The True Causes Of Heartburn - They're Probably Not What You Think

Ugh. That chilidog for lunch was a bad idea, huh? Unfortunately, heartburn causes are a little more complex than that. While the food we eat certainly plays an important role in heartburn, it's actually the organisms inside your stomach that feed off that food that really contribute to heartburn causes.

Organisms, you say? You're saying I've got little things growing inside of me? Of course you do! We all have multiple strains of bacteria living within us, and many are actually beneficial to our bodies and needed for a proper-functioning digestive system.

That being said, there are two organisms in particular that are leading contributors to heartburn: H. Pylori, and Candida. H. Pylori are bacteria that approximately half of the world's population is infected with. It's damaging to our digestive systems because it suppresses stomach acid due to the fact that it thrives in a less acidic environment.

Although it sounds counterintuitive, less stomach acid is actually a bad thing for heartburn sufferers, as proper levels of stomach acid are required in order to properly digest your food.

Then you have Candida. This is a fungal overgrowth that can suppress the growth of those beneficial bacteria - the ones that actually help us digest our food properly. This leads to a situation where our bodies are not able to extract all of the nutrients from the foods we eat, the ones that are necessary for our health, which leads to a situation where we're unable to cure ourselves of that heartburn.

What's worse is that all of the most common heartburn medications such as those little purple pills do absolutely nothing to eradicate these heartburn-causing infections and bacterial overgrowths.

However, getting rid of H. Pylori and Candida is a relatively simple process that includes digestive system cleanses, and some natural supplements that will help your body fight them back to normal levels, possibly even completely eradicating them.

Additionally, there are also several contributing heartburn causes that many people aren't aware of:

· A lack of sleep inhibits your body's natural ability to heal itself

· Increased levels of stress can tax your digestive system unnecessarily

· Pressure on the stomach from bending over, constrictive clothing, and obesity

· Smoking

· Several medications such as beta blockers, bronchodilators for asthma, and tricyclic antidepressants

· Pregnancy

Luckily, taking care of many of these causes is a pretty easy task. As mentioned before, a few basic cleanses will help take care of H. Pylori and Candida, and the bulleted list above is pretty self-explanatory. Finally, changes to your diet and exercise routine can have the largest impact on completely getting rid of those heartburn causes.

Acid Reflux - How to Get Some Relief and Fast

Acid reflux is a huge problem in today's society. People who suffer from Acid Reflux find it can be very painful, unpleasant and can even upset their sleeping cycle. Most sufferers resort to using over-the-counter medication or even prescription medicine as a way to resolve this, which can have various results.

Problems arise because the drugs interfere with the natural digestive process in our body by stopping the stomach's natural acid secretions. These acidic digestive enzymes are natural and, like most things in our body, they serve a good purpose. In this case it's to digest proteins.

Without these acidic digestive enzymes, our digestion is greatly slowed or even stopped. Our body senses this and in turn it tries to secrete more acid, which is again stopped by the drugs. A vicious cycle begins, between the drugs and our body trying to work the way it was designed.

Acid Reflux can sometimes lead to Barrett's esophagus. People with Barrett's esophagus are at a greater risk of developing esophageal adenocarcinoma. This is a form of cancer, which, depending on its stage of development, may result in your doctor suggesting surgery to cut out your esophagus. Without going into too much detail, the side effects from this surgery can be horrendous. So there are some good reasons to seek alternative treatment.

The good news is that there is a much safer way to deal with this without side effects, which allows your body to work the way it was designed to by nature. The key to this is to make your digestion efficient. If your digestion is allowed to work completely and thoroughly, there will be no putrifying mass of food or acid rising into your throat.

The first thing you must address is what you are eating. The answer is to stop eating acid-forming foods and meals and replace them with some alkalizing foods and beverages. It comes down to what foods you combine and whether they create an alkaline or an acidic environment. If you get the correct combination of alkaline foods, then your food will be digested quickly and with ease. Get a pH chart of alkaline-forming foods and foods that are acid-forming and familiarise yourself with this. You can "Google" this.

I would also suggest drinking water that has been filtered and alkalinized. Reduce your consumption of coffee, black tea, and soda. Coffee and soda are extremely acidic. Try green tea instead, which is alkaline and full of antioxidants. Something as simple as the water we drink can also play an important part. For a great water filter that will alkalinize your water and can be shipped to most places in the world click here: www.purealkalinewater.net

The next thing to look at is supplementing your body with digestive enzymes. Most people seeking relief from Acid Reflux have been eating acid-forming meals that are hard to digest for a long time. After years of this diet, the body's ability to create these natural enzymes can be reduced or in some cases non-existent. This becomes even worse if you have been taking acid-reducing medications. It is important to get a high quality product, as there are many inferior ones on the market that will not do the same job.

Heartburn Symptoms, And Why Medications Aren't The Answer

You never know when heartburn symptoms will strike. You might be at home after dinner, you may be in the middle of an important meeting at work, or you may be on a date. Unfortunately, heartburn doesn't work around your schedule, which is one of the reasons why it's so important to eradicate heartburn once and for all. But what are those heartburn symptoms?

The most common symptom of heartburn is the painful burning sensation in your chest as stomach acid and bile are forced back up (reflux) into your esophagus. This often leads to an uncomfortable situation when you're out to eat with friends and family, and even worse, a frustrating lack of sleep at night as heartburn symptoms often worsen at that time. What's worse, is that when you're kept awake at night, your body doesn't have the chance to heal itself, only making the situation worse. Other symptoms of heartburn include:

· The sensation of food reentering your mouth

· A sour taste in your mouth

· Sore throat

· Nausea after eating

· Hoarseness or a change in your voice

· Difficulty swallowing

· Hiccups

Putting up with these symptoms of heartburn on a regular basis can drive almost anyone nuts! It also leads to increased levels of stress, which also has a negative effect on heartburn, and your overall health in general. It can be quite the vicious cycle with heartburn leading to a lack of sleep and stress, which in turn increase the likelihood that you'll suffer from heartburn. It's not exactly fair, is it?

Dealing with these symptoms of heartburn might help the pain go away, but taking care of the symptoms does not cure your heartburn - it only masks the effects! What's worse is that all of the most common heartburn medications will actually make your heartburn worse over time! It sounds crazy, but bear with me for a moment. As it turns out, acid-suppressing medications actually promote bacterial overgrowth (a very common cause of heartburn), they weaken our resistance to infections, they increase the likelihood of developing irritable bowel syndrome, they lead to a reduction of essential nutrients from our food, and they even lead to other digestive problems. You know what they say - "the money is in the treatment, not the cure!" This is especially true of heartburn medications, as the pharmaceutical companies actually make more than $7 BILLION per year selling false hope in the form of a little purple pill. It's pretty sickening, really.

In order to never experience heartburn symptoms ever again, you'll need to make a few simple lifestyle changes including changing your diet and exercising. This is the only way to truly rid yourself of that nasty heartburn once and for all. Unfortunately, it's not quite as simple as staying away from those spicy foods as many people think, but that doesn't mean it's difficult to do.

Change of Lifestyle for a Natural Cure Of Heartburn

Millions of sufferers need a more effective cure when it comes to the cure of heartburn than the antacids and other drugs usually recommended by their doctors to treat the symptoms of their complaint. This complaint deprives you from proper sleep and rest and makes you wakeup once or several times at night with a burning sensation and pain in the chest caused by acidic gastric juices moving up in the esophagus.

While Protein Pump Inhibitors (PPI) prescribed by a doctor or bought over the counter may keep heartburn manageable, the best way to reach a cure of heartburn is to adopt a different lifestyle and dietary changes that will eliminate it completely.

Heartburn is really a misnomer and not related to the heart. Because the symptoms do have a lot in common with heart attack symptoms, however, it is possible to misdiagnose yourself. Be sure to get a medical examination to rule out more serious problems before looking for the answer to the cure of heartburn and the elimination of heartburn that is caused by gastric juices.

Eliminating culprit foods that can cause gastric upsets would be a good place to start from. Here is a list of those foods and beverages you would be better off staying away from:

• Spicy and Fatty foods, ground beef, French fries, chicken nuggets, buffalo wings, sour cream, onions, chips, donuts, ice cream, chocolate and sugar.
• Beverages including coffee, tea, acidic fruit juices, wine and alcohol.

Wow, that is some list of favorites to deprive yourself from when we all like to indulge and enjoy life at celebrations sometimes. So just what is safe as a natural cure of heartburn?

The following list of safe alternatives is also impressive making it absolutely unnecessary to starve:

• Baked potatoes, carrots, green beans, peas, skinless chicken breast, London broil steak, very lean ground beef, egg whites, fish, goat and all fat-free cheeses, oatmeal, corn bread, graham crackers, and rice are all foods that cause little to no heartburn.
• Apples and bananas are on the top of fruits list. Raw or blanched almonds, jelly beans and red licorice are great for keeping heartburn in check and providing a safe path towards the cure of heartburn.

That's better! There are enough available foods here on this list to make tasty meals. In addition to eating several small meals instead of large ones and never eat within three hours of bedtime, you do not have to keep wondering what to do to get to an effective cure of heartburn. Also, some people recommend not drinking liquids 30 minutes before and after meals which is helpful as it speeds digestion.

When you sleep, keep your head and shoulders elevated by propping yourself up with firm pillows. Try to avoid stress in your daily life, get more rest, give up smoking, and keep your weight under control, look and feel better by avoiding sugar and fat. By following these simple lifestyle changes, you can assure yourself of reaching a natural cure of heartburn and with time and will power, you will effectively eliminate the discomfort and pain it causes.

Fixing Issues Associated With Heartburn

Wrong? I'm wrong?

So why are you still choosing to have GERD control your life? It's a choice you know. You don't have to live with it. This is after all, the year 2012 - we've come a long way baby!

Things aren't what they used to be anymore:

No more heartburn

No more sitting by the bed at 2 a.m. in the morning waiting for that acid to rise

No more burning chest

No more bloating

No more belching and burping

No more choking or dry cough

No more (ahem) gas

No more sore throats or sensitive teeth (that's if you still have teeth)

No more anxiety attacks or other nauseous and yucky feelings

Let's begin by focusing on getting our minds (and mouths) out of the toilet and putting them where they need to be - in a good place. So where is that place for you? If you could wave a realistic magic wand and actually be living life without Acid Reflux or GERD - what would that look like for you? How would you feel? What would that do for you?

You can get there. Anyone can be there. It's all about choice. Choosing to take control of your life and your health and your money. You can either give it all away and let others control it, or you can take control of it yourself - now - today!

My personal take on all this is - only idiots choose to live with GERD. But having said that, you need to know that getting rid of GERD ain't easy either. By that I mean, if you want to become GERD-free you need to hold yourself accountable and take charge of your body - especially the part called your mouth - la boca, bouche, mond, mund, pot - whatever you call it - watch what you put into it! No mucking around. You either choose to be GERD-free or you don't - okay. Are we seeing eye-to-eye here?

Here's a step in the right direction. You know that pain you feel in your chest - feeling like your throat is going to explode? Here's a way to INSTANTLY get rid of it.

MUSTARD!...............WHAT!

So what were you expecting? Some magic potion?

Nah - just a teaspoon of mustard mate - the kind you put on your hot dogs. Yeah. That's it! Just plop it on the spoon and swallow it - fast. Unless you really like mustard - then just take your time and savor it. Really simple. Nothing to it.

That's it!

OR:

You can fork out some more money and go buy those pills you've always taken. No worries.

Every Day I Thank God For My GERD

According to Wikipedia, GERD stands for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, a painful and very dangerous condition caused by malfunction of the lower esophageal sphincter which separates the esophagus from the stomach.

It is estimated that approximately 25 million adults suffer each day from severe acid reflux in the United States alone.

Even to this day, there are no known cures for this illness, only quick-fix remedies and medications with severe long-term consequences.

This is a story about how I fell in love with my disease...

I am a 21 year old college student from Europe and I've been suffering from GERD for 4 years now. Every day I have to be extremely careful about what I eat and when I eat in order to avoid hours of painful agony. Sometimes, even that doesn't help and I just have to deal with the acid however I can.

When I first found out about my condition at the age of 18, I wasn't ready to deal with the harsh fact that pizzas, french fries and pancakes were a thing of the past for me. My doctor told me there was still a way I could be pain free, but it would involve taking PPI drugs basically for the rest of my life.

I didn't even care about the possible side effects of long term use and went ahead with it, without giving it a second thought!

The PPIs (Proton Pump Inhibitors) worked wonders for me.

I could eat and drink whatever I want, whenever I want and as much as I want. I was "normal" again. Finally, I could have a cold beer with my friends!

If there was a time that I forgot to take my daily dose of medication, the pain got right back to me and the consequences were unbearable. It felt like I swallowed a ton of hot coals that were ripping my intestines apart.

It was fairly obvious to me at that time that I was never again going to be medication-free for as long as I live.

Little did I know that just 2 years later, I would come across an article on the internet describing the fatal consequences of long-term PPI use.

After reading it through, I was forced to face a serious dilemma.

For days and weeks, I kept foolishly comparing the beers, pancakes and pizzas to the risks of nutrient malabsorption induced diseases...

It finally became clear to me that PPIs were doing me more harm than good. I learned that acid was in my stomach for a reason, a very good reason - to digest food. And I was willingly shutting down my body acid production.

The acid was never an enemy, the loose sphincter was, and the PPIs were treating the wrong thing. I decided to get off them cold turkey.

I was not willing to put my health in danger any more.

Two days went buy and I was already bent over in pain cursing my life and my stupid decision to "save my health". As much as I tried, I couldn't see how I was "saving my health" by allowing acid to squirt from my stomach, through my esophageal tube and into my mouth over and over again.

I had tried changing my diet completely. It didn't work. I couldn't even drink water without inducing reflux. I had a very hard time falling asleep if I wasn't lying on my back. And I was really used to lying on my side...

I thought I was going to die.

"The things you take for granted when you're GERD free...", I often repeated to myself...

But why was my condition so much worse now than it was before I started taking PPI drugs?!

It turns out that there is a widespread phenomenon that occurs when one stops taking PPI drugs after a long time of use. I learned that there is a hormone called gastrin in our bodies, which regulates the acid production.

When your body shuts off acid production for a prolonged period of time, the gastrin levels build up (to a point of increased cancer risk) and when you finally get off PPIs, your stomach produces way more acid than it normally does.

I became very interested in this subject and wanted to know if other people have had similar experiences. It turns out that the so-called acid rebound effect is very real and can last up to few weeks or even months after stopping the PPI treatment.

Now that I finally realized what was happening to me, I felt relieved to know that my horrible condition was only temporary.

Indeed, as each day went buy, I kept feeling better and better. There were still a lot of times that literally brought me to my knees, but I kept hanging on.

I started spending more and more time behind my computer, reading about GERD and people's experiences with it. This is what kept me motivated through the tough times.

Since I already learned by then that GERD was not really a matter of acid, but a matter of loose LES, I was now focusing my attention differently.

I began to realize that GERD symptoms are largely due to digestion issues.

One article even suggested that the solution is to add more acid along with digestive enzymes to aid the digestion process. As crazy as it sounded, I thought I'd give it a try - and I'm really glad I did.

I also learned about probiotics and their effect on digestion. Since I couldn't drink any kinds of yogurt, I had to buy them in pills. These two supplements alone made a world of difference for my GERD.

Of course, the hardest part was modifying my diet.

It was the hardest part for two major reasons:

1) It was a "trial & error" process - and I really hated the "errors"!

2) I had to give up the foods I like forever (or so I thought...)

By this point, my life was already radically different in every aspect. No more coffees for breakfast, no more beers with pizzas, no more delicious chocolate cakes, sodas, french fries, hamburgers - all gone!

You see, GERD is different for every individual, so there were no "GERD menus" I could simply follow. I had to make my own. And that's what I did.

I now keep a virtual diary of all the foods that I'm allowed to eat and the ones that will give me a nightmare if I eat them.

Surprisingly enough, as the time passed by and the acid rebound effect began to dissolve, I found that I could eat quite a lot of foods!

At first I thought I was stuck with broccoli for breakfast and carrots for dinner, but it soon turned out I could eat much more than that.

With each new food I added to the "Allowed" list, I kept feeling better and better about my disease...

It was 2 months later that I learned I could eat vanilla ice cream with no problems at all! Can you imagine that? I never thought I'd be so lucky!

I can also eat almost all kinds of meat, pasta, rice, potatoes, bread and most of the vegetables. Not too bad, would you agree? Sure I can't eat mayo, ketchup and other processed junk food - but I honestly don't even care anymore!

In addition to that, I was forced to develop a pretty strong character by having to resist cigarettes, alcohol and junk food when going out with friends and I'm so thankful for this. I think I wouldn't be the person I am today if I never had GERD.

I now eat food consciously and I learned to see it only as fuel for the day. I substituted the emotional "kick" I used to get from food with other things.

It's been 3 months since I stopped taking PPIs now and I know so much about my disease that I could write a whole book about it.

I am very privileged to be able to write articles such as this to open eyes for other people out there who are struggling with GERD and think that their life is cursed... because it is not!

In every good, there's bad and in every bad there's good. Ying and yang.

These are the things that GERD has blessed me with:

- I started to take much greater care of my body and my health

- I stopped smoking cigarettes and eating food that was destroying me

- I developed a strong character and confidence in myself

- I am able to help others who are like me to get better

- I learned to get "emotional kicks" from other things in life, not just food

- I never again have to worry about obesity for the rest of my life

- And so much more...

This is why I thank God, every day, for my illness. Don't get me wrong, my life is far from perfect. I still get big eyes when my girlfriend orders a Big Mac and I have to make sure that I don't drink any fluids until 3 hours of my last meal.

But, at the end of the day, I don't really have an option... I could hate a part of myself until the day I die, or I could turn my head the other way and look at the good things it brought into my life. I choose to do the latter and suggest you do the same.

Wish you all the best,
Dino

The Situation of Heartburn In Children

At some point in a adult's life, they will go through a bout of heartburn. Especially is they eat a meal that is greasy or spicy. But it's terrible to hear that heartburn can inflict problems on children as well. Some estimates say that about two percent of kids younger than nine and five percent of kids younger than 17 suffer from occasional heartburn. It's even more shocking to learn that fifty percent of all babies have heartburn.

When it comes to heartburn in children, it can be hard for them to put into words exactly what they're going through and what they're feeling. The only way for parents to learn that their kids feel heartburn is to observe their behavior after the meal.

If a baby three months or younger is experiencing heartburn they will vomit out their meal or arch their back until they feel better. Children who are older will stop eating, become very cranky and irritable or will cough and have a sore throat.

A loose or weak muscle between the esophagus and the stomach is the cause of heartburn in children. With the muscle not functioning correctly, it allows the combination of food and stomach acid into the esophagus and burn it. Babies often have an insufficiently developed digestive tract and by the time they are five or six months old and their stomachs develop fully, the symptoms of heartburn usually disappear.

With older children, heartburn is usually caused by the kind, and quantity, of food they consume. Drinking soda, or pigging out on fatty or spicy meats will bring about heartburn just like it will in adults. What is even worse, chocolate is one of the worst offenders and has to be avoided, or eaten in very small quantities, to avoid heartburn.

When it comes to heartburn in children, try these steps to prevent it:

1) Have them eat smaller meal during the day instead of large meals at certain times.

2) Don't have them wear restrictive clothes that press on the chest and stomach.

3) If they eat close to bedtime, have them wait an hour before they go to bed.

4) Try to prevent them from playing around or being physical after a meal.

5) And don't give your child anything that you know will cause a problem for them.

Children who are obese are more prone to chronic heartburn flare-ups, losing a few pounds may correct that. Heartburn in children might also be the result of second-hand smoke. There is no better incentive to stop smoking than your children' health.

See a pediatrician if your child's symptoms continue, are becoming more frequent, or they are not eating. The doctor will diagnose the problem and determine the best course of action to take. Don't give the child any medication for the condition until you talk to their doctor.