01/09/2022
❌Heartburn, Acid Reflux, and GERD❌
🔘🔘🔘🔘🔘🔘🔘🔘🔘🔘🔘🔘🔘🔘🔘
The terms heartburn, acid reflux, and GERD are often used interchangeably. They actually have very different meanings:
Acid reflux is a common medical condition that can range in severity from mild to serious.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the chronic, more severe form of acid reflux.
Heartburn is a symptom of acid reflux and GERD.
Candida overgrowth causes acid reflux in one of two ways: 1) fermentation and 2) the under-production of stomach acid.
Do you experience frequent heartburn/reflux? Indigestion? Maybe you take over the counter antacid relief, or your doctor prescribed you Nexium (the purple pill) or Prilosec. After all, it makes sense: if you have stomach acid burning your esophagus, you need an antacid to neutralize it for pain relief, right?
Actually, this is not always the case. The majority of reflux patients (MORE THAN 90 percent) actually have LOW stomach acid, not high stomach acid (called hyperchlorhydria), which is pretty unusual. Conventional medicine has a knack for treating the symptoms without uncovering the underlying cause of what causes the reflux.
In the case of chronic heartburn, it’s insufficient or alkaline stomach acid, not too much stomach acid, that’s the cause.
Your stomach acid should be around a PH of 2, incredibly acidic, so that it can break down food into a liquid (chyme) that travels to the small intestine, where nutrients are absorbed, and then the large intestine, where waste travels onward and outward to be excreted. If your stomach acid is at a higher PH, more alkaline, food cannot be properly broken down, and any pathogens, bacteria, or anything else that might be possibly contaminating your food won’t be killed. When food is not properly broken down, it ferments/putrefies in the intestinal tract, giving off gases and causing a burning sensation that then travels up the esophageal tract. This causes reflux. It also travels out the other end, causing gas and bloating.
“Medication that treats heartburn reduces stomach acid. Examples include H2 antagonists (Zantac) or proton pump inhibitors (PPIs, like Prilosec). Both suppress the secretion of stomach acid.
Stomach acid, HCl (hydrochloric acid), is naturally acidic for a reason. The acidic nature of stomach acid protects the body against outside bacteria, yeast, parasites, and other infectious microorganisms.
Stomach acid activates enzymes that break down protein into smaller fragments that the body can use. When stomach acid is weak, the body grows deficient in protein, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, iron, and zinc.”
Did you catch that?! If you have acid reflux caused by candida overgrowth which causes the under production of stomach acid and you’re taking traditional heartburn medication? You’re actually making your heartburn WORSE by continuing to lower your stomach’s acidity! 😱😱
Beyond its immediate miseries, acid reflux is believed to create precancerous cells that increase your esophageal cancer risk.
Acid-blocking drugs might temporarily relieve acid reflux, but in the long term they simply compound the acid problem, plus offer the following serious side-effects:
1. Decreased nutrient absorption
Acid-blocking drugs hinder vitamin B12, calcium, magnesium, and iron absorption. PPIs and H2Bs also block hydrochloric acid, raising your stomach's normally acidic, optimal pH.
A more alkaline pH interferes with nutrient absorption, creating deficiencies.
2. Increased osteoporosis and bone fracture risk
Higher stomach pH levels decrease calcium absorption, increasing risk for osteoporosis-related fractures, particularly hip fractures in women.
3. Impaired digestion
Acid blockers create fertile ground for yeast (like Candida) to colonize your digestive tract, particularly your small intestine. Among its problems, yeast overgrowth creates chronic fatigue, muscle aches, joint pains, mental fog, abdominal discomfort, bloating, a**l itching, and skin rashes.
4. Intestinal infections
Because stomach acid sterilizes food, low levels increase bacterial overgrowth. Rare infections like Clostridium difficilecommonly occur when acid-blocking drugs suppress gastric acid.
5. Higher pneumonia risk
One meta-a**lysis found acid-blocking drugs suppress immunity, increasing your risk for both community- and hospital-acquired pneumonia.
And beyond these harms, acid-blocking drugs treat symptoms but don't address the underlying problem. Often, it's the opposite—meaning a lack of stomach acid (rather than too much)—that actually creates acid reflux in the first place. If that sounds counterintuitive, let me explain: Low stomach acid leads to poor digestion, causing food to sit in your stomach longer, inevitably resulting in reflux. Think about your grandmother; older people have frequent heartburn because their bodies aren't making as much stomach acid.
Ditch the antacids!!!
We see many people resolve their heartburn thanks to Plexus 🙌🏼
Triplex addresses the “three Rs” of treating heartburn and GERD naturally:
1. Reduce factors that promote bacterial overgrowth and low stomach acid.
2. Replace stomach acid, enzymes and nutrients that aid digestion and are necessary for health.
3. Restore beneficial bacteria and a healthy mucosal lining in the gut.
