It’s not a big mystery what causes gastritis, for one thing, gastritis isn’t a drug deficiency . . . you can rule that out.

Gastritis like any disorder or degenerative health issue, it’s a matter of nurturing proper nutrition and having healthy lifestyle habits.

When you ask what causes gastritis you are really asking what causes the stomachs protective layer of specialized cells to become weakened?

Normally you have a protective mucus lining that shields your naked stomach cells from corrosive stomach acid.

Your digestive system isn’t designed to digest itself.

Once you identify the underlying root cause of your gastritis and remove the cause, your body heals relatively fast.

Here’s a list of gastritis triggers and possible causes:

• Helicobacter pylori is the name of a bacteria found in ulcerations of people with gastritis. The interesting thing is millions of people have these bacteria and they don’t have any gastritis symptoms. The reason is bacteria, like viruses are opportunistic organisms, which means if the conditions are right they will flourish and thrive . . . so the condition is a cause of gastritis, not the bacterium.
• Pain drugs like Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) often irritate the stomach environment, changing the conditions. Taking aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen can upset the delicate digestive system leaving it vulnerable to infection and inflammation causing gastritis.
• Alcohol is literally more addictive than crack cocaine and because of this fact it’s considered a socially acceptable drug because getting everyone to stop taking alcohol is impossible . . . prohibition never works. Alcohol, like NSAIDs changes the conditions of your digestive system’s environment, making it subject to bacterial infection and causing gastritis.
• Stress will also change your internal conditions making your stomach more vulnerable to the cause of gastritis.
• When your cells lose inner-net communication they can end up causing an immune reaction and attacks itself without realizing it. This is called an auto-immune dysfunction, which is rare but it does happens more often in people with other auto-immune disorders like diabetes type 1, Hashimoto’s disease or Addison’s disease. The cause of autoimmune gastritis can be a simple communication breakdown triggered by a nutritional deficiency and lifestyle factors.
• Gastritis can be triggered from eating too much animal proteins and fats in which case bile reflux disease can develop often causing gastritis. Bile helps you digest animal fats. Bile is made in your liver and stored in your gallbladder and prevented from contaminating your small intestine by a valve . . . if bile leaks by it will inflame and turn into acute gastritis.
• Other problems that can cause gastritis or are associated with it are AIDS, Crohn’s disease, parasites, liver failure, kidney dysfunction and some connective tissue disorders.

Bottom line is if you learn to keep your internal conditions properly balanced though right diet and lifestyle you can prevent or even reverse the cause of gastritis.

You were born to heal,

Todd M. Faass

Health Advocate

Acid reflux disease can be referred to as either acid reflux, or the more severe diagnosis of gastro-esophageal reflux disease, or ?GERD.? Both denote a breakdown of the esophageal sphincter’s ability to properly close, allowing acid to come up from your stomach into your esophagus, throat and mouth. This is a wholly unnatural condition, since your stomach is the only body part properly equipped to withstand this corrosive stomach acid. The breakdown of the tissues in your upper gastrointestinal tract and throat causes heartburn pain, frequent swallowing, possible regurgitation of acid, the breakdown of tooth enamel, hoarseness, bad breath, frequent burping, and stomach pain. Occasionally, even chest tightness and GERD will go hand in hand.

Several factors contribute to this chest tightening feeling. Peripheral nerves in the esophagus and surrounding tissue can be aggravated by this condition, causing a feeling of tightness. The nerves surrounding the lungs can be agitated, causing a constriction of the airway, shortness of breath, and tightness in the chest cavity. While this symptom is not necessarily life-threatening, it can be alarming, and is one of many anxiety-causing symptoms of GERD and acid reflux.

When you go to a doctor to have either GERD or acid reflux diagnosed, you may be recommended a prescription medication that fits your particular symptoms, or you may request your doctor to direct a more natural approach to healing. Know that many of the popular over-the-counter remedies including Prevacid, Prilosec, and Zantac are meant to be taken only for two weeks, and then a lengthy break is recommended before starting again. You might try Rolaids or Tums, but as with other over-the-counter remedies, long-term use is ill-advised.

There are many common sense solutions that you can use on your own to combat the symptoms of chest tightness and GERD. First you must focus on treating the actual cause, which is the esophageal sphincter-failure due to too much acid in the stomach. Cutting back on the causes of excess acid is one path, including cessation of alcohol, caffeine and smoking. Also included in your ?don’t? list is salt, which has been shown to act as an acid producer. Other ways to combat the symptoms include limiting your food intake to smaller meals per sitting, since heavy meals seem to lead to increased production of stomach acid. Red apples have proven to be an effective natural remedy, along with many old fashioned ?cures? including drinking plenty of milk (which may coat your stomach for short-term relief but in the long run cause additional acid production). Instead, try plain crackers with water, or Milk of Magnesia for infrequent flare-ups.

Keep your doctor informed to changes in your diet, and let him or her know if your symptoms lessen or increase. They need to know details before recommending a different course of action, which may include either changing your medication or ceasing it altogether. Of course, your best tool against this disease and its attendant symptoms is knowledge. Learn as much as you can about what to do and what not to do for chest tightness and GERD, and diligently follow a plan to ensure relief from your suffering.