Notwithstanding the many popular texts that point to aspects of lifestyle and eating particular foods, the real underlying reasons for heartburn encompass a larger selection of factors with genetic, lifestyle and dietary elements. Just like other chronic illnesses, heartburn is a result of overlapping and multiple causes.
If heartburn happens twice per week or more frequently, a graver medical condition known as acid reflux disease may exist. This is also known as GERD (Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease). Even healthy people may experience heartburn up to once per week. Heartburn is the name for the sensation of burning or searing around the chest or throat. This frequently manifests itself after a meal.
A sphincter, the LES or Lower Esophageal Sphincter, should normally only open to let food and drink flow into the intestinal system and should not allow stomach contents to flow in the opposite direction. But in reflux situations, the LES is debilitated and stomach contents can reflux into the esophagus, damaging the cells in the wall lining and causing pain. GERD is the result of two physiological issues: the first is excess stomach acidity; and the second is the weakened sphincter (LES) which no longer functions correctly to cordon off the stomach from the esophagus.
As indicated earlier, several inter-linked factors make for a weak LES or excessive stomach acidity. These factors include:
1. Characteristics that are inherited genetically.
2. Lifestyles, where digestion is ruined by habits such as smoking, which preys on the digestion, ambushes the immune system and pushes Candida into replication, which then leads to the problem of acid reflux. Stress from lack of sleep, emotional strain or workaholism also brings forth these problems.
3. Infections from Candida. In certain circumstances, Candida microbes grow fast and spread throughout the body. These microorganisms then ferment and cause stomach contents to be rejected back into the esophagus, where inflammation and degradation of the esophageal cells then takes place. Note that Candida is normally present anyway in the human body, including the intestinal and genital areas. Under normal conditions, Candida is balanced out by friendly bacteria with no negative impact to the body.
4. Diet patterns, intake of foods that are fatty or spicy and that debilitate the LES, or nutritive components that make digestion difficult can all boost existing acid reflux. Similarly, the regular and frequent ingestion of foods triggering acid production or levels, such as chocolate, peppermint, citrus fruits and tomatoes, also makes acid reflux more likely.
To cut out heartburn and to stop it from coming back, the root causes must be resolved. Whereas conventional treatments only superficially treat the symptoms, a holistic, all-natural approach gets to the real underlying causes to provide the only true safe and effective cure for acid reflux.
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