Explaining GERD: It’s Not Just Heartburn
GERD, or gastroesophageal reflux disease, is one of the most prevalent gastrointestinal disorders, affecting approximately 20% of the US population. GERD occurs when stomach acid flows back into the esophagus, the tube that connects the mouth to the stomach. When you swallow, a circular band of muscle, called the lower esophageal sphincter, relaxes to allow food and liquid to flow into your stomach. Then, the sphincter closes again. But if it abnormally weakens or relaxes, then this can lead to backwash of stomach acid into the esophagus.
The most common symptoms of GERD include:
- Burning sensation in chest (heartburn), usually after eating
- Chest pain
- Difficulty swallowing
- Regurgitation of food
- Sensation of a lump in your throat
- Chronic cough
- Frequent throat clearing
- Belching
- Nausea
- Hoarse voice or laryngitis
Anyone can experience occasional acid reflux and heartburn. Let’s say, for example, you eat too quickly or consume a spicy meal. You are more likely to experience GERD if you have one of the following conditions:
- Obesity
- Hiatal hernia
- Pregnancy
- Smoker
- Delayed stomach emptying
- Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)
In addition to the conditions mentioned above, there are also a variety of triggers for acid reflux. These include:
- Eating large meals, and eating late at night
- Certain foods, including: chocolate, garlic, tomato, citrus, and mint
- Drinking coffee or alcohol
- Aspirin use
If left untreated, GERD can lead to damage and complications including:
- Esophagitis (inflammation and irritation of the esophagus)
- Sinusitis
- Adult-onset asthma
- Esophageal stricture: narrowing of the esophagus
- Esophageal ulcer: open sore in the esophagus
- Barrett’s esophagus: precancerous changes to the esophagus (predisposes to esophageal adenocarcinoma)
Here are some top tips to help prevent and reduce acid reflux:
- Lose excess weight
- Reduce trigger foods (acid foods, citrus, spicy, mint, chocolate)
- Eat smaller meals
- Avoid laying down for three hours after a meal and eating late at night
- Raise the head of your bed six inches by placing wooden blocks under your bedposts
- Avoid medications that increase risk of GERD, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs.
- Quit smoking
- Decrease alcohol intake
- Avoid food allergies and sensitivities, like gluten and dairy.
- Increase digestive enzymes
- Take probiotics for a healthy gut
There are several Res-Q supplements that help to prevent and reduce GERD:
Res-Q All Essential Enzymes: This blend contains nine digestive enzymes that help your body fully break down your food so it can be better absorbed. This reduces digestive upset and GERD.
Res-Q ProBiotic: Probiotics have been shown to reduce symptoms and episodes of GERD. Reflux symptoms are commonly perpetuated by gut dysbiosis, or a lack of bacterial balance in the gut. Probiotic supplementation has been shown to reduce the incidence of SIBO in patients with reflux and improve their abdominal symptoms. Probiotics also improve leaky gut and restore overall gut health, helping to both prevent and reduce GERD.
Res-Q CurcuminULTRA and Res-Q 1250: If chronic NSAID use for pain is contributing to GERD, consider safer anti-inflammatory approaches, such as: Res-Q 1250 and Res-Q CurcuminULTRA. Both lower inflammation and help to reduce pain. In fact, curcumin was shown in studies to reduce pain as effectively as NSAIDs and was better tolerated. Recent literature has suggested that cytokine-mediated inflammation may play a role in the pathophysiology of GERD. Curcumin lowers inflammation and may reduce GERD. Its anti-inflammatory effects can also reduce esophageal inflammation caused by GERD.
