Heartburn
treatments can be generally classified into
three main categories: conventional medications, surgery
and the holistic/natural approach. These interventions
vary considerably in the way they work, in the different
heartburn causative factors that are tackled, and
especially in the durability of the results. In order to
choose the most effective and appropriate way of
treatment for you, it is obligatory that you obtain the
accurate information about the underlying conditions
that cause the occurrence of your
heartburn.
Heartburn is
one of the various symptoms of gastro esophageal reflux
disease (GERD), also called acid reflux. GERD occurs
when the muscle connecting the esophagus with the
stomach (the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) is
weakened. When the LES functions properly, the sphincter
allows food and water to pass into the stomach but
prevents the highly acidic gastric contents from
splashing back and come into contact with the esophagus.
However when this muscle is weak/relaxed, it allows
stomach acid to flow ("reflux") into the esophagus.
Heartburn is the burning painful sensation experienced
when the refluxed acids come into contact with the
lining of the esophagus.
Medical doctors tend to treat heartburn and other
acid reflux symptoms using prescription medications and
over the counters. Acid reflux drugs can also be divided into
three main categories:
1.
Antacids, such as Tums, Rolaids, Mylanta and Maalox.
These drugs neutralize stomach acid by creating a
covering that wraps the stomach contents.
2. H2
blockers that reduce the production of acid, such as
Pepcid AC, Zantac 75 and Axid AR. These drugs are aimed
at reducing stomach acid production in the gastric
system.
3. PPI
(Proton pump inhibitors), such as Prilosec, Nexium and
Wyeth's Protonix, block the mechanism in the stomach
cells that releases acid.
While all
the above-mentioned medical treatments can effectively
relieve painful heartburn symptoms in the short run,
there are several potential downsides to the
regular/long-term use of these drugs. Heartburn
medications fail to tackle the underlying reflux problem
but instead change the chemical ingredients of the
refluxed gastric context. For instance, a study that was
published in 2004 in the Journal of Gastrointestinal
Surgery revealed that PPIs do not have any impact on the
frequency of reflux episodes among GERD sufferers; PPIs
simply transform the acidic gastric refluxed contents
into alkaline. Instead of being exposed to acid, the
esophagus is exposed to bile that is an alkaline and
potentially more injurious gastric content. It is safe
to say that the vast majority of acid reflux drugs work
temporarily and also create a long-term dependency.
Moreover, GERD drugs can have a myriad of unwanted side
effects.
An
alternative to drug heartburn treatment
is surgery. To prevent stomach acids from being splashed
back into the esophagus, the surgeon frees up the upper
part of the stomach, wraps it around the lower esophagus
and sutures it to itself. The purpose of this procedure
is to strengthen the natural valve between the stomach
and the esophagus. This is done to prevent the refluxed
stomach content to come into contact with the
esophagus.
However,
reflux surgery involves many risks and side effects,
such as bloating, swallowing problems, nausea, diarrhea
abdominal cramping and more. Moreover, after the surgery
heartburn symptoms can appear again over time,
especially if a patient didn’t make any lifestyle or
dietary changes that have triggered acid
reflux.
It comes
out that the main downside of all conventional
treatments for heartburn is that they focus on treating
the local GERD related impairments (e.g. decreasing the
amount of acid produced, neutralizing acid reflux,
surgically altering the GI tract or tightening the LES).
None of those treatments is aimed at tackling the
underlying causes that contribute to acid reflux
occurrence.
Acid
reflux disease occurs due to
the
coexistence of several medical and lifestyle conditions.
Those include genetic weakness, obesity, excessive fat
ingestion, various foods, drugs and
lifestyle
characteristics (including inadequate sleep and
excessive stress) that weaken the LES and prevent the
LES from being closed properly. In addition to that,
there are several factors that lead to the intestinal
dysbiosis that can result in extra acidity, toxic
overload and fermentation in the gastric system. Candida
infection and certain dietary and lifestyle choices are
the main culprits for this dysbiosis.
Did you know that
there are all-natural holistic treatment that can
treat heartburn and other GERD related symptoms by tackling
those contributing factors?
Holistic treatment is the only
way to permanently reverse acid reflux and prevent its
recurrence.
