I have a client that is having some trouble with heartburn. More specifically, she finds that bread is the only thing that can suppress the acid.
She’s currently taking something like 40mg of Losec per day and her doc is going to do a scope, but are there any alternative foods that might help the burning feeling so we can keep her carb count reduced?
Any other thoughts/ideas related to her condition would be appreciated.
Yeah, definitly see what the scope shows. I have acid reflux and its a pain in the ass, but I’m on 40mg nexium a day and as long as I take it at the same time during the day, give or take an hour or so, I never have to deal with it.
Other than that, tums can be helpful for heartburn releif right on the spot. As for foor, whole milk usually knocks mine down in a minute if I forget to take my nexium.
Do some research into orange peel extract (d-limonene).
Long term acid reflux, which I’ve seen before in women that had long term dietary deficiencies, can be a huge health issue.
If I recall, DGL can be used to help with the stomach lining and so forth, and d-limonene is often effective (there are studies) for many sufferers, but you can’t take it if you might have an ulcer.
When possible, I prefer natural (but scientifically based) remedies instead of harsh drugs with a whole host of side effects. They are worth a try if not already under medication and with the supervision of an open minded doctor might be able to replace medication for some people.
has she tried vinegar. i heard ingesting exogenous acidic substances causes the stomach to produce less acid. I’ve tried it and it helps. just an idea, i’m not a certified professional. laters pk
I’ve used products containing d-limonene (i.e., Celapro by Metagenics) for other purposes before, but I can’t seem to find the scientific studies validating the use for heartburn or GERD.
The one listed on most Google searches does not come up in Pubmed as it is a “proprietary study”. I’m not totally discounting it. I just can’t seem to find any real peer reviewed scientific evidence. Anyone know of any?
The DGL seems promising. I’ll look more into this. I haven’t got to the grapefruit seed extract yet.
I’ve heard of increasing acid to prevent reflux, but this hasn’t worked in her case.
One idea that is controversial and that her MD may not even really know about is that the heartburn might be a result of candida yeast/h.pylori run amok.
This can be caused by a number of things…eating too many high glycemic foods or a course of antibiotics in the past(which destroys good bacteria in the gut, thus letting the bad bacteria flourish).
So she MIGHT want to look into an anti-candida regimen. Eating NO cereals (rice, wheat, etc), no fruit for a while, taking the grapefruit seed extract, garlic (not the kind in pill form, but REAL GARLIC cut finely and RAW), plus taking a lot of good probiotics (supplements that contain large amounts of good bacteria like acidophilus), etc.
Of course, I dont expect you (her) to believe me but she might want to visit
an M.D. specializing in Orthomolecular medicine…they would know all about Candida, etc.
When I get heartburn I take some digestive enzymes. Mine is caused by the mix or type of food I ingest. It isn’t a daily problem, so maybe this doesn’t apply. I’m probably a simple ass, but they work for me.
For those who noted this, I’m aware of the difference between intermittent heartburn and GERD. My client has had an ulcer in the past that supposedly cleared up. Now she has been suffering with this condition again for several months.
The H Pylori test was negative, but her doctor took his lazy ass time before ordering a scope. Even though the Losec takes the edge off I’m not a fan of long term use of meds like these including H2 antagonists.
Let Mercola Chime in…
I know many on here think he is a little off his rocker, but he doesn’t turn to writing scripts for everything in the world, so I would try his suggestions prior to eating the “PURPLE PILL” daily.
"Dr. Mercola’s Comment:
Folks, I can assure you the number of people who actually need this drug is less than 1 in 100 of those taking it. In other words, people are being prescribed drugs for heartburn when it is one of the easiest medical problems to treat. Most people ignore heartburn as an important clue from their body and rely on a drug to further suppress the symptoms.
This is the equivalent of driving your car and ignoring the idiot light that comes on your dashboard warning you of a problem. Using a band-aid like Prilosec to cover the light allows you to ignore the problem and although it may solve the problem in the short-term, the implications for ignoring this important clue are quite obvious as you could be looking far more costly repairs by not acknowledging the symptom.
So what is the solution for heartburn?
There are several key points:
Drink adequate amounts of clean water.
Follow the eating plan being careful to avoid sugar.
Use 1-2 cloves of raw fresh garlic per day to eradicate H. pylori which is a factor for many with heartburn.
Let me pipe in here again. I just read an interesting recent book about this called “Why Stomach Acid Is Good For You” by Jonathan Wright M.D.
In this book Dr. Wright argues that 95 percent (in other words not everybody but a high percentage) of people who have GERD or acid reflux actually have TOO LOW stomach acid. The problem is with the stomach sphincter.
Now, of course, the best thing to do is go get your stomach acid tested. Problem is most mainstream Doctors will not do this.
You could do the HCL test. Eat a high protein meal and take some HCL (with pepcid in it). However, that might be problematic IF the person in question has an ulcer.
Anyway check out this thread for some more information on this line of thought:
Here is the extract of a study that was report in the New England Journal of Medicine on mastic which has been proven to kill h. pylori, a bacteria linked to peptic ulcers…