It’s hard to imagine that an acidic stomach and a stuffy nose could be related. After all, your stomach is the midway point of your body and digests food, while your nose is located in your head where it draws in oxygen and enhances the taste of that food. To make things more confusing, if you were to have a problem with either of these organs you’d most likely see a specialist, and often times these specialists don’t make the link between your stomach and your nose.

A stuffy nose, sinusitis, nasal congestion and a number of other problems can be due to a condition called GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease- a more severe form of acid reflex). GERD occurs when stomach acid backs up into the esophagus. You may think that’s a long way for stomach acid to travel but if we look at our anatomy it makes sense. The nose drains into the throat and esophagus; the esophagus drains into the stomach connected only by a valve. That’s it. There are no other filters or buffers along the way. If that valve doesn’t work properly, acid can back up into the esophagus and then to the nose. In other words, heartburn is stomach acid making its way into your esophagus; that same stomach acid can travel all the way to your nose and cause inflammation. In an attempt to rid your nose of this harsh acid (in other words, to wash it away), it produces more mucous and thus a stuffy nose.

Not everyone with GERD gets sinus problems, but if you frequently have an acid stomach AND a stuffy nose, you may want to discuss this with your health practitioner or do more investigating for yourself. Other symptoms of GERD include: difficulty swallowing, hoarseness, lump-in-the-throat sensation, chronic cough and throat clearing, and mucous build-up in the throat. People can suffer from one or more of these symptoms.

What are the solutions? In most cases, GERD can be reduced or eliminated by altering your diet. The idea is to eat foods that don’t increase stomach acid. Acid inducing foods include:

  • alcohol
  • coffee/black teas
  • sodas
  • fried foods
  • spicy foods
  • dairy

If the thought of permanently eliminating these foods is more than you can handle, consider this: once you eliminate them and your digestive tract has healed, you may be able to reintroduce these foods into your diet.  There are plenty of books out there that give suggestions on how to make delicious, tasty meals while eating a low acid diet. Dropping Acid: The Reflex Diet Cookbook & Cure by Dr. Koufman is a popular book on the subject. Other books on the subject are Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford or Donna Gates’ Body Ecology Diet. If you search these books into Amazon, they’ll give you other suggestions on books that are similar. Or ask your local health foods or herbal store for other good ideas!

As a culture, we can no longer deny that our food choices have consequences on our bodies. GERD is your body’s internal alarm system telling you something is out of balance. Don’t ignore it.