Can Heartburn be Cured?
The simple answer is YES! In most cases
heartburn can be cured without drugs, exercise or some crazy diet for the rest
of your life.
I know, you will say thats hard to believe,
because we have been conditioned to take drugs to help our Heartburn, Acid
Indigestion, GERD, Reflux, Acid Reflux or whatever else they are calling it
now-a-days. Basically all these conditions have about the same symptoms, just
different names. It all boils down to having chest discomfort or burning
symptoms due to the acid fumes from your stomach coming in contact with your
digestive organs.
Lately every second television commercial is about some
drug that is going to do wonders for us. Some advertisements dont even tell us
what the drug is supposed to do. They just say ask your doctor if ???? is good
for you, and according to my Doctor, people actually come in and ask him about
this drug advertisement that they seen on TV, and want to know if ???? is good
for them? Thats insanity! Dont people know that all drugs can have side
effects which you dont really need, and some of them are serious side
effects.
It's a fact, that 98.5% of all pharmaceutical drugs do not
heal or cure, they just mask or hide the symptoms! You'll still have
the problem and it will only get worse unless you fix it.
The drugs that are on the market are very good at masking
the symptoms and reducing the side effects of heartburn related problems, but
they are only to be used for a short period of time and not become a steady
diet. The drugs are not addressing the underlying problem, they only
reduce the effects of acid reflux so your heartburn experience is not as
painful.
If the underlying problem that is causing your heartburn,
is not corrected it can develop into a condition much more serious. Simple
heartburn if left untreated can lead to esophagitis, in which the
stomach acid fumes and sometimes the actual liquid acid itself refluxes
into the esophagus and causes it to become inflamed and ulcerated.
This constant assault of stomach acid fumes on your
esophagus will eventually lead to severe inflammation, which can develop into
esophageal ulcers or stricture. Stricture is when scarring develops, and the
underlying tissues of the esophagus become fibrous. When this happens the
esophagus narrows making it difficult to swallow food and drink.
At the lower end of the esophagus where it enters the
stomach, there is a strong muscular ring called the Lower Esophageal Sphincter
(LES). The LES should remain tightly closed, except to allow food and liquid to
pass into the stomach. However if the LES is damaged and swollen it will not
remain tightly closed, and you will have reflux on a regular basis.
This reflux condition is known by the medical community as
GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease). Approximately 1 in 10 people with GERD
develop a condition called Barretts esophagus. Barretts esophagus can be
serious and possibly lead to cancer of the esophagus.
The New England Journal of Medicine found that
people with at least one weekly bout of heartburn are eight times more likely to
develop esophageal cancer.
Lets take a look at GERD. (Gastroesophageal Reflux
Disease) you know the one where the commercials tell us that acid is splashing
up into our esophagus. If you look back 3 or 4 years you never even heard of the
word GERD or even Acid Reflux for that matter. These arent new dis-eases,
they are just new marketing names to sell the drugs. As far as the acid
splashing up into your esophagus goes, you would feel the liquid acid coming up
into your throat, and the majority of people dont. Do You?
Dr. Minocha, the Chief of Gastroenterology at the
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine says that GERD can also be a
factor in hoarseness, chronic cough, asthma, laryngitis, recurrent pneumonia and
ENT infections nocturnal choking, sleep apnea, loss of dental enamel, bad
breath, and, globus sensation.
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