The Great Heartburn Lie: True Cause of Acid RefluxFriday, 21 Jun 2013 03:48 PM
The cause of
heartburn is not too much stomach acid, as is widely believed – it’s
not enough. That’s the revelation from Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum, author
of the best-selling book “Real Cause, Real Cure.” Those reflux drugs
and antacids you’re taking may be doing more harm than good, he
tells Newsmax Health.
“Indigestion comes
from poor digestion, not too much stomach acid,” he explains. “What
you need for digestion is stomach acid and digestive enzymes. That’s
what breaks down the food. And when you don’t have enough of either
of those, the food sits in your stomach, and sits and sits until
after about an hour or so your stomach hits the return-to-sender
button.”
That’s when
stomach acid starts “squirting all over the place” causing pain,
because it’s in the wrong place, he explains.
The remedy for
many people has been to take medications that neutralize or reduce
stomach acid. Doing that for a day or two, or even a week can bring
relief and is unlikely to cause harm. But using those medications
for months and years can lead to serious health problems because the
body needs stomach acid for proper digestion. Poor nutrition and
even loss of bone density can result.
What’s more,
taking calcium antacids can be particularly risky, he says.
“What we’re seeing
with calcium antacids is a dramatic increase in heart attack risk,”
he says. “Calcium should not be taken by itself and that includes
calcium antacids.”
Better choices are
antacids containing a mix of calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D.
To help avoid
indigestion altogether, take a plant-based digestive enzyme such as
Digest Gold with meals, he advises.
The culprit in
what Dr. Teitelbaum calls “an epidemic of indigestion” is the food
processors, who destroy enzymes which ripen food to prolong shelf
life.
“So you look at
things like an ear of corn, where the shelf life is five days, or
corn flakes, where the shelf life is five millennia,” he says. “So
these foods with the enzymes destroyed are indigestible, causing
indigestion. So you want to take a good plant-based digestive enzyme
with meals, and you’ll find that it’s going to help the digestion a
lot.”
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