The digestive process begins as soon as you begin to smell food. Once you start to smell the food you are about to eat, the body starts to get ready. When the food is in your mouth your salivary glands become active and produce saliva so that your food can moisten. This is what people refer to when they say that something is ‘mouthwatering’. After an adequate amount of chewing, the food is swallowed at the throat after which it travels down the esophagus. To get to the stomach, the food must pass the lower esophageal sphincter of the diaphragm. The food then lands in the stomach where the next step happens.

In the stomach, the food is broken down with stomach acid, also known as gastric acid. This acid is accompanied by enzymes. The acid and enzymes work together to reduce the size of the food particles and soften the food for nutrient extraction. The corrosive nature of the acid easily decomposes food particles. These particles then go to the large and small intestine where the nutrients and proteins in the food are stripped for use in the body. The useless parts of the food are excreted as waste.

The stomach plays a vital role in the digestive process. Any disruption of stomach function can lead to ongoing health problems. Being unable to digest food properly is a major health concern. Due to several factors, you may develop gastritis. Gastritis occurs when the lining of the stomach becomes inflamed and irritated. The lining of the stomach protects the stomach from corrosive damage from gastric acid and also houses the cells that produce the acid needed for digestion. If the lining of the stomach is inflamed, acid producing cells will be affected. The lining of the stomach also produces its own protective layer of mucus. Inflammation causes mucus production to be interrupted, thereby causing the stomach lining to be irritated by gastric acid.

Causes

Causes of gastritis vary from person to person. One of the major causes of gastritis is alcohol consumption. The corrosiveness of alcohol can eat away at the stomach lining and cause irritation and inflammation. Excessive alcohol consumption is normally what is needed to cause this. Other causes of gastritis include stress, consuming a poisonous substance, surgical operations, disorders, diseases, infections, taking illegal drugs or using non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen on a regular basis.

Symptoms

Symptoms of gastritis also vary from person to person. Some people may not even have any symptoms. Common symptoms are nausea, vomiting (sometimes with the presence of blood), loss of appetite, bleeding, erosion of the stomach lining, ulcers, upper abdominal pain, indigestion, and bloody stool.

Treatment

Healing treatments to cure gastritis should be utilized at the onset of symptoms. Gastritis symptoms that are ignored can lead to chronic gastritis that may last a lifetime. Treatments for gastritis may involve taking antacids, histamine 3 blockers or proton pump inhibitors. By all means you should avoid drinking alcohol and taking medications with ibuprofen, aspirin or naproxen.

To learn more about gastritis healing treatments, review The Reflux Remedy Report today.

Another word for acid reflux or heartburn is gastritis. Ultimately when over-the-counter (OTC) gimmicks like antacids and risky pharmaceutical drugs fail miserably, it?s never too late to embrace a more holistic approach.

I won?t claim that chemically treating gastritis is absolutely unnecessary, only because once you prescribe to the barbaric ways of Westernized medicine; you?re going to most likely end up having more extreme gastritis treatments like surgery.

I?m also not going to say that Western medicine?s gastritis treatments are absolutely necessary either.

Truth is it?s ever too late to consider the proven benefits of integrative and Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM). Yet as you already know, the sooner you catch on and start using natural remedies, the sooner you will experience a total healing of your gastritis.

It goes unsaid that correct treatment of gastritis depends on the root cause.

According to the Mayo clinic, a sudden onset and short duration of gastritis caused from taking Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) like Ibuprofen or alcohol can be relieved by stopping use of those substances.

That should be a warning to you that prolonged of this class of drugs (NSAIDs) may lead to chronic gastritis.

In other words, you should know one of Ibuprofen?s many adverse side effects is gastritis. Other brand names of ibuprofen are Advil, Motrin, Nuprin and even Pediacare Fever.

7 Other brands of drugs that belong to the NSAID class are:

1. Aspirin (Bayer)

2. Naproxen (Aleve)

3. Indomethacin (Indocin)

4. Nabumetone (Relafen)

5. Celecoxib (Celebrex)

6. Flurbiprofen (Ansaid)

7. Rofecoxib (Vioxx)

Check with your pharmacist to see if you?re unknowingly taking any NSAID class drugs, because there are dozens of them out there. NSAIDs reduce the flow of blood to the kidneys and impair function of the kidneys which can be a factor in your gastritis problem, gastric acid production and many other associated digestive health problems.

Fact: ?it?s estimated that 35% to 80% of people with gastritis also suffer from asthma.

People suffering from asthma are more likely to experience allergic reactions to ibuprofen and other NSAIDs. Fluid retention (edema), blood clots, heart attacks, high blood pressure and outright heart failure have also been associated with the use of NSAIDs. Plus some products like Excedrin (acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine), are a combination of drugs.

Other Westernized medical treatments for gastritis are:

• Antacids: Over-the-counter antacids (Maalox, Mylanta, others) in liquid or tablet form are a common treatment for mild gastritis. Antacids neutralize stomach acid and can lead to gut flora imbalances often leading to bacterial infections.
• Acid blockers: When antacids don’t provide enough relief, your doctor may recommend more medication, such as cimetidine (Tagamet), ranitidine (Zantac), nizatidine (Axid) or famotidine (Pepcid), that helps reduce the amount of acid your stomach produces. These drugs only treat symptoms and do not cure your gastritis.
• Proton pump inhibitors: These drugs shut down your body?s natural ?acid pumps.? They chemically block the action of the acid-secreting cells of your stomach. This class of medications includes omeprazole (Prilosec), lansoprazole (Prevacid), rabeprazole (Aciphex) and esomeprazole (Nexium). ?Blocking natural digestive acid production can have many adverse consequences, be sure to know the risks.

When treating the symptoms of your gastritis with any drug, be absolutely sure your gastritis symptoms isn?t caused from a common gastric ?acid deficiency,? which is more common than you would first think.

Sometimes The Gastritis Treatment Is Worse Than The Disease

Doctors often end up treating people with gastritis for a bacterial infection (H.Pylori), known to be caused from antacids. The treatment for this antacid induced infection is usually antibiotics combined with proton pump inhibitor drugs.

Antibiotics kill the bad ?ulcer causing? H. Pylori bacteria as well as any healthy micro-organisms remaining in your digestive tract (probiotics).

There?s clearly a good reason to not use antacids to treat your gastritis in the first place. I?ve only pointed out ?a handful? of the consequences of mistreating gastritis with antacids and other drugs.

Do you really need me to show you more?

There are many evidence-based, scientifically proven, natural remedies that help your body heal itself from the symptoms of gastritis . . . start looking and you will find them.

Do ask your doctor to use Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM) when treating gastritis, before resorting to risky experimental drugs.

Live well,

Todd M. Faass?

Health Ecologist