When the esophagus becomes inflamed and irritated due to contact with gastric acids, this is called reflux disorder. You may be wondering how gastric acids from the stomach end up in your esophagus. The esophagus spans from your throat to your abdomen. This is the method by which food travels from your mouth and into your stomach. When food makes it to the bottom of the esophagus it must pass through the lower esophageal sphincter, a ring-like muscle that acts as a gatekeeper for solid and liquid foods. Once food is in the stomach, acids are produced in order for digestion to continue. If you have a lower esophageal sphincter that keeps the gate open or leaves a crack in the gate, this can allow corrosive stomach acids to reflux to the esophagus. Reflux disorder is harmful to the body and disrupts the digestion process.

Causes

There are several contributing factors for reflux disorder.

• Routine has a lot to do with the onset of reflux disorder. Alcohol use, cigarette addiction, and eating habits play a major role. Eating foods then lying down or having extra large portions can aggravate stomach acid and cause reflux.
• Diet affects all mechanisms of the body. Foods that are laden with fat and fried in oil are not recommended as they may cause reflux disorder. Foods with caffeine, chocolate, garlic and onions can trigger acid reflux.
• Medications used to relieve pain and other problems can contribute to reflux disorder. Pain relievers like aspirin and ibuprofen are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that adversely affect you by irritating the gastrointestinal tract.
• Medical conditions like pregnancy, obesity, diabetes and hiatal hernia commonly cause reflux disorder.

Symptoms

Symptoms of reflux disorder are different for adults and children.

• Heartburn is the most widespread and universal symptom of reflux disorder. When gastric acid reaches the esophagus, there is a burning sensation at the chest. Since the heart rests above the esophagus, it is referred to as heartburn. Heartburn sometimes travels from the stomach to the throat.
• Regurgitating stomach acid into the mouth is the second most common symptom of reflux disorder.
• Other symptoms of reflux disorder include a chronic cough, sour or bitter taste in the mouth, sore throat, hoarseness, nausea and difficulty swallowing.

Treatment

Treatment for reflux disorder varies based on frequency and intensity. Some people may be able to modify their lifestyle and diet, while others may require more drastic methods. Trying to treat reflux disorder using natural remedies is highly recommended. To relieve symptoms of reflux disorder try the following:

• Elevate your head while sleeping. This helps gravity to keep stomach acid down.
• Eat small meals, reducing the quantity of acid produced for digestion.
• Eat lean meals, less caffeine, alcohol and garlic.
• Quit smoking to strengthen the lower esophageal sphincter.
• Eat a balanced meal to regulate weight and prevent obesity and diabetes.

Pick up a copy of The Reflux Remedy Report to find out more about reflux disorder and how you can treat it.

The most common causes of gastrointestinal problems are low fiber diet, lack of exercise and taking antacid medications containing calcium carbonate or aluminum.

Naturally there are other factors that feed your gastrointestinal problems as well. Living in a high stress environment, eating dairy products and taking antidepressants, narcotics and even iron pills can keep your gastrointestinal problems aflame.

It never ceases to amaze me how many complications and symptoms, including gastrointestinal problems and disorders, which have common causes.

It seems modern medicine over looks some of the most obvious things just because they assume you need a different drug for every different symptom.

Did you know that by balancing your internal environment that your cells live in can eliminate the risk of almost every disease known?

It’s true. For example the bacteria Helicobacter pylori can’t thrive in healthy tissue . . .

Helicobacter pylori is found in gastritis and ulcerations as well as other gastrointestinal problems, but that’s not the only bacteria that thrives in an unhealthy environment . . . all harmful bacteria, viruses and parasites crave the same environment.

If you suffer from gastrointestinal problems you may want to look at the health of your cells rather than just attacking the bugs.

Imagine if you didn’t need a different drug for each bug.

Truth is you don’t and if your gastrointestinal problem isn’t just a case of poor food mixing or simple overindulgence, then you probably caught a bug.

Whatever gastrointestinal problem is bugging you; if it’s a flu bug or maybe a case of salmonella or even E. coli . . . perhaps it’s a cold virus or a nasty case of Candida albicans (yeast infection). No matter what you call it, it is causing your particular gastrointestinal problem because the cellular health inside your gut has been weakened.

These bugs only attack weakened cells.

A weakened cell is a cell that has lost its vital energy, it’s dropped its shields which invites invaders like bacteria, viruses and parasites to attack.

A natural solution to your gastrointestinal problem is to focus on removing whatever conditions the bad bugs thrive in and replace it with a healthy condition that only good bugs need to grow.

Did you know last week the FDA finally released the very first report revealing the amount of antimicrobial drugs sold and distributed for use in food animals?

The massive total for 2009 is 28.8 million pounds . . . plus more than 7 million pounds of anti-biotics were used on humans in the same time frame.

Those anti-biotics kill both the good bugs and the bad bugs. Sad thing is . . . the bad bugs mutate and build-up resistance to these drugs.

The good bugs are the probiotics and homeostatic soil organisms your gastrointestinal system needs to stay healthy.

It should be no surprise then if I told you millions of people with gastrointestinal problems are suffering from anti-biotic over-kill.

Remove the cause of your gastrointestinal problem before you start experimenting with more drugs. The information is out there, you simply have to want to know the truth and it will reveal itself to you.

You were born to heal,

Todd M. Faass

Health Advocate

P.S. Food for thought: Anti-biotic means anti-life, where as pro-biotic is for life.