Heartburn can occur only after particularly hard-to-digest meals – or regularly. The usual drugs usually only help in the short term or as long as you take them. They do not lead to a cure. Natural home remedies and measures help much better here because they ensure in the long term that one will get along in the foreseeable future entirely without means, so no longer or only very rarely suffer from heartburn.
Stomach acid is not the problem.
In most cases, heartburn is blamed on stomach acid. Stomach acid, however, is an essential component of our immune system. It is the first instance responsible for destroying harmful bacteria and parasites that may arrive with food.
Gastric acid is also an essential factor in the digestive process. It ensures that the food pulp is further broken down and that proteins are prepared for digestion. This enables the digestive enzymes to process the food better, and nutrients and vital substances can be absorbed optimally.
Also, some digestive enzymes are activated by stomach acid in the first place – such as the protein-digesting pepsin. Without the “treatment” of food with gastric acid, the risk of infections would increase on the one hand, and on the other hand, the risk of inadequate digestion and, thus, in turn, of a lack of nutrients and vital substances.
Therefore, stomach acid has very great importance for man, not only for the health of his digestive system but also for the whole organism’s health. So why should stomach acid suddenly be a problem?
It is not the problem. The problem is usually entirely different causes and factors. Stomach acid is merely what finally hurts when it rises the esophagus. Therefore, the usual therapy aims to block or neutralize the stomach acid wherever possible.
For heartburn, antacids and PPIs are usually used.
For heartburn, most people first get an over-the-counter so-called antacid – alkaline salts that neutralize the stomach acid directly on site in the stomach.
If the problem becomes troublesome, people go to the doctor and are usually prescribed a proton pump inhibitor. These are acid blockers with the active ingredients omeprazole, pantoprazole, or similar. Proton pump inhibitors (also known as PPIs for proton pump inhibitors) work differently from the usual antacids. Acid blockers are drugs whose target is the vestibular cells in the stomach lining. These cells produce stomach acid. If they are now blocked, little or no stomach acid is produced.
Unlike antacids, acid blockers do not take effect immediately when swallowed. Instead, they first have to be absorbed in the intestine and then pass through the bloodstream into the gastric mucosa, reaching the gastric epithelial cells.
Acid blockers – the billion-dollar business with heartburn
Acid blockers are a billion-dollar business. They are among the drugs that are taken most frequently worldwide. Although PPIs are supposed to reduce the number of stomach removals due to gastric and duodenal ulcers, at the same time, more and more – also long-term – side effects are discussed that can be observed after PPI intake.
These side effects are the logical consequences of artificially induced gastric acid deficiency. This is because PPIs can rarely be dosed correctly so that only the (presumed) excess stomach acid is broken down, but the amount of stomach acid required for the person concerned can still be produced. See the link below for acid blocker alternatives.
Heartburn: The side effects of acid blockers
If PPIs are now swallowed for heartburn (and possibly on a long-term basis), the following side effects must be expected:
Paradoxically, gastrointestinal complaints are among the most common side effects of PPI. So one stomach problem (heartburn) is gone with PPI, but only to make way for the next stomach problem (e.g., nausea).
Headaches, sleep disturbances, fatigue, and dizziness can also be among the side effects of PPI.
The liver often does not respond favorably to PPIs, resulting in poor liver values in blood analysis.
PPIs can promote the development of food allergies. The food is not broken down as intensively if too little gastric acid is produced. This, in turn, increases the risk of undigested protein particles (which can act like allergens) passing through the intestinal mucosa into the bloodstream. However, since they do not belong there, the organism forms antibodies against them. When the allergens arrive again (i.e., when an undigested particle enters the blood again), an allergic reaction occurs.
PPI is also said to inhibit the absorption of iron, magnesium, and calcium, thus leading to anemia or a decrease in bone density and thus to osteoporosis (and all other effects of mineral deficiency).
If the stomach’s acid production is reduced by medication, then this leads – as mentioned at the beginning – to a bad immune situation in the stomach. Consequently, no one needs to be surprised anymore that people who take PPIs are much more susceptible to bacterial intestinal infections (e.g., Salmonella infections) than people who do not take PPIs and have healthy gastric acid levels.
Because the gastrointestinal cells also produce an intrinsic factor for vitamin B12 absorption, it stands to reason that suppression of the gastrointestinal cells by PPIs may also lead to intrinsic factor deficiency and subsequent poor vitamin B12 absorption.
If PPI is taken regularly and over a more extended time, this can end in a downright PPI dependency. After discontinuation of the PPI, the vestibular cells produce significantly more acid than they ever did before. One then has to struggle more than ever with heartburn. At some point, you don’t even want to stop taking the medication – for fear of heartburn.
Studies from 2009 even found that PPIs, when administered to healthy people, can lead to the symptoms they were actually designed to treat in the first place. Specifically, of 120 healthy people who never suffered from belching, heartburn, or stomach distress and were now given PPIs for eight weeks, 44 percent subsequently complained of belching, heartburn, or stomach distress, which was rarely the case in the placebo group.
The causes of heartburn
Heartburn can have several causes:
Hasty eating (or stress in general)
Poor chewing
Meals high in sugar or fat
Industrially processed foods
Incorrectly prepared meals
An infection with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori
Chronic acidosis: An unhealthy diet and lifestyle can also lead to acidosis of the tissues and body fluids. This latent acidosis, in turn, can then lead to acidosis of the stomach – as follows:
In addition, chronic hyperacidity can lead to heartburn.
In parallel with hydrochloric acid, the gastric mucosal cells always produce sodium bicarbonate simultaneously. This is an alkaline substance that acts as the body’s acid buffer. Part of the sodium hydrogen carbonate protects the gastric mucosa from burns caused by strong stomach acid. Another part enters the bloodstream and serves as a buffer substance in the tissues and organs, neutralizing those acids produced in the cells during metabolic processes.
Therefore, the gastric mucosa always produces as much sodium hydrogen carbonate as the body needs at any given time. Suppose there is chronic hyperacidity in the organism (i.e., in the tissues and not (yet) in the stomach!). In that case, the buffer requirement is exceptionally high, and the stomach mucosa cells produce a lot of sodium hydrogen carbonate.
But if a lot of sodium hydrogen carbonate is produced in the stomach, then, of course, many acids are also produced – although this may not be needed at the moment, as there is nothing to digest. And so chronic over-acidification of the tissue can lead to over-acidity of the stomach, heartburn, and, in the long term, possibly also to gastritis or a stomach ulcer.
Heartburn can occur due to gastric acid deficiency.
In most cases, heartburn is therefore assumed to be caused by excessive acid production by the gastrointestinal cells. In the meantime, however, it is suspected that the exact opposite may often be the case. And thus, many humans with heartburn suffer in reality, possibly from a stomach acid MANGEL. That sounds at first sight admittedly very illogically, on the second view, however by no means more.
A stomach that is low in acid must make a special effort to mix the food pulp as effectively as possible with the small amount of acid present. To do this, it needs two things: time and vigorous mixing movements.
Therefore, the food pulp lies in the stomach for a long time, which promotes fermentation processes. These fermentation processes produce acids. But, at the same time, the stomach tries to mix the food pulp with the small amount of gastric acid present through disproportionately strong muscle contractions. As a result, it happens repeatedly – so it is said – that parts of the food pulp, which now contains plenty of acids, are pressed into the esophagus and leave a burning sensation there.
If people with this problem take antacids or even PPI, the drugs can alleviate the symptoms in the short term, but they do not cure them; on the contrary, they worsen the problem in the long term.
The symptoms of gastric acid deficiency
Unfortunately, chronic gastric acid deficiency has symptoms similar to excess stomach acid. After meals, you may experience bloating, flatulence, and belching after meals with or without heartburn. The long-term consequences and symptoms of gastric acid deficiency are again those that have already been partially listed above in the side effects of PPIs, i.e., e.g.
(Food) allergies
Susceptibility to bacteria, fungi, and parasites
Mineral and trace element deficiencies (calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, etc.)
The possible mineral and trace element deficiency can lead to hair loss, bad skin (up to acne in adulthood), and brittle fingernails.
Underweight or problems with weight gain because the utilization of nutrients and vital substances is disturbed. Read also: Healthy weight gain in case of underweight.
If you suffer from heartburn, you are not alone. It can turn a relaxing meal into a four-alarm fire inside your body. For those suffering from heartburn, here are fifteen foods that may be safe for you to eat. What is heartburn? Another name for heartburn is acid reflux.
Heartburn occurs when the acid from within the stomach moves reverse from the stomach up the esophagus. When stomach acid comes in contact with such delicate tissue, it can cause pain and discomfort. Left untreated, heartburn can cause problems such as esophageal strictures due to the erosion of the lining there.
No one wants that to happen. You may take medicine to control your heartburn, but the smartest and healthiest thing you can do is learn what foods you can and cannot eat. While most of the foods we will discuss here are heartburn-free, each person is different. Some foods that may really irritate your stomach and lead to heartburn may not affect someone else.
Know your heartburn triggers
The way to know more about your heartburn is to find out your triggers. These foods, times of day, and other situations trigger heartburn. Keep a journal of daily meal times and ingredients in foods to chart when heartburn occurs.
Apples and bananas – these fruits do not contain a lot of citric acid.
Broccoli – roughage cleans out your digestive system and contains lots of fiber.
Bread – you can eat white, multigrain or whole wheat. Multigrain and whole wheat are better for your health.
Extra lean red meat – cutting away the fat can keep that food from causing heartburn.
Graham crackers – they make a nice healthy snack.
Chicken breasts without skin – lean meat can be cooked with the skin if it is removed prior to eating.
Fat-free cheese choices like low-fat cream cheese – too much fat can get the heartburn going again.
Water – it hydrates the body. If you don’t like water, add a flavoring packet.
Low-fat salad dressing – they do not contain the same fat content but will have the same taste yet with fewer calories.
Cookies – many sweets have to be avoided but you can have a few, like cookies, licorice and jelly beans.
Oatmeal and bran cereals.
Pretzels – The salted kinds are okay but avoid flavored ones.
Fish – bake your fish to avoid adding fat.
Egg whites – boil the eggs and discard the yolk.
Baked Potato chips or baked potato – stay away from the greasier form of chips or fried French fries.
Did you notice a theme here? Limit high fat, trans fat, processed, packaged foods. Use the above fifteen foods as a start for your diet. Then, continue to monitor what you eat and when to keep heartburn at bay.
Changing your diet to a Alkaline, unprocessed one can have a profoundly good effect on your digestion and could even help cure heartburn. Click here for Alkaline recipes
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