provide a rich supply of nutrients, antioxidants and enzymes, but ensures a move a way from low grade, inappropriate, highly processed and toxic ingredients found in commercial pet foods that can damage your pets health. If embarking on a homemade raw food diet for your pet (sometimes referred to as BARF - Biologically Appropriate Raw Food), thoroughly research the area first as nutritional balance is essential.