Do Probiotics help heartburn?

Do Probiotics help heartburn?

Probiotic use can be beneficial for GERD symptoms, like heartburn and even regurgitation. However, proper placebo-controlled, randomized, and double-blinded clinical trials with a mass of participants are warranted to confirm this to prove that probiotics can help heartburn.

In this article, we’ll be taking a closer look at probiotics to see how effective they are at treating heartburn and what else you can do to reduce the symptoms of the condition when it occurs.

Can probiotics increase stomach acid?

Potentially, taking probiotics can help to reduce the amount of harmful or “bad” bacteria in your gut. However, this may also increase your levels of stomach acid in the process.

This could, in some cases, put you more at risk of heartburn/GERD symptoms. Heartburn is essentially stomach acids that are backed up to your esophagus. This can cause a discomfort in the chest and throat, mainly behind the breastbone.

However, there are studies out there which show 79% of subjects experience less symptoms of GERD / Heartburn when using probiotics. The probiotics can help reduce the overall symptoms of:

• Regurgitation
• Heartburn
• Dyspepsia
• Nausea
• Abdominal Pain
• Gastrointestinal Distress
• Belching

All by creating a better balance of bacteria in your stomach. A lot more research is needed to be done at the moment. Mainly due to the fact that your stomach acid levels can increase with some use of probiotics, and in other cases it can remove the symptoms of GERD.

There are many reasons for this, mainly because probiotic supplements can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. There’s also an issue with them not being regulated by the FDA to ensure that they all do the same thing.

However, on the whole, an effective probiotic can help to aid your overall digestion which can help reduce the symptoms of heartburn, as well as give your body “good” or healthy bacteria which can allow it to perform better for overall better gut health.

If you haven’t tried probiotics for GERD yet, speak to your doctor to get their advice on the matter, and see if this is an option that could work for you.

How do I get rid of heartburn ASAP with probiotics?

Probiotics aren’t an immediate fix for heartburn. They are something that you will need to have on a regular basis to get a better balance of your gut bacteria.

There are numerous lifestyle changes that you can make though along with taking a probiotic to help reduce your overall issues with heartburn / acid reflux / GERD, here are a few:

• Lose weight
• Avoid food and beverages which may trigger you
• Quit smoking
• Reduce alcohol consumption
• Don’t eat before bed, at least two hours before or more
• Keep your head elevated when you sleep
• Wear looser clothing

In terms of food, you should be looking to avoid highly acidic food to avoid triggering your heartburn further. Spicy food, foods that are high in fat and fruits are all triggers. Also be on the look out for drinks that could trigger it too – coffee and tea are often overlooked when it comes to acid reflux – but they can be very acidic.

Can I drink a probiotic for heartburn?

You can drink a probiotic for heartburn, but it’s likely to have the same effect as supplementing a probiotic.

The method of delivery is different, but the destination is the same, this is still a relatively lengthy process of steadily increasing your levels of “good” bacteria to make your digestive system more effective and balanced.

In short, you could drink a probiotic drink for heartburn, but it’s likely that it will have just as much impact as taking a normal probiotic supplement (depending on the quality) not faster or slower.

Probiotics and Heartburn: Do they help?

Probiotics appear to help heartburn, but much more research is needed. What makes it difficult to judge is that studies are using different probiotic products every time – just like how it is on the market.

Depending on what you get reflects on how well it may work for you. For example some strains struggle to get delivered to your gut and may be dead on arrival, and others may be more effective.

For the best results, we always believe a prebiotic is the way to go. It feeds the good bacteria in your gut and being a fiber complex not a probiotic strain there’s nothing to kill on the way there.