Health Care Advice

What is Acid Reflux?

Acid reflux, also known as gastroesophageal reflux disease. Acid
reflux is a digestive disorder in which the liquid contents of
the stomach are regurgitated into the esophagus. This liquid,
since it has come from the stomach, contains acids that are used
in digestion, even bile. When this liquid is sent back up to the
esophagus, these acids injure, inflame, and damage that organ.

Also known as heartburn, acid reflux is a chronic condition. Once
it has begun, it will usually last for an entire person’s life.
Most people who are afflicted with serious heartburn symptoms
will need to seek treatment for their esophagus. However, future
acid reflux attacks will continue to damage the organ, thereby
precipitating the need for further treatment.

Treatment for acid reflux is usually conducted on an ongoing
basis.

Despite its misleading name, heartburn is not a cardiovascular
condition - it’s a digestive disorder. Therefore, it stands to
sense that what you eat has a significant effect on the onset and
seriousness of heartburn symptoms. The cardinal rule in
preventing heartburn, then, is to watch what you eat.

Watch What You Eat

Certain foods are prone to trigger an attack, while others will
carry less risk. In your quest to prevent acid reflux and
alleviate its symptoms, you must understand the effects that
different foods have on your condition.

Safe Foods

Foods that have very little potential in terms of causing
heartburn. These food items include fruits like apples and
bananas, vegetables like cabbage, carrots, and peas, meat like
lean ground beef, chicken breast, egg whites, dairy products such
as cheese (provided that they are fat-free), and grains such as
oatmeal and bran. Generally, all foods that are high in fat and
acidic content should be avoided. Whenever in doubt, stick to the
low-fat varieties of food.

Moderate Foods

These foods may or may not cause acid reflux. However, it is
better to consume these items in moderation - it really is a
small sacrifice to make, if it can prevent an attack from
occurring. Eat these foods occasionally; never often. Moderate
foods include fruits like peaches, blueberries, strawberries, and
raspberries.

Meanwhile, vegetables like onions (cooked), garlic, scallions,
sauerkraut, and leeks. Fried eggs, fried fish, hot dogs, and ham
have the potential to cause acid reflux, but not excessively so.
Dairy products like milk, yogurt, and cheese varieties such as
cheddar and mozzarella should also be enjoyed in moderation.

Unsafe Foods

These foods, when eaten, carry with them an increased risk of an acid reflux attack. As such, these food items should be eaten
sparingly. These include fruits such as lemons, oranges, and
grapefruits, which are fruits that are high in acidic content.

Vegetables like onions (raw) are traditional culprits. Portions
of meat that have high-fat content should also be avoided. So
should ice cream, chocolates, brownies, doughnuts, potato chips,
and high-fat salad dressings. Beverages like wine, coffee, and
tea should be taken sparingly, if at all. You can see that
there’s practical value in learning more about acid reflux.

For more information about acid reflux, visit my website and
read 58 fresh Article”s on Acid Reflux

Ron Keegan is a successful Webmaster and publisher of
ArticleBankOnline.com a Health Directory with up to date
information on health issues. http://www.ArticleBankOnline.com

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It’s no secret that our generation has become a fast food society. If we don’t feel like cooking or have a long day at work, we order pizza or some other take out meal. Lunch hours don’t give us much time for nourishment. The choices are minimal when we have to choose a meal from a vending machine. We usually have options that are far from appetizing. Such options usually include lunchmeat sandwiched between two slices of bread that is similar to cardboard or microwavable noodles that are more rubbery than a bouncy ball. If you choose to forego the vending machine then you probably end up dashing over to the closest fast food restaurant where you quickly inhale the usual burger and fries. Your taste buds may be content momentarily but your digestive system probably isn’t too happy. There’s nothing wrong with fast food once in awhile but unfortunately for some people it becomes a way of life.

We are seeing more obesity in children at younger ages. The rise in childhood obesity has been steadily climbing in recent years. Children eat more fast food meals as well as junk food for snacks. It seems as if children don’t get much exercise these days either. They spend hours in front of the television playing video games, talking on the phone or spending time on the computer. They don’t spend nearly as much time outside running and playing physical games or sports as children did in the past. This makes healthy eating that much more important. Lack of exercise and fast food feeding are definitely not a healthy combination.

You can break the fast food habit without eliminating fast food from your family’s diet entirely. Limit fast food. If you don’t have time to cook dinner every night, cook when you have time and freeze meals for use when you can’t be home or are too busy to prepare a meal. When shopping for groceries buy more fresh fruit and healthy snacks. Limit the amount of potato chips and cookies you purchase. Most adults as well as children love snacks such as chips but we also tend to gorge ourselves on these items.

We can set good eating habits for our children by practicing proper nutrition ourselves. Parents can become so concerned with making sure their children are eating enough that nutrient rich food may get overshadowed by empty calories. Such an oversight is not intentional but more likely the result of hectic lifestyles, demanding work schedules and society in general. In order to live up to today’s standards both financially and societal, many people have become workaholics out of necessity. In a majority of families both parents work full-time jobs and juggle a variety of household chores. Conveniences that are time saving and make life easier are welcomed.

Television bombards us with dozens of fast food and junk food commercials every day that make it difficult to resist succumbing to the ease of a fast food restaurant or pizza delivery. As mentioned previously, fast food is fine as long as it doesn’t become the main staple of nutrition. Children need more than burgers, fries and pizza and snacks don’t always have to mean cookies and chips. Make your child’s meal a well-rounded eating experience. Try to gradually introduce your child to new foods by using different recipes and buying food items you usually don’t purchase. Many children are not eager to try new foods and will insist that they don’t like certain foods although they’ve never tried them. Be creative; create your own recipes. Your kids will be amazed at what you can come up with and so will you. The kids may have some ideas of their own too. Eat healthy and have some fun doing it.

When you’re ready to get out of the kitchen, spend some time outdoors and take the kids with you. There are plenty of outdoor activities for every season of the year. They might actually enjoying spending some time away from the television and video games.

This article was written by Jacob Mabille, sponsored by Health Guidance.

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Foods Containing Omega 3

Eating more foods rich in omega 3 is important for the majority of Westeners. Natural health experts believe that the high rates of many diseases today suffered by people in the United States is because their ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 fatty acids is severely out of balance.

They postulate that an optimal ratio should be abou 1:1 but that many of us are actually consuming a ratio of 20:1 (20 parts Omega 6, to 1 part Omega 3). This is spelling out nothing short of a health disaster in the making, they argue….leading to degenerative diseases, including heart disease.

Foods containing omega 3 fatty acids were once prevalent for our ancestors. This is for several reasons, but the two biggest are:

• meats our ancestors ate were grassfed, free range, which led to a natural high omega 3 fatty acid content. Meats we eat are mass produced and grain fed, which leads to low omega 3 content.
  
• Fish that comes from the Ocean is almost always polluted with toxins in the flesh. Farm raised fish have low or no omega 3 content because they do not eat their natural diet, but are fed pellets

In short, foods sources of omega 3 are much more rare nowadays.

Fish is still the best source, but because of pollution, the best way to get omega 3 fatty acids from fish is to take a fish oil supplement that’s been purified. This gives you the pure omega 3 fatty acids without the toxins.

Other foods containing omega 3 fatty acids inclue:

• flaxseeds
• squash
• collard greens
• nuts — especially almonds and walnuts
• broccoli and cauliflower
• spinach
• seafoods and fish — especially scallops, tuna, halibut, shrimp….but because of heavy metals and pollutants, opt to take a fish oil supplement instead.

One last point: often, plant sources of omega 3 fatty acids come in the form of ALA. Omega 3 fatty acids in good fish souces come in DHA and EPA form.

Plant sources are looked at unfavorably compared to fish for the simple reason that ALA needs to be converted by our bodies into DHA and EPA.

This conversion doesn’t always happen smoothly for some people, especially those in less than optimal health.

This has led to many natural health experts to advocate purified fish oils first and foremost as the best source of all foods containing omega 3.

The key is to look to purchase only molecularly distilled, pharmaceutical grade fish oil. Molecular distillation is the process by which fish oil is purifed and all toxins are removed.

Now that you know good Food Sources of Omega 3, why not read up about the highest quality fish oil supplement that we’ve found after extensive research (and the one we take ourselves). Visit: http://www.omega-3-fish-oil-guide.com/Fish_Oil_Products.html

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