Several things calm down acid reflux, ranging from simple position changes and food choices to over-the-counter medications that neutralize or reduce stomach acid. The fastest option is a chewable antacid, which can raise the pH in your stomach within about six minutes. But for lasting relief, the real gains come from how you eat, when you eat, and how you sleep.
Fastest Relief: Antacids and Baking Soda
Antacids work by directly neutralizing the hydrochloric acid in your stomach. The carbonate salts in products like Tums or Rolaids bind to hydrogen ions, converting acid into harmless carbon dioxide, water, and salt. Effervescent forms of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) can start neutralizing acid within seconds. Chewable calcium-magnesium tablets typically raise your stomach pH above the critical threshold within about six minutes, making them the go-to for acute episodes.
Baking soda dissolved in water is a common home remedy, and it does work as a quick neutralizer. A typical dose is half a teaspoon in a full glass of cold water. However, baking soda is high in sodium, which makes it a poor choice if you have high blood pressure or are on a sodium-restricted diet. It can also cause your body to retain water. The Mayo Clinic advises against using it for more than two weeks straight. If you find yourself reaching for it regularly, that’s a sign something more is going on.
Foods That Help
Foods higher on the pH scale are alkaline, meaning they can help offset the acid your stomach produces. Some of the most reliable options include bananas, melons, cauliflower, fennel, and nuts. These are gentle on the digestive tract and unlikely to trigger a flare.
Ginger stands out as particularly useful. It’s naturally alkaline and has anti-inflammatory properties that soothe irritation in the esophagus and stomach lining. It also appears to speed up gastric emptying, meaning food moves out of your stomach faster. One study found that ginger cut the time it took the stomach to empty by about 25% compared to a placebo (roughly 12 minutes versus 16 minutes for half the meal to leave the stomach). A stomach that empties faster produces less pressure and less opportunity for acid to push upward.
A small amount of lemon juice mixed with warm water and honey, despite being acidic on its own, has an alkalizing effect once metabolized and can help some people. This is highly individual, though, and straight citrus juice will make things worse for most.
Apple Cider Vinegar: Skip It
Apple cider vinegar is one of the most commonly recommended home remedies for acid reflux online, but there is no published clinical research supporting its use for heartburn. Harvard Health Publishing reviewed the evidence and found zero studies in medical journals addressing its effectiveness or safety for this purpose. Since vinegar is acidic, it carries the risk of further irritating an already inflamed esophagus.
Chewing Gum After Meals
This one is surprisingly effective and costs almost nothing. Chewing gum stimulates saliva production, and saliva is naturally rich in bicarbonate, the same compound that makes baking soda work. That bicarbonate-rich saliva washes down the esophagus, raising the pH in both your throat and esophagus. Research shows that chewing gum consistently increases esophageal pH, with bicarbonate-containing gum providing an even stronger effect. Chewing for 20 to 30 minutes after a meal is a simple habit that can meaningfully reduce reflux episodes.
How You Sleep Matters
Gravity is your ally when it comes to keeping acid in your stomach, which is why reflux tends to worsen at night. Two changes make the biggest difference.
First, stop eating at least three hours before lying down. A study comparing different dinner-to-bedtime intervals found that people who ate within three hours of going to sleep were roughly 7.5 times more likely to experience reflux than those who waited four hours or more. That’s one of the largest effect sizes for any lifestyle change related to reflux.
Second, sleep on your left side. When you lie on your left, your esophagus sits above your stomach, so acid has to travel uphill to reach it. When you lie on your right, the stomach sits higher than the esophagus, and gravity actually pulls acid toward the opening. A 2023 meta-analysis confirmed that left-side sleeping is associated with significantly improved reflux symptoms. Elevating the head of your bed by about six inches with a wedge or bed risers amplifies this effect.
Over-the-Counter Medications Beyond Antacids
If antacids aren’t enough, two other classes of medication reduce acid production rather than neutralizing it after the fact.
H2 blockers (like famotidine, sold as Pepcid) work by blocking one of the signals that tells your stomach to produce acid. They take longer to kick in than antacids, typically 60 to 90 minutes, but their effects last several hours. They’re a good option for predictable reflux, like heartburn that always hits after dinner.
Proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs (like omeprazole, sold as Prilosec), are the strongest acid reducers available without a prescription. They shut down the acid-producing pumps in your stomach lining directly and can maintain a low-acid environment for 15 to 22 hours per day, compared to roughly four hours for H2 blockers. The trade-off is that PPIs take one to three days to reach full effect, so they aren’t designed for immediate relief. In clinical comparisons, PPIs relieved symptoms in about 72% to 91% of patients over four weeks, versus 60% to 70% for H2 blockers. PPIs are best used as a short course (two weeks for over-the-counter versions) rather than indefinitely.
Common Triggers Worth Avoiding
While adding helpful foods matters, avoiding known triggers is equally important. The most consistent culprits are fatty or fried foods (which slow gastric emptying), tomato-based sauces, chocolate, coffee, alcohol, and carbonated drinks. Peppermint, often thought of as soothing for digestion, actually relaxes the muscular valve between your stomach and esophagus, making reflux more likely. Eating large meals is itself a trigger because a full stomach increases pressure against that valve.
Tight clothing around the waist, including snug belts and high-waisted pants, can also push stomach contents upward. Loosening your waistband after eating is a surprisingly practical fix.
Signs That Need Medical Attention
Most acid reflux responds well to the strategies above. But certain symptoms point to complications that require evaluation: difficulty swallowing or pain when swallowing, persistent vomiting, unexplained weight loss, loss of appetite, chest pain, vomit that looks like coffee grounds, or dark/tarry stools. These can indicate esophageal damage, narrowing, or bleeding that won’t resolve with lifestyle changes alone.