by Morley Evans
I KNOW THE FOLLOWING about the condition called heartburn:
Heartburn may have nothing to do with one’s heart but it is extremely painful! Pain indicates a serious problem.
As I understand things, the stomach is full of acid. Digestion begins in the mouth with chewing and saliva. Chewed food travels down the oesophagus to the stomach where things that are harmful are killed by the acid bath. Protein digestion begins in the stomach. The food, now called chyme, travels into the duodenum which is the first part of the small intestine. The small intestine is where nutrients are absorbed for the body. Then chyme travels into the large intestine, into the colon, and is excreted.
"The large intestine is the final section of the gastrointestinal tract that performs the vital task of absorbing water and vitamins while converting digested food into faeces. Although shorter than the small intestine in length, the large intestine is considerably thicker in diameter, thus giving it its name."
At the bottom of the oesophagus is the lower oesophagal sphincter (LES). Its job is to keep the stomach acid from getting into the oesophagus. When stomach acid does get in HEARTBURN occurs. When one is young the LES works fine and one can and often does eat anything. As people age — or when everything is screwed up by something like Statin Drugs — the LES gets weaker. This is a very common problem.
The LES is activated by stomach acid. If that is weak, the LES doesn’t close. In such a case, weakening the acid is not the answer. People recommend not drinking water during meals because that weakens the stomach acid. Dr Renick prescribed acid that my maternal grandmother took with every meal.
Pharmaceutical medicine has prescribed antacids for over a century. They are a huge money-maker. Drug stores are full of them. Antacids keep getting stronger because they don’t really solve the problem. Digestion requires acid in the stomach. Proton pump inhibitors are one of the latest pharmaceutical nostrums to hit the market.
"Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) reduce the production of acid by blocking the enzyme in the wall of the stomach that produces acid. Acid is necessary for the formation of most ulcers in the oesophagus, stomach, and duodenum, and the reduction of acid with PPIs prevents ulcers and allows any ulcers that exist in the oesophagus, stomach, and duodenum to heal."
Gaviscon® is not an antacid. It creates a foamy chemical barrier to keep stomach acid from entering the oesophagus.
Restricting one’s diet doesn’t work.
None of these things deal with the problem or work that well over time. They all create problems of their own. The stomach is supposed to contain acid.
The following works for me!
D-Limonene strengthens the LES. Combined with DGL, heartburn is a thing of the past. DLG, by itself, isn’t the complete answer. It keeps the stomach healthy. D-Limonene by itself stops heartburn. I take both. I never take Zantac® that was recommended by a gastroenterologist. A warning from the FDA removed Zantac® from the market. Shouldn’t a gastroenterologist know that?
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