Fix your acid reflux
Look to your left. Now look to your right. Chances are, at least one of the three of you is experiencing heartburn.
Reading this alone?
Well, then that doesn’t really work, now does it?! Lol. Just humor me for a sec.
I know that the people you know suffer from heartburn.
How do I know this? Heartburn is one of the top issues I help people work through in my health coaching program.
Before we dive in….
Stop reading right now, print this article so you can reference it later, and then forward this to everyone you know. Seriously. You will be helping more people in your circle by sending them this email than you will ever know. I’ll wait….
Ok, now that all your peeps have this info as well, let’s get into it.
Acid reflux.
Right off the bat, I’m going to say this. Acid reflux is more likely a sign that you have some imbalances in your gut microbiome (aka your colon). Yep, that burning in your chest can be caused by your colon (aka gut dysbiosis).
I’m also going to mention that I’m not a doctor and this information is for educational purposes only. But if any of this sets off alarms for you, call your doc asap and get the conversation going!
Now that we’re on the same page with this common gut dysbiosis symptom, let’s dig into this crash course.
What are the common signs of acid reflux? Here are how many people describe acid reflux:
Heartburn is a burning sensation in the chest, particularly after meals.
Regurgitation is where food actually comes up to the back of the throat. It’s not technically vomiting since there’s no nausea.
Sour taste or acidity in the back of the throat, which can commonly happen in the middle of the night.
Stuff coming up or actually vomiting.
If you experience any of those, you’re likely experiencing acid reflux. But there are several other atypical symptoms you could experience that could also point toward acid reflux.
Atypical signs of possible acid reflux:
Chest pain. If you have chest pain, first and foremost, make sure the heart is safe. You don’t want to be researching foods to help with acid reflux while you’re having a heart attack…call your doc or 911 if you think you may be in distress.
Difficulty swallowing, such as feeling like you have something stuck in your throat or struggling to initiate a swallow.
Chronic cough which can also include coarseness, voice change, wheezing, or nausea.
These atypical symptoms can be caused by other things, but there is a possibility that acid reflux is part of the problem.
What to do about acid reflux?
The first thing to talk about is medication. Of course, you will want to work with a practitioner for this part. Medications can often be effective but you want to make sure they are only used short term. If you don’t know if it’s acid reflux, an idea to talk about with your doctor is to try a twice-daily PPI for two weeks. If you don’t feel any better, it’s not acid reflux and it’s time to look for another cause. But if you do feel better, you can pretty safely say it’s acid reflux.
Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) are often recommended for acid reflux because they can help to heal the esophagus. Over-the-counter PPIs include Prilosec, Nexium, Prevacid, and Protonix. These medications can be very effective when dealing with damage to the esophagus (esophageal ulceration).
Next, if there are symptoms of acid reflux, there may be visible damage to your esophagus. A GI doctor can find this by doing an upper endoscopy. However, the esophagus may look normal. You can request your doctor take biopsies to look at it from a microscopic level.
If the lining of the esophagus has been damaged, even on a microscopic level, acid can sneak through and stimulate the tips of the nerves. This is heartburn.
When we talk about using medications, it is important to remember that no matter the medication, you should be using the smallest necessary dose. More is not better. Ideally, that dose is zero.
PPIs can cause several nutrient deficiencies when taken long-term so it’s also important to closely monitor nutrient levels and intake. Your doctor is probably not going to mention this to you. But it’s a big deal and needs to be addressed. If not, there will be a cascading effect and you’ll be dealing with other issues, too. Yay.
PPIs have not been designed to be used long-term. Unfortunately, many people are on them for their entire lives. Something else that is not often mentioned by doctors.
What’s the concern with that? Being on any medication long-term is going to have greater potential for harm.
The medical community is still learning about possible long-term side effects associated with PPIs. But what is already clear is that they negatively impact the gut microbiome and have been associated with SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth).
There has been some research suggesting a small connection between PPIs and decreased bone density. But we need more research here.
Whether you decide to try out a medication for a short trial period or a bit longer, 4-6 weeks, make sure you don’t quit cold turkey. Work with your doctor to taper the dosage.
Lifestyle Modifications
Lifestyle is often overlooked when dealing with more severe health issues because we assume that BIG issues require BIG doses of drugs. Well, in many cases, small changes add up to big results.
At the very least, why not try the least invasive things first, and if those don’t work, then move on to more intense ones? Please note, many of these things can be done in conjunction with the typical pharmaceutical approach and may help you achieve better results!
Reduce stress at meal times. This also includes slowing down your meals. Take your time and chew your food.
Have an early dinner time. Much of the damage may be done at night, even if you don’t have issues overnight. Aim for at least 4 hours between finishing dinner and going to bed.
Elevate your bed. Use pillows or books under your mattress to elevate your chest over your stomach. Just don’t give yourself a neck cramp!
Exercise!
Avoid large meals.
Lose weight. This is a biggie and really a MUST for anyone with acid reflux.
Now, on to the basic dietary changes that may help.
Eliminate the common trigger foods: caffeine, chocolate, spicy food, oil, carbonated beverages, and peppermint.
Eliminate any other foods that trigger your symptoms.
Avoid tobacco and alcohol.
This is a lot. I know, I get it. You’re looking at removing all the “fun” foods and beverages, right?!
You need to make a decision. If you have acid reflux and want to get off your medication, you will likely need to give up some of the foods you love (yes, that means coffee, too!). But that’s the only way this works! You cannot continue to do the same thing and expect a different result.
There are several other more specific things I do with my clients who are suffering from signs of acid reflux. But they get a little more complex so I prefer to keep those for my coaching sessions. I have worked with many people with substantial acid reflux and we have had great results using a combination of diet and lifestyle changes as well as supplementation.
And I can help you, too!
This information is going to change so many lives! Make sure to share it with everyone you know!