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The Truth about Heartburn, GERD & Antacids
A Bite-Size Read for Your Health and Waistline
When you think of what causes heartburn, you think of too much acid or high acid foods, right? The thing is this is not true!
In the US, it’s believed that about 15 million people experience heartburn daily, and more than 60 million people experience it monthly. More serious cases of acid reflux are diagnosed as Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) making it one of the most common digestive disorders in the United States. What people experience is a burning sensation in the chest, and if left untreated it can have serious implications. We think the issue is too much stomach acid causing it to come up from the stomach into the esophagus. When in the stomach, the acid serves our health as it breaks down food and kills bacteria. The lining of the stomach helps protect the rest of the body from the potent juice. When that stomach acid makes its way upward into the esophagus, which is more fragile and sensitive, it can cause ulcers or even cancer.
We’ve been told the cause of reflux (and GERD) is too much acid so it’s remedy must be an antacid as such medications neutralize stomach acid. When we truly dig into it, heartburn and GERD are actually caused by a weakness of the sphincter between the stomach and the esophagus. You may think the cause of this is too much stomach acid but, from an…
