What is Acid Reflux and Treating Poor Digestive Health

What Causes Acid Reflux

When digestive acid escapes from the stomach through the lower esophageal sphincter, it irritates the esophagus causing that burning sensation sometimes referred to as heart burn.

Some people experience burning in the chest and throat during and after eating or drinking. The levels of discomfort can depend on how much they eat. Also symptoms can occur when lying down. Smoking can also contribute to acid reflux.

How often acid reflux occurs should also be tracked. If you regularly have more than two occurrences a week you should consult a doctor to find out if there may be some other underlying health problem such as ulcers or poor digestive health.

Most everyone experiences heart burn once in a while but if you have symptoms more than twice a week, then you may have some form of acid reflux disease like GERD. (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease)

Signs To Watch For

Symptoms may include a bitter or sour taste from stomach acid backing up into the throat and mouth, a sore throat, persistent cough, and/or hoarseness from frequent acid reflux. Also burping that results in the above symptoms is common and can indicate a problem with the sphincter valve.

For those who have had these symptoms for any length of time, you may have developed an ulcer which may produce bloody vomiting and/or black stools.

In any case, a physician should be consulted if you are having any of the above symptoms more than twice a week.

Early Onset of Acid Reflux

If you have not been suffering from heart burn for very long, there are some things you can do to address this in the early stages. It is worth noting that any chest pain could be serious and what some people thought was heart burn, actually turned out to be symptoms of a heart attack. Don't hesitate to call your doctor if you are not sure.

Controlling Diet

A change in diet would be the first obvious choice and eliminating the foods that cause heart burn should be tried first. Spicy and fried foods should be eliminated first to see if that helps. Alcohol and tobacco should also be reduced or eliminated as these are well documented to aggravate acid reflux disease.

If the symptoms still occur then there are several Over The Counter (OTC) medications available. Note on the product label that these medications are not intended to be used for extended periods of time and if the symptoms continue, then a physician should be consulted.

If your symptoms are mild but continue to be persistent, and the OTC remedies only offer temporary relief, then you may have issues in your digestive tract. Often when a person has lower intestinal digestion problems, acid reflux can be a side effect for poor digestive health.

Symptoms Indicating Poor Digestion

Some symptoms like bloating, excess gas, constipation or even diarrhea could mean that you have an imbalance in your digestive system. Partially digested food Ferments creating excess gas, and acid starts backing up in the stomach.

Just think of your digestive tract as a highway. If an accident occurs and the lanes are blocked, then a traffic jam quickly follows. Traffic slows to a crawl and backs up until the blockage is removed. Even then it still takes time for things to get back to normal.

It's the same inside your bowels. Food is not getting digested quick enough and everything starts to back up. Once you finally have a BM, the damage is already done and the symptoms of acid reflux may last for a few days.

Getting Relief

Getting treatment depends on what damages have been caused to the esophagus and what treatments your doctor may prescribe. In some cases your doctor will closely monitor your diet and prescribe drugs to repair the damage. Sometimes the damage is so severe that only surgery can repair the damaged lining and sphincter valve of the esophagus.

If it is suspected that acid reflux is just caused from poor digestion, then often it is recommended that the person add probiotic rich foods like yogurt to the daily diet. Also natural foods containing prebiotics and fiber are gaining popularity in treating poor digestive health too. Probiotic and Prebiotic supplements are also a choice many turn to for aiding their digestive health.

Relief from acid reflux can be obtained and the sooner an individual takes action to determine the root cause, the better. Waiting will only increase the chance of further damage and significantly increase the treatment and healing time.

Remember that a doctor should be consulted with any persistent pain in the chest, throat or stomach before taking OTC medications. In some cases what was thought to be heart burn was actually symptoms of a heart attack. Call your Doctor!

For information on prebiotic food sources as well as supplements to treat poor digestive health, please visit the authors web site page: Restoring Digestive Health

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