Does
milk help heartburn is
a somewhat stingy query, the answer to which is
both yes and no. That is, if one is not
considering taking 'milk of magnesia', which is
no milk but something that is anti acid, it may
help heartburn. Jokes
apart, milk may prove fairly effective as a
short-time treat for heartburn to many, while with
others, it is just the
reverse.
However,
it might be prudent to get into the proper
perspective under which heartburn occurs and then
justify if milk helps heartburn or it acts
differently.
The
principal culprit responsible for heartburn, which
is a kind of burning sensation in the chest, is
the lower esophageal sphincter or the LES that
occasionally allows acidic stomach contents to
reflux into the esophagus. The reasons behind this
faulty operation involves two basic factors,
namely, the unusual pressure created within the
stomach and weak sphincter muscles that is unable
to hold back the stomach contents. While some
medications may strengthen the LES to tighten up
properly, too much acid secretion in the stomach
aggravates the situation beyond control. Acid
inhibitory drugs then come into play to neutralize
the stomach acidity, thus controlling the undue
pressure formed there.
Does
milk help heartburn - there is a debate going
on
While
one school of thought argues that milk being
alkaline, it should neutralize the stomach acidity
to a great extent and thus help heartburn, the
other affirms that having a pH value of 6.7, it is
slightly acidic and not alkaline as advocated by
the earlier group. It may, say the second group,
at best neutralize the acidity to some extent but
never be able to reduce it.
But
both the group of experts agrees on one point that
the milk should be totally free of fat to do the
job effectively and their arguments are quite
conceivable. The milky part of the milk, they
profess, may surely go neutralizing the acidity
and at the same time providing a soothing layer
against the erosion. The fatty part of the milk
will give rise to further acidity, fighting
against its own curative properties. And thus it
becomes a losing battle till a third group waiting
in the line comes up with soy milk that sure
should help heartburn to the fullest extent.
Researchers are yet to test the effects of soy
milk on GERD patients and so are hesitant to
comment on the topic.
By
the way, the baffling mystery behind declaring
milk as the "remedy" for heartburn that has been
going on for ages among believers of natural
remedy for heartburn remains unsolved till this
date. One of the reasons why milk helped heartburn
in the earlier days could be the availability of
Pure Milk
as against the much fortified, vitamin
enriched, antibiotic touched, intelligent present
day milk that proves too much to digest for the
uneducated stomach and the less educated esophagus
to endure.
The
debate may rage on, but on one point many people
agree, and this is that, holistic medicines
provide a better relief to heartburn than
conventional remedies. This is because, holistic
remedies treat the body as a whole, which is the
right approach because the contributing factors of
heartburn are many - it being such a complicated
issue.
