FarmaCOPEia: Alternative milks for acid reflux relief

Image via Myriams-Fotos of Pixabay

Almond milk. Coconut milk. Rice milk. Cashew milk. All of these can give you relief from acid reflux. 

Historically, acid reflux has been a nemesis since I was in my late 20s. It was infrequent but a time passed it became more regular until I ended up needed prescription meds for it because I didn’t know another way to combat it.

In my 30s, I used papaya extract tablets, which helped some but not enough, so I went back to the prescription meds, and maintained the same med when it moved to an over-the-counter product.

Later, I bought whatever was on sale, usually generic stuff, and took at least one tablet each evening.  A few days ago, I ran low, then ran out completely when winter weather arrived. This is the sort of thing that can happen when you forget to check the Google Keep shopping list on your smartphone while weather-prep shopping.

By the second night of fluffy fallout, the med bottle was empty. 

​Fridge raid

As evening settled in, I was developing a little discomfort that I knew would continue to get worse as the night wore on, so I went rummaging through the fridge to see what I could find to help with the trouble. It was getting dark and I wasn’t hip to the idea of trekking two-plus miles into Poseyville in my winter hiking boots (which are pretty uncomfortable) to get some reflux meds.

Thankfully, I found a couple options I hoped would work, and as it turned out, the first one worked great. It was a jar of coconut milk (originally canned) that I’d left chilling in the fridge. It’s a frequent ingredient in my ride dishes, vegan nice-cream shakes, soups and sauces. It doesn’t take much to produce awesome flavor and it’s on the list of organic remedies to help heal a grouchy gallbladder.

It worked fast, and didn’t take much to stop the acid reflux either. Two teaspoons did the trick.

Two nights later, and still snowed in, I was out of coconut milk, so I poured a bit of almond milk and tah-daahh! It worked too, and just as fast.

Research

​I did some hunting and found that many alternative medicine enthusiasts have documented similar results and highly recommend milks made from tree nuts to combat acid reflux. Of course, there are other things to go along with it that most folks (I would imagine anyone who’s had it for any length of time) are likely to know already but here’s a small list of helps.

❣ Avoiding food or acidic drinks near bedtime
❣ Sleeping with the head of the bed higher than the foot of the bed
❣ Overstuffing with food
❣ Avoiding bending at the waist for at least half an hour after eating, at least when possible. 

​Beyond these, if in need of additional help, consider incorporating some alternative milk into your diet. It’s affordable, and also very easy to make on your own. All you need is a little blender, nothing fancy for small amounts. You don’t even have to soak the nuts first, although it’s recommended with cashews to help get rid of some of the urushiol oil, which can make them more difficult to digest and possibly more apt to cause an allergic reaction to folks who are sensitive to it. Best to soak them overnight, pour off the water and rinse them again in warm water before blending them into a butter for milk.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation nor turning shadow. 
​James 1:17 World Messianic Bible

Questions or suggestions? Pass them along in the comments. Helpful info and questions are always welcome!

Until next time,

​Shalom

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