Does
Citrus Oil for Acid Reflux Indeed Work? Learn More
Here.
Acid
reflux or more explicitly, gastroesophageal reflux
disease (GERD) involves leakage of the acidic
stomach contents into the esophagus (the food tube
that carries food and beverages from the mouth to
the stomach). This happens due to a faulty lower
esophageal sphincter muscles. Because of this
there is irritation in the inner lining of the
esophagus, giving rise to a burning sensation
behind the breast bone, which is generally termed
as heartburn.
The
usual cure for this condition comprises various
acid blockers as well as acid inhibitors that stop
the formation of these acids within the stomach.
However, these short-term cures with long-term
side effects create more problems than providing
actual solutions. Preventive measures include
keeping away from citric juices such as orange and
lemon that are likely to aggravate acid
reflux.
Citrus
Oil for Acid Reflux - What is the
Connection?
However,
recent studies have revealed that though citrus
juice has an adverse effect on GERD, the citrus
oil that is extracted from the fruits provides a
healing effect. For instance, d-limonene, a citrus
oil extract from the orange peel has been found to
have long-term beneficial effects on GERD and
associated ailments. Incidentally, researchers
have also agreed that intake of a 1000-mg capsule
of purified d-limonene every alternate day for a
period not exceeding 20 days has reduced or
eliminated GERD symptoms including heartburn in
several patients.
Although
the curative effects of the d-limonene have not
been clearly established till date, it is
presumably thought that since d-limonene is
lighter than water, it will tend to float to the
surface of gastric juices in stomach and thus
provide a barrier against the esophageal lining.
And this is what prevents the irritation and the
resultant heartburn.
A
Houston-area scientist who developed this natural
approach to heartburn believes that the minor
burping that occurs with d-limonene causes this
orange peel extract to be directly carried into
the esophagus. By coating the esophagus,
d-limonene may protect the esophagus against
caustic contents that would have otherwise been
regurgitated from the stomach. D-limonene may
promote quicker movement of food and gastric
juices out of the stomach so that these esophageal
irritants do not promote as much
reflux.
Instead
of going for the expensive d-limonene capsule, one
could also have the same benefits by taking half
an orange with a glass of water very morning and
chew the peel to get at the citrus oil. But
whatever option is selected, one thing is almost
certain, and this is what citrus oil for acid
reflux indeed works.
Citrus
oil for acid reflux may work, but the remedy would
not be permanent. For a permanent solution, turn
to holistic remedies that treat the body as a
whole. GERD causes are many and complicated. So
what is needed is a complete treatment, which is
what holistic treatments do - and this is why they
are so successful.
