Gastro-Oesophageal Reflux Disorder

Definition

Gastro-Oesophageal Reflux Disease is a lower oesophageal sphincter issue where the sphincter relaxes and acid regurgitates from the stomach into the oesophagus. The dysfunctioning of the sphincter to the stomach.

It’s a condition that can be reversed but will depend on the amount of time you have had it and the damage that has already been done to your sphincter in the lower oesphagus.

Causes

Some of the causes of this condition can be:-

  • Gluten Intolerance
  • H Pylori (Get tested may be a reason for low stomach acid)
  • Hiatus Hernia
  • Trigger Foods
  • Stress
  • Low Stomach Acid * (See Below For Hot to Test For This)
  • Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)
  • Pregnancy
  • Obesity

Diagnosis & Risks

You may be able to identify this condition by an increase in mucus. There may also be a risk of Ulcers too. So it might be an idea to get checked to ensure that these are not causing you an issue.

Be aware that your doctor can misdiagnose this as a cardiac pathology so be clear with your symptoms so that all the information is relayed.

Reflux Related Symptoms

  • Postnasal drip (respiratory reflux)
  • Chronic throat clearing (respiratory reflux)
  • Lump in throat sensation (respiratory reflux)
  • Hoarseness (respiratory reflux)
  • Shortness of breath (trouble getting air in)
  • Chronic throat clearing (respiratory reflux)
  • Excessive throat mucus (respiratory reflux)
  • Nocturnal Reflux
  • Regurgitation
  • Heartburn
  • Chest pain
  • Choking episodes
  • Vocal fatigue
  • Voice breaks
  • Chronic cough
  • Dysphagia
  • Difficulty swallowing
  • Wheezing
  • Food getting stuck in the throat
  • Airway obstruction
  • Nasal congestion
  • Nausea

Watch out too for any dark sticky stools that pay partially contain blood. This could be caused by internal bleeding or the swallowing of blood.

If you have any breathing issues this would be a red flag issue and you will need to see your doctor as quickly as you can.

Complications

Antacids can contain aluminum, which is a heavy metal and can be seriously detrimental to your health and wellbeing. Best to control this with diet over medications.

Phases of GORD

PHASE 4

This is the worst stage and may need medical help. You may be unable to recover on your own and may need support. The entire GIT (gastro-intestinal tract) will need to be supported. And you may well have many other symptoms that are concerning you. Check the body symptoms list to see where you are. You may want to see your doctor and as for a functional test called oesophageal function testing.

PHASE 3

If you have come from stage 4 then you know you are improving but its early days and so you need to refocus on your goals. It would be easy to regress to old ways now but stay strong and on track as what you doing is working. You can assess yourself again by retaking the Reflux quiz. This will motivate you to stay and keep on track. Another way would be to fill in the “Body Symptoms” Quiz. It may take weeks to months in this phase, depending on how long you have had the reflux inflammation and condition.

PHASE 2

Symptoms are getting much better and clearing up. What you need to do now is to keep going and not give up on your diet plan for alleviating these symptoms. Try to cut down on any reflux medications at this point to give yourself the best chance to heal properly and stop reliance on any PPI’s. Be careful if you are traveling or going on holiday your new regime still applies or you will be heading to phase 3 rather than remission.

REMISSION

This is your goal at all times to be reflux free! So set your sites on this and make it clear. Check out the Mindset course for help with this. When you reach remission there is no point re-introducing the old foods that will just trigger the reflux again. Stick to the Reset phase and a whole-food, plant-based diet for best long term results. You can start to re-introduce some of the other whole-foods as found in the ultimate shopping list. We would recommend that you do that one food items at a time to ensure there are no food intolerances or allergies associated with those foods and prevention of flare up.

SELF ASSESSMENT for GORD

Assess yourself with the questions below to find out how severe your reflux is –

0 means you have no issues with this and 5 means it is a real issue and at its highest, you have ever felt it.

GORD Quiz


GORD Quiz


Medications You Might Be On or Prescribed

These are some of the Typical Medications The doctor will give you for reflux.

There are 2 forms.

  1. PPI – Proton Pump Inhibitors and
  2. HsA’s which are H2-Antagonists.

Both come with side effects and are not your magic pill.

If you have been taking PPI’s for a long time then you may feel some of the side effects like :-

  • Rebound hyperacidity
  • Diarrhea
  • Pain in the abdominal region.
  • Bloating

PPI’s are stronger than H2A’s, so be careful. If you have been on PPI’s for years you may want to ask your doctor to see how you can come off them. Tell your doctor about your new diet and lifestyle regime that you will be on so that your Dr. can see you making positive and proactive changes.

 

Other medications that can be used for the upper digestive tract and oesophagus are prokinetic agents, Neuropathic syndrome medications and over the counter liquids.

Prokinetic agents are used to helping the functioning of the oesophageal tract.  Such as the motility of the chewed foods that are swallowed into the oesophageal tract.

The neuropathic medications are for the nervous system as the main nerve that runs through the throat, vocal area, ear, oesophagus, heart, intestines, liver & gallbladder. These medications would be used to help the nerves of the digestive tract. A damaged nerve(s) could result in a nasty virus and throat infection. These conditions may not resolve with reflux medications alone.

There are also over the counter liquids like ant-acids and Gavisgon.

PROTON PUMP INHIBITORS

  • Dexlansoprazole – DEXILANT
  • Esomeprazole – NEXIUM
  • Lansoprazole – PREVACID
  • Omeprazole – PRILOSEC
  • Omeprazole/Bicarb – ZEGERID
  • Pantoprazole – PROTONIX
  • Rabeprazole – ACIPHEX

H2-ANTAGONISTS

  • Cimetidine – TAGAMET
  • Famtidien – PEPCID
  • Ranitidine – ZANTAC

PROKINETIC AGENTS

If you want to be successful and help your body to heal. Then you need to know the answer to these and make your goals pretty clear in your mindset. For more on MINDSET click here

Your Stomach & It’s Importance

You stomach is designed to be very acidic so that it can break down the contents. The pH is should be around 1-3. Stomach acid does not break through the stomach wall lining as it is protected by a layer of goblet cells that secret mucous, which line the stomach wall. The oesophagus, which is the long tube from the mouth to the stomach is not designed to deal with the acid that may come up with from the stomach to the oesophagus.
If you consistently get this acid coming up then there are 2 symptoms that you are likely to experience like heart burn, or regurgitation that will backs up to the throat and mouth.
Other symptoms are
  • burping,
  • hiccups,
  • wheezing,
  • nausea,
  • horseless or
  • constant sore throat and for some bloody stool or bloody vomiting see your doctor if this happens as it’s a red flag signal to you something is wrong.

 

7 Major Functions of Stomach Acid

  1. Stops pathogens & bacteria
  2. Starts the protein digestion in your body
  3. Activates pepsinogen to the active form pepsin which is the enzyme needed to break down dietary protein
  4. Activates intrinsic factor which is the glycoprotein that is used in the absorption of vitamin B12
  5. Stimulates the production of bile and pancreatic enzymes. A high pH will see a cascade of undigested foods through the digestive system.
  6. Helps close the upper oesophageal sphincter, which is the flap that separates the stomach from the oesophagus. So if the stomach acid is not strong enough you will get acid reflux symptoms
  7. Regulates the opening of the pyloric sphincter which is responsible for moving the contents from the stomach to the small intestine.

Testing Your Stomach Acid Levels

ACID REFLUX

So if you are someone who has acid reflux today then there are a number of things that you can do straight away to reduce the severity of your reflux symptoms and also some long term resolution strategies that we will also get into.

Quick Interventions for Short Term Relief

So if you are experiencing acid reflux symptoms then a couple of quick interventions you can try are apple cider vinegar before every meal or hydrochloric acid supplements before every meal.
Hydrochloric Supplements (Betaine Hydrochloride)
These will increase the pH of your stomach and reduce the intensity of the reflux symptoms. I would suggest 2 tbsps of apple cider vinegar. In terms of hydrochloric acid symptoms you want to slowly increase the dose day by day starting off with one before every meal until the symptoms reduce or go away.
 
Now some people find that they have take up to 5-10 hydrochloric supplements a day before the symptoms reduce, but remember this is a temporary aid to help reduce your symptoms you certainly shouldn’t be taking apple cider vinegar or hydrochloric acid long term, you want to get to the route cause of your issues.

Apple Cider Vinegar (AVC)

Take a teasooon of AVC with water 30 minutes before a meal and help the stomach to prepare its HCL. By cooking and prepareing food the stomach is also triggerd to produce HCL which is why fast food is not necessariy helpful in terms of our digestion. Convenience is only good for your time not your health.

Try this and see how you get on. Continue to repair the gut and your digestion will soon come back on track.

Chewing on Root Ginger

Another short term strategy that many people find super useful is chewing on ginger root when those symptoms of reflux start occurring. However those tips that that I have just discussed, ie  the apple cider vinegar or hydrochloric acid, or the baking soda or the ginger root are things you can do right now to reduce symptoms and improve your quality of life. But as I said previously we want to get to the route cause of the problem and not just reduce symptoms. Look to heal your gut.

FINDING THE CAUSE

The following list is things you can do to tackle and address the common causes of acid reflux.

Anti-Inflammatory Diet

You need to reduce the inflammation in your body and eat a low inflammatory diet. So lots of whole plant based foods that includes lots of antioxidants and phytonutrients. You also want to remove the processed refined foods and sugars out of your diet. The gut loves apple for the pectin. It loves cabbage as it is soothing. It loves beans and they help produce great gut flora.

Food Sensitivies 

You need to remove any foods from your diet that are causing food sensitivities and intolerances. So keep a food diary and if you notice gluten is causing an issue for you then remove this from your diet. If you don’t remove foods that cause you a problem then will be having an inflammatory effect in the gut and it will inhibit stomach acid production.

Get to Your Normal BMI Range 

If you are overweight then you need to lose weight so that you fall in line with a suitable BMI for you as a person. If you are overweight you will have higher abdominal pressures in the abdomen that will be pushes the acid from the stomach up into the oesophagus. So you need to lose weight.

Don’t Eat or Drink 3 Hours Before Bed

This is a really simple one but if you experience acid reflux then you need to stop eating or drinking 3 hours before you got to bed. By doing this most of the food will have released from the stomach into the small intestines and there will be very little to come up into the oesophagus when you lay down to go to sleep.

Digestive Issues?

You have to get rid of any infection in the gut that are driving reflux symptoms. So if you have lots of digestive issues such as gas and bloating, reflux, constipation or cramping then you will want to work with a practitioner to establish if you have small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, h pylori, c diff or anything else that could be the route cause of your reflux.

Ditch The Caffeine & Alchohol 

Remove caffeine and alcohol from your diet until you have got to the route cause of your issues as very often these beverages exacerbate the issues. Caffeine also binds to minerals like calcium, zinc and magnesium all hugely important to you overall wellbeing.

Probitic Rich Foods

For long term digestive health you need to consume probiotic rich foods on a weekly basis such as sauerkraut and kimchi. These will put lots of beneficial bacteria in the gut that will improve gut integrity and overall gut health.
LOSE CLOTHING & BELTS 
is this is one that most people forget in the grand scheme of things and that is to ensure you are night wearing tight clothes and belts that put pressure on your stomach and can cause the stomach acid to migrate into the oesophagus.

Additional Help From Bio-Care

Simple Stomach Acid Home Test

Baking Soda Test

In the morning on an empty stomach drink a glass of water with 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda and mix.
Drink this and set a timer for 3 minutes and should produce a lot of gas in that time. This will help you to burp. Lots of burping is a healthy stomach and good pH balance.

2nd TEST

Get a pot of betaine HCL
  • HCL secretion aids in protein digestion
  • It activates the protein digesting enzyme pepsin
  • Fights off undesirable overgrowth of bacteria in the stomach and small intestines
  • It also encourages the flow of bile and pancratic enzymes
To take the HCL challenge test,
  1. You need to eat on an empty stomach
  2. Eat a fist size portion of high protein food like seitan, tofu, chickpeas or quinoa and add some salad leaves.
  3. After take a capsule of HCL then finish the meal
  4. Pay particular notice on how you feel over the next hour
  • If you feel small amount of indigestion
  • Acid reflux
  • Burping and do not normally produce these then you are producing enough HCL
If you do not notice anything then it can mean that you are low in stomach acid.
If you regularly experience acid reflux, indigestion and burping then you should notice that when taking the HCL that your symptoms should feel reduced or go away.
This supplement will help the stomach to be at the correct level and helps contract the oesophageal sphincter, which is the muscle flap at the top of the stomach, stopping the acid entering the oesophagus.
If you have bloating, burpling and acid reflux and you still have it when you take the supplement and you continue to notice the symptoms then the next day do the HCL challenge test and add in 2 HCL tablets/pills. If no symptoms then you know your stomach acid is not what it should be
Repeat up to day 5 with 5 HCL tablets
In this case reach out to a health practitioner to find out the root cause of hte issues
This is also very important if you have lots of loose stools, constipation, or pale or floating stools

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