Natural Remedies for Acidity

by PR Sarkar

Symptoms

• Physical weakness
• Acidic or watery belching
• Dizziness
• Burning stomach
• Heartburn

Cause

Oxygen inhaled in breathing enters the body and eventually turns into carbon dioxide. This carbon dioxide activates the digestive fluid-secreting glands.

It becomes impossible for the digestive fluid to digest the food properly when:

• food is taken irregularly and excessively day after day
• food is forced down with little or no appetite
• eating rich food becomes a steady habit

The undigested food turns into poisonous gas and the secreted digestive fluid gradually turns into harmful acid.

The acidic digestive fluids under normal conditions are digested with the food. When food is undigested, the acids also remain undigested.

The undigested food and undigested acids create poisonous gas. The putrid acidic gas and fluids cause a burning sensation in the stomach. When they rise up to the chest they cause heartburn. When they reach the throat, burning is felt in the throat; when they rise further they cause dizziness.

Due to this excessive acidity, the blood becomes acid-dominated. Being overworked, the blood-purifying organs of the body also become weak, and the patient feels weak. This over-acidity of the blood also causes swelling and consequent pain in different parts of the body, especially the joints. The name of this condition is “rheumatism”. When a strong and continuous effort is being made by the body’s organs to purify the over-acid blood, this condition is called “colic” or “shooting pain.”

Dos

• coconut food
• green veg soup
• boiled old rice
• sweet/sour fruits
• curd water
• eat less
• walk in open air
• drink lots of water
• drinking of water or orange juice for demon hunger
• change nostril flow during demon hunger
• fasting

Don’ts

• don’t eat breakfast and snacks

Remedies:

1. Eat some shredded dry coconut along with a prepared betel (Piper betle Linn.) leaf, or some flesh of mature coconut along with aniseed.
2. To get immediate relief from a distressing colic pain, equal quantities of chalk and átapa rice powder should be ground together, and 1/2 tola of the mixture should be taken.
3. Take with cold water 1/16 tola of the white portion of the ashes of the tamarind (Tamarindus indica Linn) pod.
4. Take 1/16 tola of the ashes of white ákanda leaf and rock salt after burning them together in equal quantities in an enclosed earthen pot.
5. As with dyspepsia, it is desirable for acidity patients to observe fasting on Ekádashii days and regulation of diet on Púrńimá and Amávasyá.