[g_podcast id="7255952"]
In this episode, I talk about:
If you ask the person "on the street" what causes heartburn, 9 out of 10 will probably answer: it's because you have too much stomach acid.
In this episode, however, you will find out why it's not too much stomach acid, but rather too little stomach acid that is your problem if you are struggling with heartburn.
There are obvious, but also less obvious signs that you have a reflux problem. Typical signs are:
Most people think that they have too much acid in their stomach and that is where acid regurgitation comes from. However, our microbiome analyses have shown that most (95%) of our customers have an overly alkaline intestinal environment, not an overly acidic one! And this suggests that the pH in the stomach is also too high, i.e. too alkaline.
If you have too little stomach acid, food is not broken down properly (this is particularly typical of the widespread carbohydrate intolerances), so pieces that have not been well predigested arrive in the intestine, start to ferment and the resulting gases then press on the stomach. And so reflux occurs not because of too much stomach acid, but because of too little!
Other reasons for heartburn can be
The stomach is part of our immune system, so to speak, as it is the first line of defense against intruders and offers us protection against harmful bacteria that we ingest with food.
In addition, stomach acid stimulates the production of digestive enzymes and bile and too little stomach acid often prevents the proper digestion of carbohydrates.
For this reason, you should not necessarily do anything to lower stomach acid unnecessarily.
The medication itself sounds harmless and is often trivialized as stomach protection. However, if the cause is not too much acid, but too little, then you will only make the problems in your body worse in the long term.
It is true that acid blockers often "fix" the problem, i.e. make the symptom go away, because if you have too little stomach acid and eat something, your body will initially produce a lot of stomach acid. And the acid blocker then renders it harmless again.
However, the problem with such medications is that, among other things, they cause you to cannot absorb calcium well. There was a great article on this in the FAZ, which I highly recommend you read.
In addition, such drugs can lead to magnesium deficiency and B12 deficiency, increase the risk of diarrhea caused by clostridia (which are not killed by stomach acid) and can generally lead to a higher risk of infection.
There are studies that link acid blockers to heart attacks, kidney problems, osteoporosis, celiac disease, stomach cancer and even Alzheimer's disease. If you want to read the whole thing a little more scientifically, you can find more information and sources on this topic here.
Another problem with acid blockers is that they often cannot be discontinued, as the above article from the FAZ describes very well.
Of course, you have to do something about heartburn, as it can lead to complications such as scarring, difficulty swallowing, scarring and oesophageal cancer if acid enters the oesophagus over a long period of time.
We therefore recommend that you first try changing your diet!
Here I will first list a few correlations as to how diet has something to do with heartburn:
I therefore recommend a natural diet, preferably only 3 meals a day, no sweets, no fruit juices or smoothies, no alcohol and no ready-made products, instead lots of (cooked) vegetables, good proteins, high-quality fats and drinking enough water.
As this is such a common topic, I would be very happy if you could write in the comments below whether this was useful for you. And if you have any tips of your own for heartburn, feel free to write them in there too.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Now I recommend you subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode, and if you like what you hear, I'd really appreciate a review on iTunes or Apple Podcast. Because these reviews also help other people find the podcast so we can spread the knowledge about gut and health more.
In this episode, I talk about:
- Possible causes of heartburn or reflux that may even surprise you
- Why we need stomach acid
- Why swallowing medication or taking alkaline powders for years is not the solution
- What diet has to do with it
- What you can look out for in the future to solve the problem
If you ask the person "on the street" what causes heartburn, 9 out of 10 will probably answer: it's because you have too much stomach acid.
In this episode, however, you will find out why it's not too much stomach acid, but rather too little stomach acid that is your problem if you are struggling with heartburn.
Symptoms of reflux
There are obvious, but also less obvious signs that you have a reflux problem. Typical signs are:
- Pain or burning in the chest area
- Sour belching
- Chronic cough
- Asthma
- Dental problems
- Often associated with irritable bowel syndrome
Possible causes of reflux
Most people think that they have too much acid in their stomach and that is where acid regurgitation comes from. However, our microbiome analyses have shown that most (95%) of our customers have an overly alkaline intestinal environment, not an overly acidic one! And this suggests that the pH in the stomach is also too high, i.e. too alkaline.
If you have too little stomach acid, food is not broken down properly (this is particularly typical of the widespread carbohydrate intolerances), so pieces that have not been well predigested arrive in the intestine, start to ferment and the resulting gases then press on the stomach. And so reflux occurs not because of too much stomach acid, but because of too little!
Other reasons for heartburn can be
- Inadequate chewing of food (gulping)
- Constant eating, no breaks between meals
- The wrong food (fast carbohydrates, ready-made products, sugar, alcohol)
- Being overweight (the weight presses on the stomach)
- Too much food (many people simply eat too large portions / too much)
- Eating too late before going to bed
- Problems with carbohydrate digestion, leads to flatulence
Why we need stomach acid
The stomach is part of our immune system, so to speak, as it is the first line of defense against intruders and offers us protection against harmful bacteria that we ingest with food.
In addition, stomach acid stimulates the production of digestive enzymes and bile and too little stomach acid often prevents the proper digestion of carbohydrates.
For this reason, you should not necessarily do anything to lower stomach acid unnecessarily.
Why you should not take acid blockers in the long term
The medication itself sounds harmless and is often trivialized as stomach protection. However, if the cause is not too much acid, but too little, then you will only make the problems in your body worse in the long term.
It is true that acid blockers often "fix" the problem, i.e. make the symptom go away, because if you have too little stomach acid and eat something, your body will initially produce a lot of stomach acid. And the acid blocker then renders it harmless again.
However, the problem with such medications is that, among other things, they cause you to cannot absorb calcium well. There was a great article on this in the FAZ, which I highly recommend you read.
In addition, such drugs can lead to magnesium deficiency and B12 deficiency, increase the risk of diarrhea caused by clostridia (which are not killed by stomach acid) and can generally lead to a higher risk of infection.
There are studies that link acid blockers to heart attacks, kidney problems, osteoporosis, celiac disease, stomach cancer and even Alzheimer's disease. If you want to read the whole thing a little more scientifically, you can find more information and sources on this topic here.
Another problem with acid blockers is that they often cannot be discontinued, as the above article from the FAZ describes very well.
Of course, you have to do something about heartburn, as it can lead to complications such as scarring, difficulty swallowing, scarring and oesophageal cancer if acid enters the oesophagus over a long period of time.
We therefore recommend that you first try changing your diet!
What diet has to do with acid regurgitation
Here I will first list a few correlations as to how diet has something to do with heartburn:
- Too many carbohydrates, fast sugars, over-acidify the connective tissue and make the digestive tract too alkaline
- Alcohol, convenience food, etc.
- Artificial sweeteners, including chewing gum, can promote bacterial imbalances in the gut
- Fructose and lactose can also cause problems, so don't eat too much fruit and dairy products.
I therefore recommend a natural diet, preferably only 3 meals a day, no sweets, no fruit juices or smoothies, no alcohol and no ready-made products, instead lots of (cooked) vegetables, good proteins, high-quality fats and drinking enough water.
What else can you do?
- Take probiotics
- Fermented food, fermented drink
- Bitter substances (dandelion, fennel, wormwood, milk thistle and so on)
- Don't drink water with your meal
- If necessary: lose weight
- Eat slowly
- Reduce stress
- If you are taking antibiotics, always take a good probiotic such as our Arktibiotic Premium with them
- Avoid careless use of painkillers such as ibuprofen
As this is such a common topic, I would be very happy if you could write in the comments below whether this was useful for you. And if you have any tips of your own for heartburn, feel free to write them in there too.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Now I recommend you subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode, and if you like what you hear, I'd really appreciate a review on iTunes or Apple Podcast. Because these reviews also help other people find the podcast so we can spread the knowledge about gut and health more.
