GERD is the medical term for Acid Reflux and the common description is “heartburn”. Just to be clear, this condition has nothing to do with anyone’s heart burning. What happens, in general, is that for a variety of reasons we will discuss, the acidic contents of the stomach leak up to the esophagus where that acidity is not tolerated by this tissue. When this happened, one experiences the acid burning on the lining of the esophagus. Many people have this condition of GERD or acid reflux (heartburn) and there are ways to ameliorate or eliminate the symptoms. In this two part Blog presentation we are going to review normal digestion principles how and why GERD might occur. In Part 2 we will detail some ways to lower the discomfort of heartburn and to review treatment and some pitfalls of self-treatment.
In Part 1, we will cover how the body is naturally functioning especially in the environment of the esophagus and stomach and some common reasons heartburn symptoms might develop.
Let’s first talk about why the stomach produces acid enough to cause the burning. The stomach is at an acidic ph. of 2-3 where neutral Ph. is about 7 which is close to the acidity of our blood. There is more of the physiology to understand that could be helpful. Let’s do this in the form of questions and answers.
Answer: It is the best environment for absorption of nutrients that we ingest.
Answer: The answer is in the physiology of digestion.
First of all LES, which stands for the Lower Esophageal Sphincter is a round area at the bottom of the esophagus. It is located at the junction of the stomach and it is made up of smooth muscle. As it is a muscle, it sometimes contracts and closes the space between the esophagus and the stomach and sometimes it is appropriate to be open for short periods of time. The LES does serves as a barrier so that acid containing stomach contents normally do not come in contact with the esophagus. When it is functioning properly, it naturally only opens long enough and timed perfectly to allow food to pass through.
Answer: There are several reasons the LES relaxes too much for too long.
Answer: Yes.
Other contributing factors: have to do with gravity along with eating late at night or eating too much late in the day. If after doing this this one goes to bed, then lying down flat with full stomach can contribute to the upward flow of acid contents of the stomach. Spicy foods that stimulate digestive juices which are acidic combined with lying down work against gravity. In this situation then the stomach contents can flow up where they should not be.
Answer: Here are some ideas below.
Treatment of symptoms and underlying cause are found in lifestyle changes and are accomplished with clear intention and firm resolve to heal this condition.
This is only Part 1 of this article. To read part 2, please click on the blog, "GERD - Part 2". Enjoy!
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