Acid Reflux Cause:
Many Situations May Aggravate Acid Reflux

Whether you blame your acid reflux on food, genetics, or stress, the truth is, there appears to be no one acid reflux cause for the millions of Americans who have acid reflux symptoms. Some patients can make lifestyle changes to relieve acid reflux pain completely, such as going on an acid reflux diet, while others use every acid reflux medication available and still do not find anything that works for them.

In addition to foods to avoid with acid reflux, the medical community has found many other possible acid reflux causes. Conditions which may cause or worsen acid reflux include:

Valve malfunction: the lower esophageal sphincter (the muscle tissue and valve separating the esophagus from the stomach) weakens and loses tone, so that the barrier between the esophagus and the stomach fails to keep stomach acid from seeping into the esophagus.

Obesity and tight-fitting clothes: extra weight puts pressure on your abdomen, forcing stomach acids to back up into your esophagus

Tobacco: may weaken the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), a valve or band of muscle tissue that closes the esophagus off from the stomach

Hiatal hernia: a very common yet rarely serious condition, the hiatal hernia occurs when part of your stomach protrudes into your lower chest

Asthma: for reasons not completely understood, at least half of those who suffer from asthma also have acid reflux disease, but it’s not known if asthma is an acid reflux cause

Diabetes: can cause your stomach to empty too slowly, meaning stomach contents can regurgitate into your esophagus

Blockage between the stomach and the small intestine: causing food to build up in the stomach and back up into the esophagus

Abnormalities in the stomach: causing a delay in stomach emptying or rare disorders causing extremely high amounts of acid in the stomach

If you have improved your diet and made other changes to your lifestyle yet still have not discovered the causes of your symtoms, it can be a frustrating and painful experience. In this case, it’s possible that your acid reflux cause is actually a sign of a different ailment—perhaps even a serious illness—that requires other treatment.