HEARTBURN

Is acid reflux (heartburn) lifestyle related?

The regurgitation of acid and partially digested food into the gullet is becoming more and more common.  GP surgeries are full of patients suffering with indigestion, burning sensation in the stomach, even burning in the throat.  This is because the acid, which should be confined to the stomach, is burning through the lining of the gullet and throat, causing inflammation in these tissues.  This can give you a sore throat, affect your voice, and can even cause chest infections if the acid pours down the trachea into the lungs. Small amounts of heartburn can be tolerated, but if it’s a regular occurrence, it needs correcting, as this constant burning and erosion of tissues can eventually lead to ulceration and cancer of the gullet and throat.

Hydrochloric acid will dissolve metal, burn a hole in your shirt and even blind you. You wonder then, if it’s so powerful, why doesn’t the acid burn holes through the stomach wall. Well sometimes it does, and we can end up with stomach and/or duodenal ulcers.  The stomach is protected against this acid by an alkaline mucous gel that clings to the surface of the stomach, thereby preventing the acid from burning through to the stomach wall. For patients who don’t get relief from medication, their gastroenterologists are turning to psychologists for help, If this is a viable option for you, let us recommend you this Calgary Psychologist.

Hypnotherapy can be an effective treatment for heartburn and other stomach conditions. It’s a powerful alternative treatment, backed with plenty of scientific evidence, that is increasingly being offered at the nation’s leading medical centers. But why are more and more people consulting their GP’s about heartburn and reflux:

• Smoking!  Smoking cigarettes weakens the sphincter (circular muscle between the gullet and stomach) and so the acid pours out of the stomach into the gullet
• Too much alcohol irritates the gastric juices
• Many people eat too much, too fast, too late, overburdening the stomach and gastric juices
• The bacteria Helicobacter Pylori loves the stomach’s environment. It will burrow itself beneath the thick mucosal lining of the stomach and begin to break down that lining, allowing the acid to burn the stomach wall and cause acid to regurgitate into the gullet. Many years ago, doctors though that it was excessive stomach acid that caused stomach cancer. However, that is not the case. Stomach cancer is directly related to infection with  Helicobacter Pylori
• Stress also plays a part. Anxiety can simply make your stomach more acidic

If you have continuous heartburn and/or indigestion, and you are going to visit your GP, he may want to put you on an antacid like Omeprazole. Before he does, ask him for a breath test for Helicobacter Pylori.  It’s a simple, quick, painless test carried out at the hospital to determine if you have the bacteria in your stomach.  If you have, then you have a couple of choices what to do:

• Take the medicine prescribed by the GP. This will be antibiotic therapy, combined with an antacid.  It’s not always successful in eradicating HPylori, and then you have to think about the side effects of antibiotics, OR
• try the natural route, and take mastic gum.  Mastic gum can only be found on the island of Chios in Greece.  It’s a tree gum, that’s been chewed for thousands of years by the Mediterranean people to keep their stomachs healthy. In fact they still chew it in its raw state.  You can get BioNutri’s Mastic Gum in capsule form from The Natural Dispensary. Take one with meals for one month. £29.99 for a month’s supply. If you don’t feel a reduction in your symptoms, I will refund your money. Contact me for a discount code.