The prevalence of acid reflux is staggering, so you probably either know someone who suffers or suffering yourself. About 15% of Canadians experience it at least once a week, and it is estimated that about 16% of work productivity is lost due to the symptoms.
Acid reflux is caused by the acid from your stomach moving up into the esophagus and can create the feeling many people describe as heartburn, though it has nothing to do with the heart. Lesser-known symptoms include a chronic cough or sore throat, burping, or a bitter or sour taste in the back of the throat.
One of the first things most people try is an over-the-counter antacid. If symptoms persist, then a doctor’s visit often results in a prescription for either an H2 blocker or a proton pump inhibitor (PPI). PPIs are the second most used drug in Canada, and many people are using it for longer than the recommended length of time, which is no more than 8 weeks.
If these medications sound like the answer, then consider that their use simply masks the problem. They don’t address why the acid is travelling back up into your esophagus in the first place. In fact, long-term use may make the problem worse and is associated with an increased risk of:
- bone fractures
- inability to absorb nutrients
- kidney damage
- intestinal infections
- pneumonia
- dementia
So, what should you do?
The solution needs to uncover why the problem is occurring and address it. It’s often more than one thing. Here are some potential triggers for reflux.
- Foods such as coffee, chocolate, alcohol, fatty or spicy meals, or carbonated beverages.
- Overeating or eating within 3 hours of bedtime.
- Low stomach acid - this results in poor food breakdown, causing food to sit in the stomach, begin to ferment, and trigger the release of gas. Sometimes when this gas moves upward some of the stomach contents, which are acidic, make contact with the esophagus, causing discomfort.
- H Pylori infection - this bacterium contributes to insufficient stomach acid, and likewise, a low stomach acid environment provides an environment hospitable for the overgrowth of H Pylori. A DNA-based test is the best way to identify its presence.
- Rushed eating that creates a poor digesting environment (i.e. low stomach acid due to diverting the body’s resources away from digestive function).
- Obesity or a hiatal hernia, both of which increase upward intra-abdominal pressure.
NOTE: It’s important to check with your practitioner before making changes to prescribed medications and get their OK to work with a nutritionist or other practitioner to integrate the changes needed to support digestive function and reduce or eliminate the need to medicate.
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