Find why people are really having gastroesophageal reflux disease, as well as resulting stress and fatigue
HEALTH & WELLNESS Suffering from heartburn, acid reflux or GERD?
Find why people are really having gastroesophageal reflux disease, as well as resulting stress and fatigue
In our upper GI system, we have our stomach, pancreas, gallbladder and liver. Pertaining to gastroesophageal reflux disease( GERD), what we really have to understand is the pH levels at which these organs can function properly. The pH level reflects how acidic or alkaline something is, and the pH level of the stomach should be between 1 and 3. The lower the pH level, the more acidic the measurement.
DR. MAZ The stomach is so acidic that if we were to stick a
finger into it, the acidity level would melt that finger right down to the bone.
The lining of the stomach has little cells that produce hydrochloric acid( HCl). There are multiple reasons for the production of HCl: For digestive purposes, the stomach needs acid to break down proteins; to disinfect food, the stomach needs acid to the kill parasites, fungus, yeasts, molds, bacteria, etc. present in our food supply. So, the stomach needs a strong amount of acid to digest and disinfect the food we consume.
Doctors prescribe antacids to provide symptom relief for GERD, or heartburn, but because the stomach makes hydrochloric acid, it needs to be acidic; so why are we giving ourselves something that does the opposite?
In most cases, we find that people are producing too little acid. Instead of a pH level of 1, 2 or 3, a stomach could have a pH level of 4, 5 or 6, rendering proper protein breakdown and GI system disinfecting impossible. At this level, food sits in the stomach, literally rotting, because there is not enough acid to digest it. This rotting food starts to create acids that come up; one of the acids is lactic acid, an organic acid that is produced from this fermentation.
There is a valve between the esophagus and stomach that is pH-dependent. When there is low pH, which means high amounts of hydrochloric acid in the stomach, this valve stays closed. When we eat, the food comes down and triggers the valve to open, then snap shut once the food passes. The valve opens and closes by way of a sphincter. Among higher levels of pH, that valve will not work as well and, as a result, gets loose.
So now we have the loose valve, the high amounts of pH( low acid) in the stomach and that lactic acid that comes up from the rotting food. The lactic acid is going to go up through that loose stomach esophageal sphincter and burn the lining of the esophagus. As the stomach has cells to produce acid, it also has cells to create mucus, which protects the stomach lining from the high amounts of acid that it constantly endures. We also have acid-producing cells, mucus-producing cells and other enzymes to regulate the food breakdown process in the stomach. In the esophagus, however, we do not have this protection; therefore, when the acids flow up into the esophagus, we feel that burning sensation.
When we take an antacid— called a proton pump inhibitor or an acid blocker— and we feel better, it is because we are calming down some of that acid process. What this is doing, however, is shutting down the production of lactic acid and natural HCl
down in the stomach, so we are not able to digest and disinfect our food in the long run.
A vast majority of MedWell patients with gastrointestinal symptoms suffer from hypochlorhydria, which means too little HCl in the stomach. Why? The number one reason is taking antacids on a regular basis. The second major reason is that the production of acid is very energy-dependent. Therefore, a body has to work hard to constantly produce HCl in the stomach and, if a person is constantly taking antacids, it neutralizes the acid and that energy spent goes to waste. This is the daily narrative of many people.
In addition, most people in our country experience stress. There are lab tests and brain wave evaluations that show the average person is chronically stressed. When we are chronically stressed, our nervous system goes into fight-or-flight mode. We have our fight-or-flight or our rest-and-digest systems( the technical terms being our parasympathetic and sympathetic systems). When we are stressed, we are constantly in that sympathetic mode, and our stomach cannot rest and digest. The brain literally shuts down digestion, which shuts down the production of hydrochloric acid.
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