The ASSALT on GERD

(Gastroesophageal reflux disease)

How many times have you or someone you know complain of heartburn?  Did your MD prescribe Nexium, Protonix, Pepcid, Prevacid, Zantac or Pepcid?  There are other drugs that treat this condition as well maybe even cause it?

As we age our bodies slow down its processes because it lacks the raw materials to support optimal health.  The stomach lacks some of the hydrochloric acid to help digest foods.  Adequate acid is needed to break down food into a liquid that passes into the small intestine for absorption.  If we don’t break foods down, and pass larger particles into the small intestine-we can get “leaky gut”.  And that just opens up a whole lot of chronic illness possibilities right there.

We shouldn’t confuse this with peptic ulcer disease though.  That is where there is an erosion of the stomach lining.  What has been found recently in 70-90% of duodenal and stomach ulcer patients is a bacterium called H.pylori .  This bacterium increases your risk of insufficient stomach acid secretion, ulcers and stomach cancer.  The MD’s usually put you on a course of antibiotics and perhaps something similar to Pepto-Bismol for about a week or more.  But many folks don’t want to do this however, and here are some solutions for insufficient stomach acid production.

1.       Eliminate the most common causes of heartburn------fried foods, too much fat, processed meat with nitrates or nitrites in them.  Too much sugar, alcohol, chocolate, stress and even clothes that fit too tight around the waist.  People that over eat, are obese and are pregnant put too much pressure on the esophageal muscle.  With pregnancy, as the hormone levels change this in turn relaxes all the muscles in the body including the esophageal ones.

2.       Eat a balanced diet, try to go organic.  For an excellent discussion on a proper nutrition protocol, go to www.drglidden.com and click on “against the grain”. It takes only 15 minutes to view --- and it will definitely change your outlook on how you should eat. 

3.       Supplements-again as we age the production of stomach acid decreases.  The foods that we do eat aren’t as potent as they were 50 years ago.  This means we don’t get the nutrients we need from them.  Again simple things that we take for granted as “normal aging”, such as gray hair, arthritis, dry-wrinkled skin, age spots are really our bodies running short on essential nutrients.  Again my colleague, Dr Peter Glidden ND at www.drglidden.com has webinars on his website that addresses solutions to all health concerns. 

4.       Add salt to your diet.  That’s right!  The normal acid strength in our stomach is strong enough to burn right thru our hands if it were taken via a tube and placed on it.  Its name is hydrochloric acid.  As salt has sodium chloride in it, it definitely has capacity to help replace it.  A recommendation to use iodized sea salt (Morton’s has one) can have multiple health benefits.

5.       Calcium has been proven to help almost 150 different illnesses.  Of course the calcium is not taken alone due to what are deemed cofactors-nutrients/substances that are needed for its maximal absorption/function.  Your medical doctor is not the authority on this subject-but a naturopathic physician is. Calcium aids in the function of the muscle that opens to the small intestine allowing food to pass for the absorption phase.

6.       Drink adequate water- but avoid any ice cold drinks especially with meals.  Drinking more than 2 ounces or ice cold drinks cause the food to pass into the small intestine without adequate digestion by congealing  it causing the acid and digestive enzymes  to be ineffective. In the book,” The Bodies Many Cries for Water” by   F. Batmanghelidj water is an important nutrient to maintain the integrity of the stomach lining. 

I had a colleague who is an RN who had GERD and was taking nexium.  I recommended to stop drinking ice water and place more salt in her diet (she had no other health issues).  In approximately 1 week she stated she no longer needed her Nexium.

Again by supporting the body with all 90 essential nutrients in correct amounts we can prevent and potentially eliminate illness.  Our bodies have miraculous recuperative powers.  As my other colleague Dr Joel D. Wallach BS, DVM, ND stated and has proven with over 20 million dollars of seminal research:

“One sentence has killed more people than all the wars in American history…You get all the nutrition you need from the four food groups.” – Dr. Joel D. Wallach BS, DVM, ND.

I invite you to send questions or comments to:  MDenningRN61@gmail.com