Acid Reflux, Heartburn & Silent Reflux
Fed up with reflux affecting your everyday life?
Do you experience a burning feeling or pain in your chest, food coming back up, hiccups, bloating, an unpleasant taste in your mouth or bad breath? Perhaps you often cough in the mornings, constantly clear your throat or have a hoarse voice — even though you rarely experience heartburn? These can all be symptoms associated with reflux, including silent reflux.
What might be causing your reflux?
Reflux isn't always simply a case of producing too much stomach acid. Normal stomach acid shouldn't flow back up your food pipe (oesophagus), sometimes reaching your throat. It can damage the oesophagus lining.
Several factors may contribute, including eating habits, meal timings, stress, certain foods, smoking, medications or a weakened valve between the stomach and food pipe. Many other health conditions can contribute to reflux or heartburn such as gallbladder and bile flow issues, infections, bacterial overgrowth and much more. Understanding what may be contributing to your symptoms is an important first step.
How can I help?
As a Registered Nutritional Therapist and Accredited Reflux Practitioner, I don't just treat the symptoms, I help to prevent them happening in the first place by understanding your personal causes. Rather than simply handing you a list of foods to avoid, I'll take the time to understand your symptoms, diet and lifestyle, and explore what might be making them worse. Often reflux and heartburn occur alongside IBS.
Together, we'll look at practical changes to what, when and how you eat, alongside lifestyle factors that may be affecting your digestion. Where appropriate, I'll also consider whether further testing or support from your GP may be helpful. Some specific supplements can be helpful too. I am qualified to support you, alongside your GP, if you wish to reduce your reflux medication. My aim is to help you enjoy food with greater confidence and feel more comfortable in everyday life.
Safety note: Persistent or new reflux symptoms should be discussed with your GP. Seek prompt medical advice if you experience difficulty swallowing, unexplained weight loss, vomiting blood or black stools. New or severe chest pain requires urgent medical assessment.
What is silent reflux?
Silent reflux, sometimes called laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR), can occur without the typical burning sensation of heartburn. Instead, symptoms may include:
-
Persistent throat clearing or coughing, particularly in the morning.
-
A hoarse voice or sore throat.
-
Feeling as though something is stuck in your throat.
-
Excess mucus or an unpleasant taste in your mouth.
Unlike typical heartburn, reflux reaching the throat may involve stomach contents such as the digestive enzyme pepsin and bile components. These substances may irritate sensitive throat tissues, even when heartburn is absent. However, these symptoms can also have other causes, such as allergies or postnasal drip, so it's important not to assume reflux is always responsible.
Sometimes more than one contributing factor is involved, which is why a personalised approach can be helpful. There isn't one diet or lifestyle plan that works for everyone. As an health coach, I can help you make better choices in your diet and lifestyle to improve your digestion process. We will explore potential triggers, improve eating habits and identify realistic changes that fit your lifestyle.
I also consider your wider digestive health for example gut motility, your gut microbiome, bile flow, and whether further medical investigations may be appropriate. If you're taking medication for reflux, nutritional therapy can complement your prescribed treatment. Any changes to medication should be agreed with your GP.
