Acid reflux or what we call it as indigestion is an uncommon problem today. This generally occurs when your stomach acid and/or its contents flow back into your esophagus. So, what’s the usual action? In usual circumstances, your lower esophageal sphincter would close as soon as the food you intake passed through it. If this is not closed properly, then the acid that is being produced in your stomach will tend to move back into your esophagus. This causes irritation of the lining of esophagus thereby leading to acid reflux.
Well, the symptoms of acid reflux would include:

• Burning sensation in the chest/upper abdomen/behind the breastbone
• Trouble swallowing
• Nausea
• Heartburn
• Bloating

You should be well aware of these symptoms because today most of the foods we intake are causing acid reflux and for some of us, it has become a regular problem. For the people who are wondering, is there any home remedy for indigestion at all, we would say that there are several remedies. While we ask you to cut down the food and/or beverages that stimulate the acid reflux, we would also inform you that bananas could come to your rescue. Continue reading the article to know more about this here…
Bananas as Natural Antacids:
Firstly, we need to understand that apart from being a tasty fruit, bananas are high in nutritional value. They have high amounts of vitamins and minerals when at the same time containing no virtual amounts of fat, sodium, and cholesterol. So, how actually your bananas could help you with heartburn? They have a natural antacid effect on your body. Here, let’s recall a point that antacids are the therapeutic agents for heartburns. Now, coming again to bananas, they primarily suppress the acid production in your stomach by coating, and protecting the stomach from acid, thereby helping against the ulcers and ulcer damage. There are two major mechanisms by which the antacid effect of bananas helps suppress the acid. They are as follows:
Firstly, they contain a substance that stimulates the activation of the cells that are making up the lining of the stomach. Due to this, a thicker mucus barrier will be formed to provide the stomach with an extra layer of protection against the acid.
Secondly, bananas contain some special compounds called “protease inhibitors”, which would help in eliminating certain types of bacteria within our stomach that are responsible for the development of stomach ulcers.
Other Useful Properties of Bananas:
Besides the above-mentioned major mechanisms, there are some other useful properties in bananas that help cure heartburns. The bananas are rich in potassium, which would help in digestion, as well as absorption of food into our stomach. Moreover, potassium is known to be an alkalizing agent, which would help reduce the gross acidity of our stomach. Next, bananas are found to help increase the capacity of the sphincter to function properly by giving it the necessary strength to the weak sphincter. Also, the bananas are rich in sulfur content, which again would help in digestion.
Furthermore, the bananas are rich in fiber, which would act as anti-acid reflux by eliminating the toxins that are harmful. In addition to this, the minerals, vitamins especially vitamin B6, and fiber contents of banana are found to help in the strengthening of the esophagus. Finally, these bananas have several elements that help in the suppression of the acid secretion in your stomach and in the maintenance of pH levels in your stomach. Thus, overall it’s the best home remedy for your acid reflux problem.
Using Bananas for Acid Reflux:
Yes, you can eat bananas directly without any additions. You can take them before or after your meals. You can add them to your cereals every morning. And, you can even take them in other forms like:

• Banana bread
• Banana muffins
• Banana sandwich
• Fruit bowl
• Banana cake

In addition to these, there are also some other effective ways to take them. Take a banana, peel it and cut into slices. Sprinkle some sugar and cinnamon powder onto it. Now, take them. In another way, you can take them with your oatmeal. Remember, oatmeal is a whole grain food that would neutralize the acidity of your stomach thereby, reducing the stomach and other acid reflux symptoms. Therefore, we would say that taking bananas with your oatmeal is one of the best ways to alleviate your acid reflux. So, what’s the procedure? Peel your bananas and cut them into slices. Add these pieces to cooked oatmeal and stir. Now, eat this as your breakfast every day to alleviate and cure your acid reflux and constipation.
Smoothies:
The other ways of taking bananas would be as your favorite smoothies. Now, let’s see how to prepare your banana smoothies here:
Banana and Avocado Smoothie:
Ingredients Required:

• Bananas
• Avocado
• Cinnamon powder
• Almond milk
• Honey
• Chia seeds
• Vanilla paste
• Bee pollen
• Ice cubes

Put all these ingredients into a blender and blend them on a high speed for about three minutes. Your smoothie is ready to consume. We would ask you to consume this at least two times in a week for better results.
Banana and Strawberry Smoothie:
Ingredients:

• Banana
• Strawberries
• Mango juice
• Yogurt
• Ice cubes

Here again, blend all the ingredients in a blend on a high speed until the mixture becomes smooth. Take this smoothie regularly.
Another way to consume bananas will be as your milkshake. Note that banana, when consumed with milk, will exhibit the best antacid effect thereby, helping in the reduction of the acid production in your stomach. To prepare the milkshake, you would just need to add bananas and milk (or soy milk) in a blender and blend them at a high speed.
Final Points:
As we described, taking bananas should give you a quick and easy relief from your heartburns. But, you must remember that the bananas should be ripe. Eating unripe bananas would, on the other hand, cause acid reflux. In the same way, overripe bananas also would be more acidic and could cause heartburn. Therefore, you are advised to consume eat fresh bananas which are not unripe or overripe. We would suggest you take three bananas when you have acid reflux to know whether it’s increasing or decreasing your acid reflux problem.

If you want to kick start your metabolism and burn lots of calories in a day, it’s important for you to eat a well-balanced breakfast. Remember, eating breakfast would give your brain, as well as the muscles the much-needed energy and nutrients to function properly all through the day. Some recent research studies have shown that breaking your overnight fast with a well-balanced meal is making an impact on your overall health and wellbeing. This fact is especially true with teens and children. Consuming a smart breakfast would help improve behavior and foster a healthy weight. Now, let’s see the top five tips for healthy breakfast here…

1. Start your day with some Stronger Proteins:

Protein seems to be a missing component in several of our breakfast meals. This is important for our children to go stronger and stay focused until the next meal. We agree that everyone loves carbs. But, it would often leave you to feel hungry before it’s lunch time. This is not the case with proteins. It will keep you full and make your brain sharper. Moreover, they are the building blocks of life! Every one of us needs these nutrients for building complex hormones, fighting diseases, and building new cells. As such, go for lean proteins.
Now, you might be wondering whether you need to miss your favorite carbs while trying to add proteins in your breakfast meals. Actually, you need not have to. You can add proteins to any carb-heavy meal like egg, meat, nuts, beans, and so on…
So, what is the best way to consume enough amounts of proteins in your breakfast? Well, several people say that they take a bowl of cereal with milk for breakfast. This seems to be a good choice. But, the question whether how often do you slurp down all the milk that accompanies your cereal? If you don’t feel to drink this milk, add a boiled egg to your meal for enough protein. As mentioned earlier, these are not the only ways to consume proteins. You can be as innovative as possible!

2. Incorporate Nutrient-Rich Wholegrain Foods:

Like your proteins, the whole grain foods also would help keep you to feel fuller for a longer time. Remember, a high-octane carbohydrate would help energize our body and brain and these whole grains would provide an extra punch in terms of nutrition. These would come packed with fibers and other essential nutrients and hence they would take more time to digest. Moreover, these whole grain foods would help reduce the risks to the health disorders like type-2 diabetes, certain types of cancer, and stroke.
Here is our thumb rule for whole grain cereals: your food should contain a minimum of five grams of fiber. Also, there should be more fiber content in your meal when compared to your sugars.
When it comes to choices, don’t just restrict with whole wheat. There are several other whole grains to consider, which may include:

• Oats
• Buckwheat
• Rice

3. Get some Freshness with Fruits and Vegetables:

We would say that breakfast is the ideal time to enjoy the produce needed for your optimal health. As such, get some freshness factor by consuming fruits and vegetables in some form. We have found that the best way to hit your target of vegetables for the day is to start off by serving them breakfast. So, how to incorporate your greens in your breakfast? You can easily add them to your smoothies or mix them with your eggs. Take your spinach this way as it will be tastier at the same time healthier. This way, you would get your nutrients like iron, fiber, vitamins, calcium, folate, minerals, and so on. Also, these are packed with antioxidants, which would assist in detoxifying your body.
Now, coming to the fruits, mixing a glass of fruit juice or a cup of banana, berries, or apples along with cereals or porridge will be the best way to take. You can also include seasonal fruits like kiwi, melons, and whatever is available in the season. The canned options and the frozen foods will be good to be used in yogurt parfaits.

4. Keeping Yourself Dehydrated:

As we are going without any food all over the night, our body will go without liquids. So, we are prone to dehydration the next morning. In order to avoid this, it’s important for us to take a drink with our breakfast. Remember, if you get dehydrated, it may cause in you, headache, tiredness, grumpy feeling, and much more. More often, dehydration will be mistaken to be hunger and people may find themselves overeating if they are not drinking enough liquids. This is why you are advised to start your day with a glass of water, fresh fruit juices, or herbal tea.
You may tend to drink coffee or tea. We would say this is fine but remember these are not as hydrating as much as the other drinks that are mentioned above. Also, these would contain caffeine, which is to be avoided.

5. Plan it the night before:

Every morning you would tend to rush up with your breakfast preparation. This would often make you slip away from the daily nutrient intake. In order to prevent this, we would advise you to get organized and prepared right from the dinner table the before night. Make it your routine to prepare a breakfast plan as you get up from your dinner table. You can also set up the bowls and spoons for the wholegrain cereals. If you are planning for pancakes or smoothies, get out the pans or blenders accordingly. It’s not that each morning you need to go for complex breakfast. During some busy days, you can get your family going with something simple and quick.
Sometimes, people tend to skip their breakfast with a reason of no time. If there is no time at home, you must always pack a nutritious meal to eat out in your car or bus. Also, it’s important that you have your first meal of the day within two hours of waking up from your sleep. This is essential for you to get all the benefits that are mentioned above.
References:

1. http://www.ahchealthenews.com/2016/10/25/6-tips-buying-healthy-packaged-breakfast-foods/
2. http://www.eatright.org/resource/food/planning-and-prep/snack-and-meal-ideas/4-tips-for-better-breakfasts
3. https://onceamonthmeals.com/blog/recipe-roundups/5-tips-better-breakfast/
4. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/23/healthy-breakfast-mistakes_n_2877800.html
5. http://www.shakeupyourwakeup.com/why-is-breakfast-important/healthy-breakfast-tips