What is GERD?
Gastroesophageal Reflex Disease has become a common group of symptoms that include heartburn, chest pain, difficulty swallowing, regurgitation of food or liquids that can taste acidic or sour, burping or sulfur burps, nausea, or coughing including hoarseness. Many can experience these symptoms when the eat acidic foods like tomatoes, tomato sauce, citrus, or spices. However, more and more people are finding themselves having GERD symptoms after every meal or even between meals constantly.
Medical treatments for GERD.
Most people who experience GERD are prescribed PPI's (Proton-Pump Inhibitors). Let me start out by saying that PPI prescriptions are intended for short-term use only. However, many people are not told them by prescribing doctors, and instead find themselves on PPI's for several years, and maybe even the rest of their lives. PPI's range from low strength antacid over-the-counter medications such as TUMS, Rolaids, Alka-Seltzer, and Pepsid to name a few - to prescription drugs like Omeprazole (Prilosec), Pantaprazole, or Nexium. PPI's can be dangerous, especially if used long-term. Such side effects include decreased magnesium absorption, Low B12 levels, risk of fractures, increased risk of bacterial infections, and a continual degradation of the intestinal lining. Additionally, PPI's decrease hydrochloric acid in the stomach. Hydrochloric acid is necessary for proper breakdown of food, especially protein, as well as pathogens entering the digestive system. What these medications are only capable of doing is suppressing or hiding symptoms. Most of the time, people build tolerances to PPI medications, and eventually are prescribed stronger medications on the PPI list. Needless to say, when you are experiencing GERD symptoms, it is important to seek out the root cause and limit consumption of traditional medications.
Common Causes:
Reactive or inflammatory Foods
Helicobactor Pylori (H. Pylori) Infections
Obesity
Alcoholic or caffeine beverages
Medications (such as antidepressants, sedatives, etc.)
Fatty, spicy, or acidic foods
So, What's Really Going on?
Contrary to popular belief and of course the symptoms of GERD such as acid reflex, GERD is a result of too little stomach acid. Hence why PPI use would only increase the severity of symptoms and downstream issues within the digestive system. For a variety of reasons, the body may have too little acid or hydrochloric acid. When food is consumed and goes into the digestive tract, it needs hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes to breakdown food particles for further digestion. When a proper amount of acid and enzymes are not present, the body holds the food where it is in the digestive tract, in hopes to getting acid produced soon for breakdown. This is where it gets really gross. Most of the time, the body is not going to produce more acid even with more time. And so, the food sits there and it putrefies or rots in the small intestine. That is what just one marker on my functional testing measures is protein putrefaction, and gives us a ton of insight into protein digestion, absorption, and use within the body.
Usually, when people hit this stage, and for long enough, the acid refluxes up into the esophagus, causing symptoms. And we are prescribed acid blocking supplements. The worst thing we can do is continually block acid and acid production. See how this makes the whole situation worse?
What do I do if I have GERD or want to Prevent Putrefaction?
Here are just a couple of things you can do in the meantime if you are having GERD symptoms. It is important to note that getting professional help to test for root causes of GERD is very important, since bacterial infections or deep digestive issues might be causing symptoms, and if left untreated, can cause other health issues.
Eat unprocessed foods
Local, organic vegetables and fruits
Drink filtered water, and avoid alcohol for the time being
Eliminate gluten and dairy for the time being
Reduce processed sugar and switch to sweeteners like raw honey, maple syrup, or molasses
Improve overall gut health and digestion
Probiotics from trusted brands and sources (Check out my Fullscript Store)
Drink Aloe Juice
Add Chlorophyll to your daily routine
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