Two Important Steps For Cures For Heartburn

By Dr. Timothy D Annis

Chronic heartburn is an an extremely common problem in the United States. In fact, it is estimated that over 25 million Americans suffer from chronic heartburn. Heartburn medication is one of the most profitable classes of drugs for the pharmaceutical industry. If your one of the thousands of heartburn sufferers that would like the experience real cures for heartburn this article is for you.

If you are ever going to experience true cures for heartburn there are two things you need to understand about heartburn and the normal course of treatment with medication.

First, even though all heartburn medication is designed to eliminate excess acid, many cases of heartburn are not actually caused by to much acid. More often than not, heartburn is caused by to little acid! You might ask "how is that possible when it sure as heck feels like to much acid"? The real problem isn't having to much acid, it's the fact that the acid isn't staying in the stomach where it belongs but moving up into the esophagus where it doesn't belong. Even a little bit of acid in the esophagus is a painful experience. The single most common heartburn home remedy is to take some form of vinegar, usually apple cider vinegar, with each meal. Many times this helps the heartburn. This seems strange to a lot of people because vinegar is an acid. If heartburn really is caused by to much acid, why is it that adding more acid reduces the symptoms?

Even though it seems counter intuitive to have a low acid condition lead to reflux, here is the possible mechanism of action. When digestion is poor due to reduced acids, excess gas is produced in the stomach. This gas increases pressure in the stomach which forces the stomach acid up into the esophagus. The addition of more acid to the stomach actually improves digestion which leads to less excess gas, which leads to less reflux. If you get relief from adding apple cider vinegar to your diet, it's a sure sign that you have low stomach acid.

The second thing you need to understand if you want a permanent cure for heartburn is the importance of proper food combining. It's a wonderful thing to live in a country where we have an abundance of quick easy food to prepare and eat. What most people don't realize though, is that different types of food require different enzymes and different levels of acid in the stomach to digest properly. For example, simple carbs, like noodles or white rice, digest best in a totally different environment than more complex foods like meats. They should never be eaten at the same time. If you make a habit out of eating simple foods with complex foods, which unfortunately, the standard American diet does all the time, it creates a situation where neither type of food digests well, once again leading to increased pressure in the stomach, which as you know, leads to reflux. A true cure for heartburn will teach proper food combining so you can avoid creating an imbalance in the first place. - 32390

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