Natural Cures for Acidity

THE ACIDITY EPIDEMIC 

If I had a rupee note for every time I heard ‘acidity ho gayi hai,’ I’d be rich and swimming in the Pacific Islands and not writing a blog on the subject on a Sunday morning. 

I’ve heard it, you’ve heard it, shoot you have probably felt it! Acidity seems to be at epidemic proportions in India. This blog is to demystify acidity and discuss some of the ways to prevent it and cure it, by addressing our overall digestive health and the roles that gut-friendly foods and fermented foods play.

The perspective I bring is through my academic background in ancestral nutrition.  That education cemented what many of us intuitively suspect – that if we ate like our ancestors (eliminate processed foods & industrial oils and lower sugar and fried) we would be incredibly healthy.  

WHAT CAUSES ACIDITY:

Acidity is the unfortunate experience of stomach acid rising up into our oesophagus. This occurs when the lower oesophagus sphincter remains slightly open, allowing stomach acid to enter. 

Specific foods like garlic and onions relax the sphincter and play a part, but the real culprit is greasy, fatty, fried and masala-heavy foods. Greasy foods don’t process through the stomach efficiently, so there is the double-edge whammy of those foods both relaxing the lower oesophagus sphincter to allow acid up AND remaining in the stomach for a long time to continue churning that acid for hours.

TOP CULPRITS:

• Fried food (especially when fried in low quality industrial seed oils)
• Masala heavy foods
• Greasy food
• Foods loaded with onion & garlic AND oil & masala (no wonder it’s an Indian epidemic!)

CURING ACIDITY NATURALLY:

The most obvious place to start is to reduce the consumption of those top culprits. The longer road ahead is to heal digestive disorders and set your body up for efficient digestion. Healthy digestion is fed by fiber – incorporate clean, fiber-rich fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Most importantly, you have to build up your microbiome – the complex range of beneficial gut bacteria that do all of the hard work of digesting our foods. 

Our modern lives of using surface spray, sanitisers and eating sterile, packaged foods have led to an overall decrease in the diversity of our microbiome. Eating traditionally fermented foods is the best way to increase the diversity of your gut flora, and thus increase your digestive efficiency, and support digestive health. 

Gut health is not an overnight path – it can take months of consistently consuming beneficial bacteria in order for your digestive system to heal. 

GUT-FRIENDLY FOODS:

• Rise Up Kombucha (traditionally fermented, raw, unfiltered – unlike other brands!)
• Homemade yogurt
• Sauerkraut & kimchi
• Idli & dosa

DO ACIDIC FOODS CONTRIBUTE TO ACIDITY?

In the moment of experiencing acidity, you should avoid acidic food and drink, including kombucha. While you are actively experiencing acidity, you should consume water only. Outside of the time you are experiencing it actively, it is absolutely fine and safe to consume acidic food and drink. In fact, most foods that seem acidic (citrus, kombucha, vinegar) are actually alkalising in the body. Natural kombucha and traditionally fermented vinegars will contribute beneficial bacteria to the body and work to heal your digestive system overall, thus reducing the frequency and intensity of acidity. 

I often hear from customers that suffer from consistent acidity that their doctors have told them to avoid fermented foods. This could not be more flawed information. Those folks must avoid greasy, oily, masala rich foods and slowly incorporate more and more fermented foods into their diet to establish a thriving microbiome and heal themselves from the inside out. 

Now, you don’t have to take my word for it. Take Luke Coutinho’s! He’s build his reputation on trustworthy health advice and his research confirms my own, so check out his article on how fermented foods improve your digestive health. 

Let’s sum it up. 

HOW TO NATURALLY CURE ACIDITY:

• Be very choosy with what masala-rich, onion & garlic laden, oily dishes you want to eat. Know that they DO result in acidity, so choose it when it is really worth it
• Increase fruits and vegetables and whole grains
• Choose oils wisely and cook with traditional fats (and use LESS when cooking)
• During an acidity attack, drink water only and avoid anything acidic.
• Restore your gut microbiome by consistently eating healthy, fermented foods that are full of raw, living bacteria

RISE UP KOMBUCHA & ACIDITY:

Rise Up is unwaveringly traditionally fermented – meaning there is no processing or pasteurisation and that our brewing process ensures the maximum amount of raw, living bacteria present. Adding a bottle of Rise Up Kombucha to your day will dramatically increase the health and diversity of your microbiome, and over time and consumption ensure that your digestion is efficient, ease and effective. 

In the realm of the microbiome, diversity is queen. In combination with other fermented foods, consistently drinking Rise Up Kombucha will make your gut iron-glad, ready to take on the world with an army of billions of tiny bacteria keeping the whole system running efficiently.

Remember that not all fermented foods are created equal – whether it is kombucha or kimchi, ensure that the brand you are buying is practising traditional techniques and never pasteurising. Do your research to be confident that that product is truly raw and probiotic. 

Luckily, Rise Up is always a safe bet. Order online for same day delivery in Mumbai and standard delivery in Pune. Drink up and Rise Up y’all, don’t waste any more time with ‘arreeeey yaaaar acidity ho gayi hai!’