Acid reflux, also known as GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease), occurs when the muscle that connects the esophagus to the upper portion of the stomach does not close properly. This muscle acts as a gate, opening and closing at just the right moments.  When it malfunctions, stomach contents can leak back, or reflux, into the esophagus.   Hydrochloric acid (HCl), enters the esophagus and damages its delicate lining causing much discomfort.

Causes of Acid Reflux

Poor lifestyle and nutritional habits are a major cause of acid reflux.  Overeating and not chewing our food properly stresses our digestive track by distending our stomach and forcing food back up the esophagus. Sugary, fatty, fried, and spicy foods, as well as caffeinated, carbonated, and alcoholic beverages, all make reflux worse.  Other foods to avoid when trying to control reflux are chocolate, peppermint, tomato-based foods, citrus, raw onions, garlic, and vinegar.  In addition, taking anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin or ibuprofen, as well as other medications that relax the muscles or irritate the gut, contribute to reflux.

Reflux is more often caused by a deficiency or lack of HCl than by too much of it.  Virtually all drugs that treat acid reflux neutralize or suppress HCl.  This is cause for concern in more ways than one.  HCL is one of our greatest natural antibiotics.  It not only digests and allows us to properly metabolize our food; its acidic nature acts to protect us from bacteria and viruses that enter our bodies through food, making it a major player for our immune system.

Pharmaceutical and OTC drugs

For those with reflux, pharmaceuticals and OTC drugs are both a blessing and a concern. They can often bring rapid recovery to uncomfortable symptoms, but act only as a band-aid, ultimately making symptoms worse.  When you take antacids like Prilosec, Zantac, or Tums, your body thinks it is lacking acid, and then produces large amounts of a hormone called gastrin, which stimulates stomach acid.  When you try to stop taking antacids, your stomach continues to make large amounts of acid.  Many people become addicted to these drugs that were originally intended to only be taken short term.

Supportive Natural Alternatives

Several lifestyle practices can put your reflux at ease and help you feel more comfortable.  Eat smaller meals several times throughout the day, and avoid lying down for 3-4 hours after eating to prevent gravity from forcing food back up.  Drink as little as possible during a meal, no more than half of a cup at room temperature; liquids dilute digestive juices.

Eat whole foods.  An alkalizing diet of vegetables and fruits keeps our pH in check, preventing us from becoming overly acidic.  Licensed nutritionist Darlene Kvist, founder of Nutritional Weight and Wellness in St Paul, says that many people are sensitive to grain type carbohydrates, and that eating them can make reflux worse.  She recommends eating lots of vegetables and adding bifido bacteria, good intestinal flora for the digestive tract, to your regime.  “Try choosing vegetables for your carbohydrate source in place of grains for three weeks and see if it makes a difference.  Also, many people lack good bacteria, making them more susceptible to reflux.  Taking bifido bacteria helps the body get rid of reflux by supporting digestion on many levels,” claims Darlene.  Eat food rich in probiotics, such as yogurt, kefir, miso, natto, and raw sauerkraut.    

For low levels of stomach acid, take one or two capsules of betaine HCl before meals.  If you feel a burning sensation, you are probably not deficient in acid, and should discontinue taking HCl. 

Take a probiotic, such as acidophilus or bifidus, a half an hour before meals to support digestion.  In addition, supplement with one or two enzyme capsules, containing protease, amylase, and lipase, before and after meals.

L-glutamine is an amino acid that plays a very important role in eliminating excess acid from the body.  It also helps the body heal and regenerate cells in gastrointestinal tract.  Recommended dosages are 5,000 to 10,000 mg of L-glutamine on an empty stomach. 

If your gut is irritated, try chewing deglycyrrhizinated licorce (DGL), or drinking about 5 ounces of aloe vera juice diluted with water between meals.  To reduce inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract, take essential fatty acids like Omega-3. 

Natural alternatives can help reduce your need for medications and control the discomfort of acid reflux.  Making changes in diet and eating routines, along with the support of supplements, can make a big difference in how you feel. 

Resources:

Gut Solutions, by Brenda Watson and Leonard Smith, Renew Life Press, 2003.

“The Importance of Nutrition in Fatigue and Pain:  Part 4-Enzymes and how to get off Prescription Antacids Naturally”, Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, by Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D., June, 2003.

Darlene Kvist, M.S., C.N.S., L.N., founder of Nutritional Weight and Wellness
708 South Cleveland Ave
St Paul, MN, 55116
www.weightandwellness.com
651-699-3438

Korean kimchi pots

“The science and art of fermentation is…the basis of human culture: without culturing, there is no culture.”¹

This point is illustrated when one recognizes that consumption of beneficial bacteria through food and drink has been part of humans’ diet for as long as humans have existed.  A traditional diet used fermentation to preserve vegetables and milk and to make wine, naturally infusing these foods with beneficial bacteria.  However, as manufactured and preservative laden foods take over many Westerner’s diets, the ingestion of friendly bacteria falls by the wayside.  Not only are we ingesting less beneficial bacteria, but also the growth of harmful bacteria and yeasts are increasing due to diets high in refined carbohydrates and sugars.

Beneficial bacteria are known as probiotic bacteria, and billions of them live in our mouths and small intestines with hundreds of trillions more in our large intestines.  Think of probiotics as the opposite of antibiotics.  The word probiotic breaks down to “pro” meaning “for” and “biotic” meaning “life” as compared to “anti” or “against” life.  If antibiotics kill life (which they do, wiping out all bacteria- harmful and beneficial alike), then probiotics promote it.  We can recognize that there are times when antibiotics are significantly helpful, but we need also to recognize the true importance of health-promoting probiotics.

We have ten times the amount of bacteria in our intestinal tract than cells in our body, and the balance between good and bad bacteria is delicate and of essential importance.  Beneficial bacteria help stop the growth of harmful bacteria, acting as natural antibiotics.  They do this by lowering the pH of the gastrointestinal tract through the production of lactic acid.  Probiotics increase immune function by preventing harmful microbes from leaving the intestinal tract and entering into the bloodstream.  They improve overall digestion, and are often used to treat digestive maladies such as diarrhea, constipation and irritable bowel syndrome.  They also manufacture some B vitamins (which help the body cope with stress), short chain fatty acids, antioxidants, amino acids, and vitamin K.  Probiotic bacteria produce enzymes that help us digest our food and better absorb its nutrients.  In fact, nutrients in foods fermented with bacterial cultures (such as yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, miso and tempeh) are more readily absorbed than the nutrients in their non-fermented counterparts: milk, cabbage and soy.

Only living bacteria can provide these proven health benefits.  However, they have a short life span, so eating fermented foods or ingesting supplemental probiotics on regular basis is necessary to maintain their existence.  Additionally, a diet high in whole grains, beans, fruits and vegetables will provide the probiotics with their favorite food: fructooligosaccharides (FOS).  Antibiotics, antacids, synthetic estrogens (in birth control pills and hormone replacement therapies), stress and disease have a negative impact on beneficial intestinal bacteria, discouraging their growth or killing them altogether.

Whether you choose to incorporate fermented foods into your diet or to use probiotic supplements, it is important to consider some factors regarding quality.  Fermented foods or supplements should state that they are live, active, unpasteurized, raw or cultured, a necessity if you want those bacteria alive and active in your intestinal tract.  Pasteurization kills beneficial bacteria, so read labels carefully and call the company directly if you are unsure if the bacteria are still active.  One must also consider bacterial species.  There are 400-500 species of bacteria in the human intestinal tract, with different species more commonly found in the small versus the large intestine.  Lactobacillus acidophilus are bacteria that live in the upper intestinal tract or small intestine.  Bifidobacteria are those in your large intestine, and Lactobacillus bulgaricus are traveling or transient bacteria.  These species, along with Streptococcus thermophilus, have been used to make yogurt for thousands of years.  The beneficial effects of these species have been well established through scientific study and longstanding traditional use.  The quality of probiotics in the supplemental form versus the whole food form is exponentially more complicated.  Each supplement company uses different bacterial species, strains and quantities and uses different delivery systems and manufacturing processes.

As our culture becomes more aware of the benefits probiotics have imparted on other cultures for thousands of years, the food industry is recognizing the potential for increased revenue with probiotic products.  Some companies have gone so far as to put a trademark on specific species.  One company is using a celebrity to market that their yogurt “can help regulate your digestive system by helping reduce long intestinal transit time”².  The bacteria in true natural yogurts, most notably L. acidophilus, have decades worth of scientific studies, not to mention thousands of years of traditional use, showing this same effect- relief from constipation and improved digestion with regular consumption.  The tricky part of the marketing of this new yogurt is that it uses research that compares their yogurt’s benefits to those of yogurt with dead or absent bacteria.  The studies do not compare the trademarked bacterial strain to consumption of “traditional” yogurt.  Unlike this new yogurt, most natural yogurt companies don’t feel the need to trademark a species and sell it as a new food.

With much of today’s society overly dependent on antibiotics and strong preservative systems in our foods, let us consider reincorporating beneficial bacteria through whole, fermented foods and probiotics.  “How ironic that the road to culture in our germophobic technological society requires, first and foremost, that we enter into an alchemical relationship with bacteria and fungi, and that we bring to our tables foods and beverages prepared by the magicians, not machines.”¹

¹ Katz, SE., Wild Fermentation. Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing Company, 2003.
² Scientific Summary for Health Care Professionals.” Activia® by Dannon™. 2008. Dannon™. 26 May 2008.
http://www.activia.us.com/pdf/Act_scientific_summary.pdf

Definitions and health implications

Organic vs conventional

The term “0rganic” describes foods and fibers that are grown without the use of toxic pesticides and fertilizers.  This is in contrast to the term “conventional”, in which farmers and growers apply synthetic herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers to their crops and soils.  There are four categories of organic.  Think of these categories as a range or a spectrum where some things are “more organic” than others.  Here’s the break down.

Certified organic

“Certified organic” is the top of the spectrum- the most organic, if you will- and is used interchangeably with the term “100% organic”.  Foods or materials categorized this way adhere to strict standards set by the US Department of Agriculture, as verified by independent state or private organizations.  Farmers of certified organic crops do not use synthetic chemicals to boost their yield or minimize pests, but instead use methods of prevention for disease, weed and insect control.  Achieving 100% organic status is fairly difficult because very few additives, no matter how “safe”, can be used in 100% organic foods.  Many foods that fall into this category are whole foods like fruits, vegetables and grains.  Foods in this category may display the USDA’s organic seal.

Organic

“Organic” is the category that a majority of organic foods fall under.  This category stipulates that the food contains 95-99% organic ingredients.  The foods classified as “organic” may not be considered “100%” or “certified” organic due to the use of processing aids, flavorings or natural preservatives.  Foods or fibers in this category may display the USDA’s organic seal.

Less than 70% organic

The final category doesn’t have a name, per se, but rather applies to a product in which some of the ingredients are listed as organic.  This category has less than 70% organic ingredients, and cannot make an organic claim on the main face of the package.  Foods or fibers in this category are not allowed to display the USDA’s organic seal.

Are organic foods better for you?

This is a highly disputed topic; but what is undoubtedly true is that organic foods are free of toxic pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers.  Many of these chemical inputs are being applied to crops with the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval, which was granted long before research linked these chemicals to diseases such as cancer.

In the last fifty years, vitamin and mineral content of American-grown fruits and vegetables has declined significantly.  Nitrogen fertilizers are often used in conventional farming, and while they increase yield, they simultaneously deplete the mineral content of the soil.  Over time, the soils become deficient in minerals and so, subsequently, are the foods grown in these soils.  Natural, organic fertilizers, on the other hand, are rich in minerals and trace minerals, and pass these nutrients onto the foods that thrive in the soils to which they are applied.  Many studies conclusively show that organic foods are up to 40% higher in cancer fighting antioxidants than their conventional counterparts.

Free-range, grass-fed, pasture-raised, cage-free

These categories are usually applied to meat, such as beef or chicken, or animal products, such as eggs or milk.  The term free-range means that the animals were allowed to roam a prairie or ample-sized pen rather than be confined in a feedlot or henhouse.  This practice is not only used to improve the happiness (and arguably health) of the animals, but to produce a more nutritious product.  Generally speaking, these terms are all used to show that the animal has been allowed to live a more traditional life and consume its natural diet- grass in the case of cattle and insects and plants for chickens.

Raising animals in highly confined spaces is a substandard arrangement and usually calls for frequent doses of antibiotics and growth hormones to help them survive into adulthood.  Feedlot cattle are raised on grains laden with pesticides or on soy feed (which is too high in protein for them and therefore toxic to their livers) and injected with steroids to make their meat more tender.  Between the hormones and the fat-inducing high-grain diets, feedlot cattle are sent to slaughter at a much younger age than their grass-fed, free-range counterparts.  These systems ultimately lower the cost to the consumer, but at what price to the animals’ and your own health?

Providing animals with a proper diet has a direct effect on the nutrient content of the meat you consume.    Grass-fed beef has higher levels of CLA, an antioxidant compound that has been shown to offer protection from cancer and reduce the deposition of body fat while increasing the ratio of lean body muscle.  Pasture-fed chicken eggs are the most complete and nutritious form of animal protein available.  Eggs from these chickens have an ideal omega-3 to omega-6 ratio of approximately 1:1, whereas those chickens fed only grains have almost 19 times more omega-6 than omega-3.  Clearly this further perpetuates the American overconsumption of omega-6 fatty acids (also found in vegetable oils).  Remember, omega-3 fatty acids help protect us against heart disease, cancer, strokes, high blood pressure, arthritis, eczema and psoriasis, asthma and autoimmune disorders.  Unfortunately, only a small percentage of hens are pasture-fed and given ample space.  The overwhelming majority of hens live their lives in tiny wire cages with their beaks trimmed to prevent them from harming themselves or others.

Wild-caught vs farm-raised

Due to being forced into confines that are inappropriate for them, farm-raised fish often receive antibiotics and inappropriate feed, like soy meal (containing toxic pesticide residue).  Due to this improper diet, the fatty acid profile, or omega-3 content, of farm-raised fish will not be as good as that of wild-caught fish.  This is physically apparent in salmon, as farm-raised salmon are pale cream in color and are therefore dyed pink, giving grocers and restaurateurs the expected appearance of salmon without the price tag.

So you want me to spend more money on food?

With organic foods, just as with conventional foods, consumers pay for the steps of growing, harvesting, transportation and storage.  Organic foods see additional costs because they must meet stricter government regulations throughout all of these steps, making the process more labor and management-intensive.  Because of this, you pay more up front for organic products.  However, there is mounting evidence that the indirect costs of conventional food production (such as cleanup of polluted water and replacement of eroded soils) actually cause organic foods to be cheaper or the same price as their conventional counterparts.  Just like any “new” technology, the prices for organic products will likely fall as more consumers demand these products and support organic farmers.

There are a several rules of thumb to make the most of the organic label while maintaining your budget.  Sign up for the Environmental Working Group’s shopper’s guide to pesticides at http://foodnews.org.  This guide will show you which types of produce are most and least exposed to pesticides and thus help you decide which you’d like to purchase as organic.  As another method to reduce your potential pesticide exposure, consider purchasing the organic versions of the items that you consume most often.  Purchase organic meats and dairy products whenever possible, because any chemicals that an animal has been exposed to will be concentrated in the animals’ fat.  Purchasing organic dairy and meat products is more expensive, but those are the real and fair prices for an animal to be properly raised and cared for.  These practices produce a nutrient profile that properly cares for your body as well.

Considering the environment

You don’t have to fancy yourself an environmentalist nor consider yourself part of the green movement to recognize the differences in the effects of conventional versus organic farming.  Conventional agriculture pollutes our air, water and soil and harms our wildlife.  This topic is another article in itself, so let’s just focus on how soil health eventually impacts our drinking water.  Organic farming maintains and replenishes soil fertility without using toxic and long-lasting pesticides and fertilizers.  Conventional agricultural methods, on the other hand, deplete and contaminate the soils, eventually leaching their chemicals into the water supply.  Tap water testing across the Corn Belt and in parts of the Pacific Northwest revealed widespread contamination via pesticides from farming, at levels high enough to present serious health risks.  In some cities, herbicides in tap water exceed federal lifetime health standards for weeks or months at a time.  The organic farmer eliminates these polluting chemicals while rebuilding healthy soils.  These healthy soils help grow healthy foods which in turn nourish healthy bodies.

Quality counts

It’s been said that you vote with your dollar.  We can choose to spend our dollars on quality food that nourishes us, voting for healthier selves now and in the future.  These choices also suggest improved health for animals and the environment, but that’s not necessarily why we make them.  We make them for ourselves and our loved ones.  We may pay more for these choices now, but we will be supporting practices that produce food the way it was meant to be: rich in nutrients, free of damaging chemicals and from a place where the land and animals were treated with respect.