Chapter One
There Is a dramatically Better Way
"Inflamed tissues hurt for a reason. It is nature''s way of enlisting your brain to help in solving the problem." -Sherry Rogers, MD
If you frequently have searing pain and/or pressure in your midsection, you may not care a great deal whether it is called heartburn, acid indigestion, gastritis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), acid reflux, gallbladder disease, or an ulcer. After all, your main concern is likely to be reducing the pain as quickly as possible, regardless of its name. It is certainly no wonder that many millions of sufferers resort to acid-blocking drugs for symptom relief rather than considering the actual cause of the problem, the potentially lethal risks of the standard treatments, or safer alternatives.
This path of least resistance, however, can be hazardous. Consider the following:
The directions for acid-blocking drugs state to take them for only fourteen days or, at most, only a few weeks. According to the producers of these medications, a doctor''s guidance is required if they are going to be taken for longer periods of time. Yet many users do not heed this advice, which is intended to prevent serious side effects that can be caused by long-term use. Even physicians seem to have become casual about those limitations-perhaps because drug reps hint at longer term safety and/or because the longer term health losses aren''t easily connected with the medication.
It is likely that the stomach acid these drugs systematically block is not the actual cause of your pain. Rather, the acid can actually be useful-even life-saving-for you.
The pain may be caused by a minor structural issue that won''t be addressed by the drug but can be solved without surgery. It is to your benefit to logically address the problem rather than mask the symptoms.
Blocking stomach acid actually fosters the growth of bacteria that cause gastritis and are associated with GI cancer, pneumonia, and even the dreaded methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
Some of the current well-intentioned standard medical advice may cause more harm than good. For example, most doctors warn patients away from alcohol and fats. However, moderate consumption of alcohol and good fats may actually help the stomach. On the other hand, the over-consumption of certain inflammatory fats, refined sugar, and flour is a major cause of acid reflux, but these products are not typically included on the list of foods of which to be wary.
Acid reflux can be caused by certain medications such as the ubiquitous statin cholesterol drugs.
There are dietary supplements proven to heal the ulcers that are caused by common pain relievers like aspirin and Motrin.
There are dietary supplements and simple techniques that can relieve acid-related symptoms, repair the underlying problems, improve digestion, and reinvigorate the body''s overall health.
The very idea of acid-suppression is relatively new, and some of the research casts doubt as to whether the way we are using the medications is healthful. This book will explain causes of common stomach pain. Some of these causes may be surprising to you. The standardization of medical schools and medical practice too often means that the search for "a second opinion" only results in the patient being given what is essentially the same opinion twice. This book offers second opinions that are meaningfully different from those typically given. It also offers treatment options-natural approaches that avoid the many serious side effects of the acid-blocking drugs that tend to be prescribed so routinely.
These natural alternatives not only address both pain relief and the root cause of your grief, but also improve your overall digestion and offer what may seem, at first, to be unrelated fringe benefits. After all, improvements in digestion and GI function can greatly improve everyday life by lifting depression, improving sleep, boosting energy, alleviating joint pain, enhancing immune function, normalizing weight, eliminating migraine headaches, and even making skin look younger. There are also dramatic benefits of improved digestion and assimilation, such as protection from fatal diseases and a reduction in the impact and progression of autoimmune diseases.
A few decades ago, many of us giggled at Alka-Seltzer commercials, which went "plop, plop, fizz, fizz." This remedy was promoted for relieving occasional digestive discomfort from overindulging ("I can''t believe I ate the whole thing") or making a bad menu selection ("Mama mia, that''s a spicy meatball"). Today, it is estimated that 50 million Americans suffer chronically from some type of digestive pain and ask for increasingly more potent drugs for relief from this pain.
Unfortunately, this pain is not merely an annoying discomfort. Heartburn''s more severe cousin, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), is linked with serious damage to tissues and even with esophageal cancer-the fastest rising malignancy in the United States. (From 1975 to 2001, the rate of occurrence of esophageal cancer grew approximately six-fold in the United States. It carried a mortality rate that increased more than seven-fold.) Chapter 3 will investigate the shocking but very real possibility that the cause of this cancer, as well as gastric cancer, may be the long-term use of the acid-blocking drugs, rather than the GERD itself! At the same time, the survival rate for gastric cancer is 23 percent in the United States-but 60 percent in Japan.
As you will see in Chapter 2, each diagnosis has distinct characteristics, but for simplicity, I will often lump acid-indigestion, gastritis, heartburn, GERD, and other similar disorders under the general label "heartburn." This is because the underlying causes of the conditions, the drug therapy, and the benefits of the natural remedies are so very similar. Much of what we will discuss as we talk about restoring balance even applies to ulcers and gallbladder problems.
The term "heartburn" is a misnomer. The "burn" part is accurate enough, but the pain certainly isn''t in the heart. It isn''t even in the stomach. The pain comes from the esophagus (also called the gullet)-the muscular pipe leading from the throat to the stomach. Like all physical symptoms, the pain is akin to a red warning light on the dashboard of your car. When acid-blocking drugs are used for longer than a few weeks, they do little more than turn off this light. This, unfortunately, allows us to remain unaware of or ignore the real problem-which is not a deficiency of drugs and is, therefore, usually not treated by the medication.
The fundamental problem is that tissues which are not supposed to be in contact with stomach acid are being exposed to it. A healthy stomach is well protected by mucus against the burning effects of acid digestive juices. But sometimes that protective barrier can become depleted or infected. Pain, gastritis (stomach inflammation), or ulcers can result, allowing the raw tissue to come in contact with the acid and react painfully. The esophagus, on the other hand, has no protective mucus because digestive acid is not supposed to enter this passageway. Therefore, it hurts when acid reaches it. This signals that there is a problem with the mechanism that is supposed to confine stomach acid to the stomach. Once the normal barrier is malfunctioning, digestive juices can reach as far as the throat, which can cause a persistent sore throat and cough. In extreme cases, the liquid can reach the mouth and erode tooth enamel. These fluids may contain bile, which originates below the stomach and produces a very strong bitter/acidic taste when these fluids are belched up.
But why are these digestive juices able to reach these areas? The problem is usually that the lower esophageal sphincter (LES)-the valve between the esophagus and the stomach-does not tighten as it should after food has passed through it and into the stomach. The problem is not that our stomachs make acid. Our stomachs are supposed to make acid. You will see that the acid-blocking drugs-the go-to medical treatment for heartburn and a variety of other digestive problems-do not address, or even claim to address, the underlying cause of the pain. When used properly and for short periods of time, these medicines can provide temporary relief while the damaged esophagus or stomach tissue heals. It is easy to see how doctors can fall into the trap of using acid blockers for most stomach complaints since the presenting symptoms of low acid and excess acid are virtually identical. However, long-term use of acid blockers may actually make the real causes of heartburn worse.
Heartburn can be caused by a variety of factors and affected by variables such as genetics and environment. We will look at the most common causes of this pain, which include those on the following list. Some people have more than one of these interrelated conditions:
Low stomach acid
Insufficient digestive enzymes
Bacterial infection
Overgrowth of yeast
Food sensitivities
Hiatus hernia (a structural problem in which the stomach pushes up through the diaphragm)
Poor food choices
Bad habits
Mainstream medicine advises people not to lie down for two to three hours after a meal. This is good advice because it reduces the chances of having a painful episode and will further the tissue''s healing. However, this practice does not address any of the root causes on the list-and yet addressing these fundamental causes is important not only for achieving a long-lasting solution to heartburn, but also to promote overall health. They are explored further in several of the later chapters.
You may have thought that the first item on the list, low stomach acid, was a typo. Despite being counterintuitive, this is not a mistake. It only seems that way because we have been brainwashed to think of acid as bad. Insufficient stomach acid is one of the major causes of heartburn and a number of other seemingly unrelated symptoms. At least half of older people with heartburn actually have too little stomach acid. This decreased amount of stomach acid is something that often occurs as part of the aging process. A deficiency of stomach acid can also occur for other natural reasons or can be induced by medication. Regardless of the way in which it occurs, this depletion can cause a great number of health problems.
Stomach acid performs many crucial functions in the body. It is, for example, the first line of defense against allergens and disease-causing invaders such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi. This protection occurs even between meals. (Naturally, this makes it a problem that proton pump inhibitor acid suppressors may, as they claim, block acid for twenty-four hours a day.) Acid insufficiency can lead to bacterial overgrowth and may account for the increased incidence of potentially fatal pneumonia seen among patients taking acid-blocking drugs.
Stomach acid is also required for the absorption of some vitamins and several minerals that are needed in hundreds of critical bodily functions. One startling example is magnesium. Magnesium deficiency is a common cause of sudden death from heart arrhythmia-and the body''s uptake of this mineral is reduced when stomach acid is blocked. Remember, too, that this is only one of many examples of the important roles stomach acid plays in your health. Therefore, the logical conclusion for your overall health is not to cancel the production of your stomach acid but to instead fix the problem that is preventing the acid from remaining where it belongs.
In this book, you will find out how to determine what is wrong and how to fix the pain. You will also learn methods to improve the effectiveness of your digestion. Depending on your particular situation, the answers may actually be pretty simple. However, many people suffer from refractory (doctor-speak for "stubborn") heartburn due to low stomach acid, an overgrowth of harmful bacteria or yeast, or a hiatus hernia. Although these problems are a bit more challenging to address, there are natural ways to control them. There are also safe natural choices for pain relief while you are working on the bigger issues. The goal of this book is not just to stop your pain and improve digestion, but also to improve your overall well being and energy!
The reason I can set such a lofty goal is that the root cause of your digestive problem may also be causing other, seemingly unrelated symptoms. Fixing the foundational problems and restoring your natural balance brings relief in the short term but also pays huge dividends in a wider range of long-term health issues. Don''t be concerned if the options for determining cause and selecting treatment seem a little overwhelming at first. In the conclusion, I will outline, step by step, how to create a plan.
I hope to encourage you to take charge of your health and think outside the acid-blocker bottle. That change of view should be applied to a great many conditions because drugs taken under ideal conditions, as prescribed in hospitals, kill over 106,000 people each year. If we are to make a dent in the sickness care crisis that threatens to bankrupt our country, both doctors and patients must start thinking about diseases and symptoms in a new way.
This book is not intended to replace competent medical care. In fact, it would be great if you shared a copy with your physician if he or she is open to new healing ideas that, although supported by scientific research, aren''t publicized through the usual pharmaceutical industry-dominated channels. If, on the other hand, your doctor refuses to discuss alternatives, it may be time to seek out a second opinion from a professional with a different type of training and a more collegial outlook.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Natural Alternatives to Nexium, Maalox, Tagamet, Prilosec & Other Acid Blockersby Martie Whittekin Copyright © 2009 by Martie Whittekin, CCN. Excerpted by permission.
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