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Q. I have been suffering from GERD for a number of years now. I took Zantac for it.But two weeks ago I went to a dinner party. When we were all finished with eating, even coffee, the hostess passed around a dish of raw almonds. I asked her what these were for and she said, "to prevent heartburn."
She is a pharmacist, so I asked her how it works. She didn't really know, but said that four or five almonds after a meal would help. I never before heard ANYTHING about almonds helping heartburn, but I thought I'd give it a try.
Almonds after every meal seem to be working for me. I haven't taken Zantac for the past two weeks and I haven't even needed much antacid.
Do you know why this works? Has anyone else tried it? In the meantime, I will continue eating almonds after every meal.
A. This remedy is new to us, but it sounds safe. Another reader says that a bit of apple after a meal can prevent heartburn: "I have had this problem for years and recently stopped taking omeprazole so I could try to deal with this ailment in a better way. I noticed one day that food that usually gave me heartburn hadn't and realized I had eaten an apple that day. Another time after I already had some heartburn, I ate three or four bites of apple and that stopped it."
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Must the almonds be raw? Must nothing more be eaten before going to sleep?
My sense is that different foods might help people differently. I recently discovered that if I avoid wheat bread with peanut butter (aka pb and j sandwiches), or crackers that I avoid a lot of heartburn problems. I've never seen this listed on any website. And I don't seem to get heartburn from the listed foods, for example, tomatoes and sauce never seem to be a problem. I'm still on Protonix, but only at 20mg/day rather than full dose, and I don't have any problems when I forget to take it in the morning (I had Barrett's Esophogus, so my doc was insistent that I stay on it for another year, at least). But I too will try almonds after a meal. Thanks for the tip!
Turmeric also works very well.
I have been taking omeprazole due to acid reflux for 15 years. Before that it was heartburn requiring me to carry rolaids or tums around all the time. I have heard omeprazole causes problems with extended use. My doctor tells me to "just quit taking it". She doesn't realize how much misery I go through after about 24 hours without it. Any suggestions?
Almonds give me heartburn : (
I too found peanut butter and bread before bed contributed to GERD about 3 hours later.
However when I wake up in the middle of the night with GERD, I find eating one cracker slowly without water works just as well or better than any antacid.
I have been drinking aloe vera juice, which was recommended by both of my dentists, and it really works great. I have tried all of the proton pump inhibitors (Nexium, etc.) but had reactions to all of them. I was taking Zantac but after a while it didn't work as well. After doing some research once the dentist recommended it, I found that Aloe vera juice is a commonly recommended natural remedy for acid reflux. It can be found at Whole Foods. I only drink a few ounces in the morning and a few ounces at night. It doesn't work great when I have alcohol though. I have to take the Zantac then.
I have had heartburn all day, pepcid complete did nothing, so I looked up cures on the internet, and almonds was one of them. I ate about 9 or 10 and to my surprise I have heartburn free for a few hours now!
I listened to Peoples Pharmacy on Sat. Feb. 27 on Wisc. Public Radio. A formula for a home remedy for acid reflux was given but it went to fast for me to write down. Formula, if I remember correctly, included apple juice, grape juice, cider vinegar, cinnamon and sugar all boiled and papaya, fresh or dried, soaked in the cooled mixture.
I tried unsuccessfully to listen to the podcast, but no luck. Dates for the show on the website do not correlate with when they are aired on WPR.
Nothing seems to work anymore (Protonix Zantac, et al.) Tried them all.
Anybody have the formula??
Thanks!
Dick
PEOPLE'S PHARMACY RESPONSE: HERE IS THE RECIPE:
2 quarts water
2/3 c fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced
3 cinnamon sticks
Bring this to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer 30 min.
Strain and add 1/2 c honey and 1/2 fresh persimmon , washed and sliced. You can substitute 1/2 c dried persimmon if fresh is not available,.
Refrigerate this tea. It keeps up to a week.
The dose is small, a shotglass (about 2 oz) before each meal.
THE SHOW YOU HEARD MAY HAVE BEEN A FUNDRAISER.
Have a new patient with severe heartburn (I find taking a person off their allergens usually clears it up permanently).
Saw her yesterday and she had a strong aggravation during our visit. I watched her stop it almost immediately with 2 almonds. She says it works every time.
The funny things is, I never really had a heartburn problem. My father has since I can remember. I started eating raw almonds recently and I have been getting heartburn. I actually was looking through google to see if almonds contribute to it, and I found this.