Indigestion is also known as dyspepsia. It is used to describe a few different conditions. Some of these are a sensation of fullness during or following a meal that is uncomfortable, as well as acid reflux, also known as heartburn. Indigestion is an uncomfortable yet common condition. For some people it occurs after almost every meal. It is treated as a natural occurrence, but it can be an indicator of a serious condition.

Sometimes indigestion is the result of a serious medical condition:

• Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, or GERD — This condition occurs when the sphincter that connects the esophagus to the stomach malfunctions and stomach acid backs up into the esophagus. The acid erodes away the lining of the esophagus and, if left untreated, can even lead to cancer of the esophagus.
• Peptic Ulcer Disease — A peptic ulcer is a sore or raw spot that develops in the lining of the stomach, the esophagus or the small intestine. Ulcers are usually caused by a bacterial infection due to H. pylori bacteria, and can also be caused by some medications.
• Cancer — As frightening as it is, sometimes the first symptom of stomach cancer is indigestion. If you have indigestion and cannot identify a reason, or if cancers of the stomach or other digestive organs run in your family, speak with your doctor to rule it out.
• Pancreatitis — Sometimes inflammation of the pancreas can lead to indigestion symptoms. Pancreatitis can be caused by gallstones or by chronic alcoholism.

Sometimes indigestion occurs because of lifestyle behaviors that can be changed:

Eating meals that are overly large can cause indigestion. When the stomach becomes overly full, the sphincter relaxes, allowing food and stomach acid to seep into the lower intestine. This can be prevented by eating several smaller meals throughout the day, rather than three huge ones.

Smoking can also cause indigestion, because the smoke irritates the esophagus. In addition to helping ease the indigestion, quitting smoking will help your health in a number of other ways. If you are smoking, now is an excellent time to speak with your doctor for help quitting.

People who are overweight are often prone to indigestion. Part of this may be due to eating meals that are overly large, but the added weight also appears to put stress on the digestive system and causes the sphincter muscles to relax.

Certain beverages can lead to indigestion, including those that are caffeinated, carbonated or alcoholic. These act as irritants on the lining of the stomach and the esophagus. Cutting these out of your diet and sticking with plain water is a healthy lifestyle decision.

Medications like aspirin and ibuprofen can be quite irritating to the lining of the stomach. You may find that stopping these can provide some relief. Before stopping a medication that has been prescribed, however, have a conversation with your doctor to make sure that discontinuing it is appropriate.

Understanding what is causing your indigestion will go a long way in choosing an appropriate treatment plan. Track your symptoms and see if you can link them to a cause. If you can’t easily identify one, make an appointment with your doctor or other healthcare provider.

For more information on the causes of indigestion be sure to visit Reflux Remedy at www.refluxremedy.com today!

When the part of the stomach that’s connected to the esophagus, which is called the cardia, fails to work properly acid reflux results. The angle between the cardia as it enters the stomach and the esophagus is a doorway, creating a valve to prevent stomach acid, duodenal bile and enzymes from going the wrong way up the esophagus. The angle of this connection between the esophagus and the stomach is called the angle of His, and when it is compromised an inflammation results causing mild to severe discomfort from acid reflux.

Acid reflux or GERD, gastroesophageal reflux disease, thus occurs when this doorway or barrier protecting the esophagus from the stomach acids has weakened and the lower esophageal sphincter becomes too relaxed. The stomach acids in the esophagus causes what is commonly termed heartburn, a burning sensation in the upper abdomen or the chest. The pain may even be felt in the neck, jaw and throat, and can be profoundly uncomfortable.

Acid reflux can also cause damage to the larynx and the respiratory system. This type of acid reflux is called EERD, extraesophageal reflux disease or LPR, laryngopharyngeal reflux. These forms of acid reflux are referred to as “silent reflux” as they rarely cause heartburn. Acid reflux can also cause dysphagia, difficulty swallowing, regurgitation, nausea and excessive salivation.

With pediatric reflux a child may cough, vomit frequently, have bad breath, frequent bowel movements or constipation, gag and have inadequate weight gain. Pediatric reflux can also cause pneumonia, bronchitis and asthma.

Several contributing factors can result in acid reflux. Some of these factors are:

• Hypercalcemia, which is too much calcium in the blood
• Scleroderma, a connective tissue disease that hardens the skin, blood vessels, muscles and internal organs
• Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, which increases production of the hormone gastrin
• Visceroptosis, where the abdominal organs sink below their proper position
• Helicobacter pylori, bacteria that is the cause of most ulcers and chronic gastritis
• Obesity

However, lifestyle is probably the single biggest contributor to acid reflux disease. The first negative influence on the list is smoking. Not only does smoking increase the risk of developing acid reflux, but it augments the symptoms for those who have acid reflux disease. Here is a sobering statistic for any smoker, anyone who has smoked steadily for 20 years is 70 percent more likely to have acid reflux disease than people who don’t smoke.

An interesting and fairly recent finding is that consuming a large amount of table salt increases the likelihood of developing acid reflux to a similar degree as smoking. In other words, people who habitually have additional salt on their food are 70 percent more likely to develop acid reflux than people who have average or minimal amounts of salt.

Alcohol consumption is another acid reflux factor as it relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter and also increases the production of stomach acid. The obvious solution is to moderate alcohol consumption.

Other lifestyle choices for not only preventing acid reflux but all disease process is a healthy diet. Be sure to eat all the different colored vegetables as each color has particular important nutrients. Get regular exercise ? cardio and yoga are great to keep the body in tune, and get adequate and restful sleep.

For more information on what causes acid reflux be sure to visit Reflux Remedy at www.refluxrememdy.com today!

Acid reflux can be known by a lot of names. Heartburn, indigestion, and GERD (short for gastroesophagael reflux disease), are all commonly used terms used for what many people simply call acid reflux. But no matter what you call it, it is not much fun to live with. There are ways to control the symptoms of it, and reduce the uncomfortable flare ups that cause millions of individuals to seek out medical help. Here we’ll discuss the causes of acid reflux. Educating yourself with this knowledge will make living with acid reflux possible.

It may surprise you to learn that food is not the only cause of acid reflux, although it is certainly a contributing factor. Moreover, just because you are suffering with symptoms of acid reflux right now, does not mean that it will continue to affect you for the rest of your life. Acid reflux can be set on by certain medical conditions such as pregnancy, or by prescription or over the counter medications you may be taking. By simply improving your health or switching medications, you may be able to put a stop to your acid reflux symptoms.

Now let’s get down to it. What are some common causes of acid reflux? In all honesty, there are many.

Smoking – Smoking weakens the esophageal sphincter, which allows stomach acid to easily flow back up into the esophagus. Smoking also stimulates stomach acid and promotes movement of stomach contents, which makes it more difficult to keep them from refluxing out of control.

Overeating – Consuming too much food at one time can cause it to back up out of the stomach and up through the esophagus. This can be easily rectified by eating smaller portions or by eating less food more frequently.

Laying down after eating – Some people only experience symptoms of acid reflux at night, and it is commonly caused by laying down after eating. When you lie down, pressure is placed on the lower esophageal sphincter. When pressed, it can cause food to back up and reflux, which can cause the uncomfortable symptoms of acid reflux.

Eating late in the evening – For the same reasons that it is bad to lay down after eating, one should not eat too late in the evening. Food needs time to digest in the stomach before a person rests and becomes inactive.

Alcohol intake – Drinking alcohol in excess causes an overproduction of stomach acids. As a result, the body finds it difficult to control and it frequently bubbles and moves back into the esophagus.

Obesity – The relationship between obesity and acid reflux is not clear, but overweight individuals are more likely to experience symptoms of acid reflux than those within a healthy weight.

Stress – Stress is a common culprit for many medical conditions, and acid reflux is one of them. Stress is arguably the biggest trigger for acid reflux as it causes an increase in stomach acid production and movement which often results in it backing back up into the esophagus.

For more information on acid reflux visit Reflux Remedy at www.refluxremedy.com today!

Perhaps for acid reflux symptoms, especially heartburn, the age-old adage crediting an apple a day with keeping the doctor away might ring true. For, contrary to popular opinion, acid reflux is not simply caused by too much acid in the stomach. What?s more, for frequent or severe symptoms, popping antacids or taking prescription drugs is unlikely to bring lasting relief in the form of a cure.

Heartburn occurs when stomach juices containing acid move upwards into the esophagus, the tube connecting throat and stomach. When the sphincter muscle at the tube?s base relaxes or fails to close tightly behind food passing into the stomach, digestive acids can reverse direction; moving upward, they create searing, burning pain equated with being on fire, hence the term heartburn. Frequent occurrences not only damage the esophagus, but the cumulative effects begin to sabotage everyday activities, including restful sleep. As these symptoms often inspire scurrying for pharmaceutical relief, over- the- counter and by prescription, sometimes with unwanted side-effects, examining some natural approaches makes sense.

Increasingly, results indicate that making dietary and lifestyle changes may greatly relieve symptoms, but more importantly perhaps, provide the basis for curing a grave problem. Indeed, when pronounced heartburn occurs more than twice a week, it is diagnosed as the more serious gastroesophageal reflux disease, GERD, for short. Thus, an apple in place of an Rx may prove important in finding solutions for various forms of acid reflux plaguing over 40% of American adults.

Diet alterations, an easy place to begin, comprise a significant natural treatment option for reducing heartburn symptoms. Not only are there certain foods to avoid, but also tried-and- true tips for when and how to eat the preferred selections. Instead of skipping meals, then wolfing down super-sized ones, 4 or 5 evenly-spaced small meals seem more suited to preventing an overfilled stomach. Big meals, conversely, contribute to increased stomach volume and pressure that may cause acidic contents to splash upwards towards the esophagus. When big meals are unavoidable, nevertheless, putting space between them and bedtime is best.

Most importantly, a high-fiber diet should be the mainstay of reflux sufferers. With whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds, primarily unprocessed plant-foods, the focus of their eating regimes, sufferers are 20% less likely to experience acid reflux symptoms, regardless of body weight. That is certainly one promising reason to eat more apples.

On the other hand, high-fat dairy products and meats like ice cream and hamburgers, extremely irritating and acid forming, should be avoided. Choose instead such items as turkey, skim-milk, low-fat yogurt and cheese. Likewise, greasy, peppery, or fried concoctions which weaken the esophageal sphincter muscle and permit the upward movement of stomach acids are unworthy choices. Additional muscle-weakening foods from which to abstain include chocolate, peppermint, caffeine, alcohol. In terms of beverages, drinking water at meal?s end dilutes and washes down any wayward stomach acids. Conversely, alcoholic drinks, coffee of all sorts, caffeinated tea, and colas may incite heartburn because of their tendency to increase stomach acid content; and juices in the tomato or citrus families can irritate an already damaged esophagus. Sodas, likewise, are poor choices; they bloat the abdomen, creating undue stomach pressure causing acids to splash upwards, the opposite direction desired.

Finally, while dietary changes often reduce the problem, they won’t cure acid reflux for good. That is where some other proven natural methods, not expensive symptom-masking drugs, might be worth a try. Undoubtedly, though, a better diet is integral to being in control of acid reflux, providing a firm foundation upon which to build its cure. After all, while alleviating symptoms is desirable, a temporary or ‘quick fix’ does not equal a lasting remedy. For more diet suggestions for acid reflux sufferers visit Reflux Remedy at www.refluxremedy.com today!