Dietary Changes and GERD / Acid Reflux: The Latest Research
PR Web (press release), WA
New York (PRWEB) May 8, 2008 — If you have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD, also known as acid reflux) you know these unpleasant feelings all too …

When is surgery advised to correct hiatal hernia?
SouthCoastToday.com, MA
… Prilosec, Protonix and Aciphex — the need for surgery has declined, but there remains a group whose only hope for relief from acid reflux is surgery. …

The Ill Effects of Chewing Gum
NewsBlaze, CA
The stomach then starts producing Hydrochloric Acid. This can’t be used and can create potential digestive dysfunction, such as Acid Reflux Ulcers and …

Jamaicans asked to cut salt intake
Jamaica Gleaner, Jamaica
… with the majority of adult patients showing a level of hypertensive and diabetic conditions, while children were treated for high levels of acid reflux, …

You Are What You Poo – What Your Body’s Solid Waste Can Tell You …
KCBY.com 11, OR
… but can presumably worsen symptoms of acid reflux and indigestion by causing rapid distention of the stomach and refluxing of contents into the esophagus.

That burning feeling
Livemint, India
Having tea or coffee frequently is more likely to cause acid reflux, where the food, along with the stomach acids, gets regurgitated up the oesophagus (the …

Book’s diet overcomes indigestion
Monterey County Herald, CA
To give you related information, I am sending you my newly updated Health Report “Hiatal Hernia, Acid Reflux and Indigestion.” Other readers who would like …

FMCSA advisers want apnea testing
eTrucker
Besides sleeplessness and fatigue, sleep apnea can cause excessive snoring, acid refluxand other health problems, and it can aggravate any existing heart …

What’s eating us?
Belfast Telegraph, United Kingdom
You’re also bringing up stomach acid which causes burning of your gullet, throat, mouth and teeth. I had stomach problems, gastric reflux and bowel problems …

Severe acid reflux linked to esophageal cancer
Joliet Herald News, IL
New government figures show a worrisome increase in esophagus disorders from severe acid reflux. The worst one, esophageal cancer, is continuing its march …

FDA Approves Prescription Proton Pump Inhibitor Drug for 1-11 Year …
Natural News.com, AZ
The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Treatment, used by millions of physicians worldwide, defines the cause of gastric acid reflux into the esophagus as …

5 Things: Preventing Heartburn
FitSugar.com, CA
Recurring heartburn may also be an indication that you have acid reflux disease, or another condition like a peptic ulcer. If that’s the case, …

1. Stop whatever you’re doing that’s causing your acid reflux.
2. Take medicine to treat the acid reflux.
3. Have surgery.

I realize that’s pretty basic, so let’s talk about each of these options in a little bit more detail. They’re already listed in order of increasing seriousness, so we’ll start at the top.

Let’s start with the first one - stop whatever you’re doing is causing your acid reflux. I know this sounds like a joke, but it’s really pretty straightforward. People get acid reflux or GERD as result of obesity, smoking and pregnancy. So if you’re overweight or you smoke, and you have acid reflux, you may want to think about losing weight or stopping smoking. And the pregnancy ought to take care of itself in about nine months.

Sometimes your diet can cause acid reflux symptoms. Citrus fruits, caffeine drinks, alcohol and fried foods are all common causes of acid reflux. Try keeping a food diary to see if there are certain things that cause your acid reflux to flare up.

What about the next one - take medicine to treat the acid reflux. Chances are, if you have acid reflux you’re already munching on antacids. If those are working for you, then you may need to talk to your doctor about getting a prescription for something a little stronger. The prescription acid reflux medications usually work by reducing acid production or by causing your stomach to empty faster.

And the final option - have surgery. This is usually the least desirable of all the acid reflux treatments. If changing your lifestyle doesn’t help and the medicine doesn’t work any longer, then your doctor may want to talk to you about surgery to treat your acid reflux symptoms. The standard surgical treatment for GERD or acid reflux is the Nissen fundoplication procedure. During this procedure, the upper part of the stomach is wrapped around the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES) to strengthen the sphincter and prevent acid reflux. Acid reflux surgery has become a common procedure and now has high success rates.

Chronic GERD or acid reflux that is untreated can cause serious complications. Stomach acid can cause damage to the lining of your stopping us and cause bleeding or ulcers and swallowing can become difficult. There are plenty of acid reflux treatments available today, so don’t wait for your symptoms to become serious before finding the right one for you.

Let me explain. What happens when you get stressed? If you’re like most people, you might eat more than you normally would and you’re probably going to make worse food choices. You’ll probably the sleep less. If you’re a smoker or a drinker, then you might pick those habits back up. These activities are all direct causes of acid reflux or GERD. Since stress is the original cause we say that it indirectly causes acid reflux.

So the next question is, what can you do to reduce stress? The simple answer is to figure out what’s causing you stress and get rid of it. Are you trying to do too much? Are you having trouble with your relationships? Are you having financial trouble? These are all common causes of stress in everyday life.

After you figured out what’s causing you stress and ultimately acid reflux, you have to figure out how to eliminate the cause or reduce your stress level. Let’s take a look at a couple ways you can reduce your stress level.

Do you exercise regularly? If not, that may be something you want to try. Not only can regular exercise reduce your stress level, but it can help you lose weight if you need to and improve your health in general. Plus, losing weight is a known way to reduce acid reflux symptoms.

If you already have an exercise program or if you don’t like to exercise you may want to try and unwind or relax a little bit. Try some meditation or get a massage. Why not listen to relaxing CD on the way home from work instead of talk radio? All of these methods of relaxation can help you to avoid overeating, smoking or drink alcohol, which are likely to increase your frequency of acid reflux.

I have one last piece of advice for you. If you’re looking for ways to reduce stress, try not to find something that’s going to break the bank. Adding financial trouble to the mix will only cause more stress and ultimately worsen your acid reflux symptoms.

Obesity, especially excessive abdominal fat, may be a much stronger contributor to acid reflux in white people than in other racial groups. Among white men and women, those in the group with the largest waist sizes were 85 percent more likely to suffer acid reflux than those who were slimmest around the middle. There was no similar risk seen among black or Asian study participants, however.

I’m sorry, but that has to be preliminary research. That needs to be studied in more detail. I’m not questioning whether or not being fat increases your risk of acid reflux. I am questioning why a fat white person is more likely to get acid reflux than a fat black or fat asian person.

As I said, the results may be premature, there has to be some other factor than race. How about diet? I’ll bet statistically that whites, blacks and asians have different diets. That might contribute more to an increased chance of acid reflux than race. It just doesn’t make much sense to me.

You can read the full article here if you’re interested:

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?alias=large-waist-linked-to-aci

Fall Back–Into Bed
Forbes - You may be waking up in the middle of the night because of heartburn or acid reflux without realizing it. If you can’t fall asleep within 20 minutes of getting in bed, get up, go to another room and do something until you do feel sleepy. “You want to

Acid Reflux: When Surgery Is the Fix
ABC News - Cases of acid reflux, in which digestive acids from the stomach flow back into the esophagus, are often linked to hiatal hernias, in a condition in which the stomach pokes through a hole in the diaphragm.

A life that beats the odds
They have included several drugs to prevent his body from rejecting the transplanted organs, plus others to fight infections, thyroid problems, depression, acid reflux and a variety of other problems. Now he takes medications to fight prostate cancer

Acid Reflux Adds to COPD Complications
HealthScout - THURSDAY, Oct. 12 (HealthDay News) — Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients who also have acid reflux are twice as likely to experience COPD exacerbations, says a study in the October issue of the journal Chest . The University of

Dealing with scleroderma
Herald-Mail - Hardy needs to drink liquids with his food to help him swallow, takes medicine for acid reflux and has chronic diarrhea, says Hardy. He cannot walk up the stairs and come right back down without resting because he has difficulty catching his breath.

Abdominal Pain
Kansas City Channel - Chronic constipation Lactose intolerance (milk intolerance) Viral gastroenteritis (stomach flu) Irritable bowel syndrome (sensitive stomach with intermittent episodes of diarrhea and constipation) Heartburn or indigestion Gastroesophageal reflux