How I got rid of my Acid Reflux Naturally

Looking to get rid of acid reflux for good? Tired of taking harsh prescriptions to find relief? Here’s what I did to get rid of my acid reflux for good.

Related Article: Get Rid Of Acid Reflux In 4 Weeks

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Discloser: I am not a trained health professional. All articles are based on my own experience and opinions. Please consult with a health professional before making lifestyle changes.

Where it all started 

My childhood

I remember being as young as the age of 6 and complaining that “I kept throwing up a little bit in my mouth”. My mom brushed it off, thinking I was being dramatic as always, but that pain was real – and continued to cause damage to my stomach and esophagus as I grew older. 

I started having really bad health problems around the age of 12, food sensitivities, migraines, the works. Finally around age 15 we decided to see a GI specialist who did an Endoscopy (sticking a camera down your throat) and found that my entire stomach lining and esophagus was inflamed and scarred.

I was still out of it when he came into my room, but from my understanding, he asked about my stress level and prescribed an acid blocker. I didn’t give it much thought and I started taking a prescription version of Zantac daily. No talk about fixing the stress issues or the underlying cause, just a pill for the pain.

The next week I felt great but was STARVING, it’s a miracle what reduced inflammation can do to you! I continued to take these medications every day for almost 4 years. If I missed a dose I would feel literally like death. My throat would be on fire and I would get sick if I tried to eat anything. After yearly follow up visits with GIs they kept upping my dose and changing prescriptions “because my body got used to it”.

Years after starting medication

But it baffled my mind that my body could not fight this on its own. Acid blockers AT MOST should only be used for 2 weeks – it says that right on the bottle, yet I had been taking them for years! And I was just a teenager!! In my mind, I thought these were supposed to heal my body so I didn’t have acid reflux anymore, but it was simply masking my pain. 

I was sick and tired of them and wanted another option. I went in for a second Endoscopy at age 19 with a new GI and my tests came back completely normal!!! If it was completely normal why did I feel like I was breathing fire if I missed a dose?! 

Decision To Change

So I decided to turn to natural remedies to get rid of acid reflux for good. I hated being dependent on prescriptions that seemed to be doing more harm to my daily life than good.

Today I can honestly tell you that I do not take prescriptions daily, and I only take an acid blocker every once in a while if it gets bad (like any other American). Here’s a list of the things I tried, what seemed to work, and what didn’t. If you’ve tried (failed or succeeded) drop your tips in the comments to help others! 

My Guide To Get Rid Of Acid Reflux (for good)

Discloser: I am not a trained health professional. All articles are based on my own experience and opinions. Please consult with a health professional before making lifestyle changes.

I created a 4-week guide just for you using all of these tools in an easy to follow week-by-week guide here: Get Rid Of Acid Reflux In 4 Weeks

I didn’t go cold turkey at first 

The day I decided I was through I didn’t just stop taking my meds. I wanted to slowly take the dose down. So I started by taking just half a dose. I would do that for a few days and if it was unbearable I would take the full dose.

After a week or so I was good on half a dose so I started doing some of the things below to transition. Then after a week or two with multiple remedies I cut out the prescription all together.

Don’t go cold turkey! You’ll shock your system and potentially cause more damage than good! 

Avoid high acidic/fatty foods

While you’re working to get rid of acid reflux you’ll want to be kind to your digestive system. Obviously, during this transition, you shouldn’t eat salsa or anything that would normally give you (or any American) heartburn.

Avoid those foods and stick to a warm, simple diet – like soup. I ate a lot of cooked chicken and broth-based soups during the transition (skip tomatoes as much as possible).

I also recommend staying about from raw veggies (like lettuce – that was a huge one for me) because they can actually be pretty rough on your stomach lining. Lay off for a few weeks and if a specific type of food triggers some pain, avoid it.

You should be able to eat regularly in a few weeks, so just avoid them for a moment. Know your body, listen to your body, and do what’s best for it. This is a time to be really kind to your body and know that you are healing, it won’t be like this forever.

Apple Cider Vinegar Shots 

You may have heard how amazing apple cider vinegar is. If not, it’s honestly incredible. I started drinking 8oz of WARM water with a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar and some honey every morning and night or as needed.

My GI recommended warm water because it’s more soothing than cold water. You can drink it as a tea or just get it over with as quickly as possible if you’re like me. It does not taste amazing. I’ll tell you that. But give it at least 5 tries before you give up. It gets to be bearable I promise.

The honey really helps with the taste, but it takes a few minutes to dissolve in the water. I found this was very soothing but only for an hour or so.

Sometimes I would add a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to a water bottle and sip it whenever I could feel the heat rising. I drank it in the morning and night for a few months but carried a bottle with me while transitioning of my acid blockers.

It’s not pleasant, but it works. Apple cider vinegar is an anti-inflammatory so it will help soothe your stomach and esophagus lining leading to relief. The honey is also helpful for getting it to stick to your esophagus and stomach lining longer – promoting healing.

Here’s the apple cider vinegar I used.

If you’re not into drinking apple cider vinegar you can take it in a capsule. I’ve seen the gummies starting to pop up but most of them have SO much sugar and very little apple cider vinegar, so I don’t recommend taking those.

If you do want to take a capsule here are the ones I recommend. I keep them on hand for when I’m feeling some inflammation or have occasional acid reflux due to stress or diet. They smell strongly of apple cider vinegar but I haven’t experienced much of a taste when I take them. They seem to help just as much as the liquid apple cider vinegar.

Slippery Elm 

This one was WAY weird, but the supplement that I alway recommend to people with Acid Reflux. I have no idea why it works – but it totally does.

It’s basically a natural acid blocker so I used it in transition to help me survive, plus I’m all about that plant based life!

What I would do is take 1-2 slippery elm capsules when I started feeling my acid reflux coming. It was an on-demand type of thing. I used this during my last week on my prescription, and then solely this and Apple cider vinegar for about two weeks. Then I would just use this when needed beyond that. 

I just kept some in my bag for easy access. The best part is this supplement isn’t very expensive. Here’s the one I used, and it’s under $10!

Today I deal with occasional acid reflux if I eat something spicy or am really stressed (stress is a huge trigger for my acid reflux). So I take a few of these before turning to any acid blockers. Since everything came out with Zantac I’ve ONLY been taking these. Every time they’ve taken care of it quickly and I didn’t need to take more than one to find long-term relief. I’ll be fine until the next time I get stressed or eat something spicy.

Probiotics

Another thing that really helped me was getting started on a good probiotic routine. This helped me get rid of acid reflux for good. I used the apple cider vinegar and slippery elm to kick my prescription and get my body healing, but I believe it was adding probiotics a few months later that kept it from coming back.

Here’s my favorite probiotic I recommend. (Ortho Molecular Biotic Probiotic)

Cure Your Acid Reflux!

What I found was those 4 weeks of transition SUCKED, but every day was a little more manageable, and before I knew it – I didn’t wake up with acid reflux, foods didn’t give me heartburn, and all my other acid reflux symptoms were gone! 

It takes dedication to do this, but if you’re sick of prescriptions and want a life free of acid reflux, I recommend giving it a try. Your body will heal itself, but you HAVE to get off those prescriptions. What I found is these remedies helped me manage the pain during the transition, but my body in the end did heal itself. 

Ready to give it four weeks and see what happens? Follow this four week guide and get started!

If you have questions feel free to drop them in the comments or shoot me an email at simplynoelblog@gmail.com!

I’d love to chat with you and support you on this journey! 

Common Questions

I get emails all the time from people just like you who are fed up with their acid reflux. So I thought I would cover a few of the most common questions I get asked.

How long will it take me to get rid of my acid reflux?

Honestly, I’m not a medical professional – and everybody is SO different. So I can’t give you an exact answer. I can tell you that for me it took about 4 weeks to comfortably transition off of the medications that I had been using for almost 5 years. Your case may not be as extreme or maybe worse.

I will say that the more focused and committed you are to kicking your acid reflux the better. If you’re willing to change your diet and religiously use apple cider and supplements it will be better.

Can you eat whatever you want now? Or do you stick to a low-acidic diet?

I eat whatever I want! Occasionally I’ll get some heartburn if I eat a lot of sugary food or salsa (like any American) but a quick Slippery Elm takes care of that. However, in the last 12 months, I’ve maybe taken Slippery Elm maybe 4 times.

After kicking my medication and adding probiotics I don’t worry about food hurting my stomach or giving me heartburn or acid reflux. I feel normal! There are so foods I just became accustomed to avoiding that I don’t have a desire to eat (like cow’s milk and fried foods) but I can eat them every once in a while and be fine.

What I’ve found through listening to my body is that it isn’t food that triggers my acid reflux so much as it is stress. Before I transitioned off my medication it was food. But now I can eat a whole jar of salsa and be find – as long as I’m not stressed up or doing a ton of burpees the same day.

What did you eat during your transition?

Honestly, it was pretty bland food. But I was in college so eating plain, cheap, easy meals was fine. I took my own food everywhere I went and stuck with it. If you like variety try to get creative but remember this is a time of healing – it’s not going to be a super fun experience (but you’ll love it after!)

Breakfast: Oatmeal, eggs (plain, no onions, peppers, or cheese), protein shakes, smoothies (with acid reflux happy fruits like berries), yogurt (if you can handle dairy)

Snacks: Bananas, cooked vegetables (no raw veggies)

Lunch/Dinner: Baked chicken with rice (or cauliflower rice), Fish, Potatoes, broth-based soups like a chicken noodle (don’t eat tomatoes), lunch meat and crackers

For more ideas on what to eat during your transition check out my Acid Reflux Meal Plan.

Have another question?

Seriously, email me – I actually respond! And I’m more than happy to share my experience with you. Keep in mind that I am not a medical professional and cannot give you medical advice, but we can talk about all the natural ways I kicked acid reflux for good!

simplynoelblog@gmail.com