What Causes Acidity?

Do you experience a burning sensation in your throat and stomach after consuming certain foods? Do you feel nauseous, bloated and full often? You may be suffering from acidity. Acidity or acid reflux is a common medical condition that happens due to excess acid production in the stomach. The condition causes gastric acids to move back into the oesophagus causing a range of uncomfortable symptoms, such as heartburn, indigestion, flatulence, frequent burps, nausea and vomiting. Some people also experience a sour taste in the mouth, heaviness post meals and pain in the stomach. If left untreated, acidity can worsen over time leading to severe complications. If you often suffer from acidity and wonder what causes the condition, read on to understand its causes and what actions you can take to prevent this.

Causes

Acidity mostly happens due to certain foods and unhealthy lifestyle habits. This includes:

1. Consuming oily, spicy and junk foods

2. Poor eating habits, such as overeating, skipping meals, eating at odd hours, consuming table salt excessively, not including fibrous foods in your diet, etc.

3. Lying down immediately after eating

4. Consuming non-vegetarian food

5. Excessive consumption of certain beverages, such as tea, coffee, soft drinks and carbonated beverages

6. Drinking alcohol frequently

7. Smoking

8. Taking excessive stress

9. Not getting adequate sleep at night

10. Lack of exercise and other physical activities

Ways to Prevent Acid Reflux

You may be able to prevent or reduce acidity symptoms with certain lifestyle modifications. This includes:

1. Avoid lying down for three hours after a meal.

2. Eat smaller & frequent meals throughout the day rather than larger meals.

3. Eat early dinner as eating close to bedtime may worsen your symptoms.

4. Wear loose-fitting clothing to avoid pressure on your abdomen.

5. Lose excess weight.

6. Quit smoking.

7. Raise the head of your bed six to eight inches by placing wooden blocks under your bedposts or with bed risers. Elevating you head can reduce your symptoms.