If you suffer from heartburn or acid reflux disease, vinegar may be the answer to your problem. While I’m not a doctor, and you should always first seek the advice of a doctor, I have a story to relate to you that might make you think twice about the treatment your doctor has prescribed or may prescribe in the future. The vinegar trick may or may not work for you, but it worked for me years after I was diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), or acid reflux disease.
My History of Chronic Heartburn
For years before seeing a doctor about it, I suffered from chronic heartburn. It didn’t matter what I ate or drank or when, heartburn would randomly occur out of the blue. It was so bad, I could drink a glass of water and experience heartburn.
In 1996, I gave in and went to a military doctor while I was stationed in Phoenix, Arizona. He diagnosed me with acid reflux disease and prescribed Zantac. He also gave me instructions on how to sleep (with my head elevated) to prevent the bile from coming up while I was sleeping.
While I was taking the Zantac regularly, I experienced very little heartburn. When I ran out of the pills, the heartburn returned in full force. Later on, I received a large supply of Pepsid AC, large enough to last me well beyond the expiration dates on the packages. It also kept the heartburn at bay until I ran out of it.
From that time until sometime in 2005, I ate Tums and a generic Tums-like product like they were candy. The heartburn wouldn’t bother me unless I ran out.
The Vinegar Trick
In 2005, a close friend of mine suggested that when the heartburn came on, that I take a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. He had been told that I needed more acid my stomach, not less. I found the source of his information months later, but that’s not important.
Later that same day, the familiar burning sensation returned. I thought about what he had said and started rooting around my kitchen cabinets looking for any kind of vinegar. There was only a bottle of coconut vinegar (my wife cooks with that instead of the regular stuff).
I downed a tablespoon of the vinegar and it burned all the way down. Five minutes later the heartburn was gone, completely! I told myself it wouldn’t last. Miraculously, I didn’t get a heartburn attack again for months (when I moved to the Philippines in 2006), and I followed the exact same procedure.
Acid Reflux is Now a Bad Memory
I originally wrote this article more than three years ago. I felt compelled to update it because it shows that doctors don’t know everything even when they think they do.
I won’t lie and say that I haven’t had any heartburn in the last four years. I’ve had a couple of very mild cases (a couple of years apart) that didn’t last more than a few minutes. Each time, it was after I’d finished eating some very spicy food. Think about that for a minute. I went from having severe acid reflux all the time to having rare occasions of mild heartburn.
What really happened? My digestive system was out of balance and not producing the amount of stomach acid required to digest the food properly. Once I put it back into balance, the problem went away. Now, acid reflux disease is caused by other things too, so you should see a doctor before doing anything like this. If the doctor merely states the obvious and prescribes an antacid like Zantac, Tagament or Pepsid AC, I would recommend giving the vinegar trick a try. It wouldn’t hurt – except for the burning sensation as you swallow it.
I also have used the Apple Cider Vinegar, ACV, for heartburn and stomach problems, GERD.
ACV is also good for many ailments or things that just bug you.
Have a look at this website:
http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/acvinegar.html
Happy eating!
Jim
I’ve been told lemon juice has the same effect, and is possibly more palatable than vinegar :-)
Vinegar seems to be more readily available than lemon juice.
I’ve tried lemon juice and that didn’t work. Just putting a spoonful of raw vinegar in my mouth sounds really scary. Is there anything else I can have with it that will have the same effect?
Vinegar has been the best remedy for me too. I water it down and add a spoonful of honey to make it a bit more palatable. The trouble is that the usual pharmacy remedies either neutralise stomach acid or stop the stomach producing acid – both bound to cause an imbalance.
Enjoyed your article
It is a crying shame how doctors prescribe stomach acid blockers or antacids which neutralize stomach acid which only stop the symtoms without ever addressing the underlying cause, which in a lot of instances is too little acid – not too much.
Great for big pharma if they can stop the symptoms without healing the underlying cause because they get to sell medication over and over and over and over again.
Another way of treating acid reflux is to neutralize the acid. The old standby has been antacids, either tablets or liquid. People find tablets easier to carry with them, but many find the liquids more effective. In part this is because they neutralize any acid in the esophagus as you swallow them.
I’m a regular sufferer of reflux, heart burn and indigestion and its painful and sometimes to the point of debilitating. I’ve had time when the pain has been so immense that I’ve almost fainted. And there is no real magical cure or permanent treatment. Over the years I’ve taken every form of medication and been to see so many doctors none of which have really helped. What I’ve learnt is that it really about healthy eating and no overindulgence. I’ve turned to natural food remedies and over the past few years it’s been high carb and fiber diets. I document it at my blog which can be found at indigestion symptoms . The methods seemed to have worked well for me but I still do get bouts of reflux now and then. Thanks for the useful information. I will try the vinegar remedy you’ve put forward and will report back if successful. Thanks again.
I tried the apple vinegar way and it wasn’t good for me. It works best for people that do not produce enough acid… which is also a form of acid reflux. For the acidic stomach, this will actually cause more damage.
Nice article… I used to suffer from Indigestion but I found some natural remedies that helped me permanently cure Heartburn and acid reflux without prescription medicine. Learn more about this at my website – http://www.remediesforindigestion.org/
Great article
I am a 28 year old European who experienced asthma symptoms since about a month
I blamed the smoke from firewood since i moved to the Philippines also a few months ago.
the meds given did not help and i only got relief from anti acid meds.
i ve read about the miracle cure apple cider vinegar but since i am in SE Asia i wanted to see if coconut vinegar would do the trick…
Thank you so much for the info!
Hi there. Really fantastic article. Glad to find your post. Heartburn and acid reflux has been a particular problem of mine too. I like what you said about chronic heartburn and glad to see there is relief. Have you seen this site? What to do about heartburn is similar to yours on heartburn and acid reflux.
Yes, good story. Today for the first time ever, I heard about vinegar and heartburn, I was in disbelief but I had a bad reflux attack. I took a small swig of regular vinegar… I am amazed how great my throat feels.