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Old 01-26-2006, 11:04 PM   #18
nikoniko
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Join Date: Apr 2005
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When living in the US full-time, I controlled my acid reflux by drinking kefir a couple of times per day. For general indigestion that sometimes crops up, I've always eaten ginger in some form - that'll clear up most any tummy ache in 20 or 30 minutes.

Since coming to Japan, eating natto (a stinky fermented soybean product) every morning has taken the place of kefir. Soy sauce has some of the same benefits, so if I'm going to be eating something I know could bother me, I make sure to drown something from my meal in soy sauce and that together with the morning natto keeps me from getting symptoms most of the time.

Of course, avoiding things you know give you problems could be one solution, but for me when there's a way to keep enjoying the things I love I'd rather do that.

I have taken medicine for the reflux before, but when natural remedies proved just as effective I gave it up. At least as far as digestion goes, I've found that the collective wisdom of thousands of years of eating can be quite helpful.
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