What causes Heartburn? Definitions, Root Causes, and Remedies
June 22, 2008 – 12:30 amThe cause of heartburn is refluxed gastric acid that enters the esophagus and then inflames the lining. This leads to the familiar symptom of heartburn as the throat or chest area discomforting burning feeling, produced either when eating a meal or afterwards.
If, like many healthy people, you get heartburn from time to time, this may not mean that you have a medical problem. It is when it becomes persistent that it suggests a condition of acid reflux disease, or GERD (gastro esophageal reflux disease). This painful and weakening condition has become very common for inhabitants of western countries.
GERD symptoms are not just limited to heartburn. They can also be experienced as regurgitation, pains in the thorax, bouts of asthma, a hoarse voice and a dry cough, amongst others.
Recent medical research demonstrates an interconnection between cancer of the esophagus and GERD. This shows the requirement to tackle acid reflux in a timely and effective manner. GERD can increase suffering even further if it is not correctly untreated, possibly evolving into yet more serious problems.
To treat GERD in an effective way, it is imperative to identify and treat the underlying causes of this medical condition. Some causes cannot be suppressed or controlled, for example, inherited characteristics that encourage the phenomenon of heartburn. Other causes may be interrelated, such as bad sleep habits, too much stress, build up of toxins, Candida infections and bad diet habits which can all either directly or indirectly lead to acid reflux.
To combat heartburn, there are three major kinds of treatments that a sufferer can consider. Medications, whether prescription or over the counter, form the first category. Examples for acid reflux relief are antacids, H2 blockers and PPIs. These products target the relief of the symptoms of GERD by canceling out or decreasing the production of stomach acid. Sadly, these medicaments are only a short-term solution and may even have undesirable side effects.
The second broad category for trying to resolve acid reflux is surgery. There are however major disadvantages to this second category. Surgery is by nature intrusive and can therefore provoke other health problems. It only addresses the physical aspect of heartburn (a malfunctioning sphincter), without any action to get rid of the hidden causative agents that are in fact at the root of the problem. Surgery’s objective is to provide reinforcement of the sphincter muscle that seals off the esophagus from the rest of the digestive system, so as to stop gastric acid from getting back into the esophagus. When GERD begins, it is habitually because this sphincter is not shutting when it should, and not blocking the reflux of stomach acids towards the esophageal cavity in the reverse direction.
The third possibility for victims of heartburn is the all-natural, holistic approach. It is possible to cure GERD permanently, safely and effectively by following a program that is designed to tackle the underlying causes of acid reflux. This makes such an approach the most effective and the most efficient, because it is the only one to fight the internal dysbiosis in a holistic manner, while at the same time alleviating the symptoms and bringing back the natural inner equilibrium of your body.
Tags: Health and Fitness
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