6 Home Remedies for Acid Reflux That Relieve Heartburn Fast

You already know that aloe can help soothe a sunburn, but some people with acid reflux and GERD swear that the plant can soothe heartburn symptoms, too. “A number of patients have told me aloe vera juice helps them,” Dr. Ghassemi says. “Aloe has lots of healing properties, and patients say drinking it relieves heartburn.” Dr. Greenwald says he’s heard the same from his patients, too. “Aloe vera is thought to be protective of the GI tract, and people say it helps them,” he says. Both doctors say the evidence in support of drinking aloe vera is far from conclusive. But one recent study found drinking about an ounce of aloe vera syrup could safely relieve reflux symptoms. Nature’s Way makes one well-reviewed ingestible aloe vera product ($11 per liter, amazon.com).

"For years, reflux patients were cautioned to avoid acidic or acid-promoting foods. Greasy or fatty foods are some examples,” Dr. Greenwald says. Tomato-based foods, spicy foods, caffeinated or carbonated beverages, chocolate, and fast foods are also foods patients are often told to avoid, Dr. Ghassemi says. But we now know this precaution may not be necessary. "A lot of people will not have any symptoms related to those foods. Different individuals have different food triggers, and if you’re cutting out all those foods, that’s a really restrictive diet that may not be needed to control your reflux,” Dr. Ghassemi says.

A better (and easier) option: Start writing down or taking photos of the foods or drinks that seem to instigate your reflux symptoms. In some cases, you may be able to cut a few prime offenders without making large dietary sacrifices, he says. 

What you eat is just as important as how much you eat. Overeating can cause or worsen reflux symptoms, Dr. Ghassemi says. But eating smaller, more frequent meals can help, he says. To ensure your mini-meals don't result in weight gain—something that can make acid reflux worse—be careful to pay attention to total calorie intake and food quality. In other words, just because you're eating snack-sized meals doesn't mean they should be comprised of packaged, high-calorie snack foods like chips and cookies.

You want everything in your stomach flowing down, not up. And when you’re upright or on your feet, gravity helps encourage that downward flow, Dr. Ghassemi says. But when you lie down, gravity is no longer an ally in that push to empty your stomach of its contents. To make sure your dinner stay down, Dr. Ghassemi recommends enjoying your last meal or snack of the day at least two hours before lying down. This maximizes the effect of gravity on stomach emptying, he explains.

If you tend to suffer from reflux at night, he also recommends placing some thin, firm cushions under the head of your mattress to tilt your whole bed at a slight downward angle. “Elevating the head of the bed can alleviate nighttime symptoms,” he says. Just be sure you’re not only elevating the top half of your body. If your top half is bent forward while your lower body is flat, that can compress your abdomen and worsen symptoms, he says. (Read about the six other things you should never do before bed.)

A small Chinese study compared six weeks of acupuncture to prescription reflux drugs. The surprising result: both worked equally well. Even four weeks after the study ended, the reflux patients who had received acupuncture were still enjoying a drop in symptoms. The people in the study received acupuncture two to three times a week for six weeks. There isn't too much additional research to back up the idea of treating reflux with acupuncture, but there’s also very little evidence that acupuncture is risky. So, cost aside, there’s not a big downside to trying it. (Sessions cost anywhere from $40 to $350, depending on where you live, where you seek treatment and the experience level of your care provider.)

Like aloe vera, apple cider vinegar (ACV) seems to provide some reflux patients with relief, Dr. Ghassemi says. “It’s a very acidic liquid, and I can’t explain why it helps them, but some do tell me it helps,” he says. But unlike aloe vera, there is almost no research backing up the idea that ACV can combat reflux. A graduate student at Arizona State University compared ACV to an antacid or a placebo and found no difference among the three—although all three did help relieve heartburn. While ACV may turn out to be bogus as a reflux remedy, it may be worth a shot. (Just ask your doctor before giving it a try.) To help the ACV go down a bit easier, dilute 1 to 2 tablespoons with 8 ounces of water.