Controlling Heartburn

Notwithstanding the many popular texts that point to aspects of lifestyle and eating particular foods, the real underlying reasons for heartburn encompass a larger selection of factors with genetic, lifestyle and dietary elements. Just like other chronic illnesses, heartburn is a result of overlapping and multiple causes.

If heartburn happens twice per week or more frequently, a graver medical condition known as acid reflux disease may exist. This is also known as GERD (Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease). Even healthy people may experience heartburn up to once per week. Heartburn is the name for the sensation of burning or searing around the chest or throat. This frequently manifests itself after a meal.

GERD comes about because of two physiological problems: the first is excess acidity in the stomach; and the second is a weakened sphincter (LES, Lower Esophageal Sphincter) which no longer acts properly to block off the stomach from the esophagus. Normally, the LES only opens to let food and drink flow into the intestinal system and should not let gastric juices escape backwards. Nevertheless, in reflux situations, the LES is debilitated and stomach contents can reflux or splash back to the esophagus, corroding the lining and causing the feeling of pain.

As referred to above, several linked elements lead to a weakened LES or too concentrated a level of digestive acidity. Amongst these factors we find:

1. Characteristics passed on from one generation to another.

2. Lifestyles, where habits such as smoking ruins the digestion, attacks the immune system and aggravates Candida multiplication, which then leads to the disease of acid reflux. Stress from lack of sleep, emotional pressure or excess of work also provokes these problems.

3. Infections from Candida. In certain circumstances, Candida microbes grow fast and spread throughout the body. These microorganisms then ferment and cause stomach contents to be rejected back into the esophagus, where inflammation and degradation of the esophageal cells then takes place. Note that Candida is normally present anyway in the human body, including the intestinal and genital areas. Under normal conditions, Candida is balanced out by friendly bacteria with no negative impact to the body.

4. Diet patterns, as in the regular and frequent eating of foods that provoke acid production, such as chocolates, peppermint, tomatoes and citrus fruits. Also, eating foods that are fatty or spicy and that weaken the LES, or foods that are hard to digest, can worsen acid reflux.

To cut out heartburn and to stop it from coming back, the root causes must be resolved. Whereas conventional treatments only superficially treat the symptoms, a holistic, all-natural approach gets to the real underlying causes to provide the only true safe and effective cure for acid reflux.