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Great tip here:  hold the fat!

It pays to be consistent in the reflux game.  You mess up for just a few days and you can be suffering for the rest of the week.  Fat can be elusive, there are a lot of things out there that you don’t think are very fatty that actually are in the grand scheme of things.  Pay attention to what you’re eating like a hawk and try to cut down on your fat intake.  Increase your proteins instead, as they tend to digest a little faster than fats and high carb foods.

Does H. Pylori cause reflux?

Anyone who’s had an ulcer before is probably familiar with the ulcer causing bacteria, H Pylori (helio pylori).  H. Pylori is a bacteria that thrives in our stomach’s conditions. Commonly thought to come from foods that aren’t cooked well enough, if conditions are just right the bacteria can multiply and cause the initial formation of an ulcer on your stomach wall.

Not much research has been done into h. pylori’s effects on acid reflux.  Some reports say that it may contribute to acid reflux by means of reducing the acid in the stomach — thus coaxing your LES valve into believing that conditions are safe enough for it to relax; and once this happens, the classic symptoms of reflux may manifest (bloating, nasty burps, acidic taste).

How is this possible you ask?  Low acid means more reflux?  The valve on top of our tummies decides whether or not it should open based on a number of factors:  one of those factors being, the acidity level in the stomach.  If the acidity level is below normal, the valve may release it’s hold and allow some of the gastric juices to flow back into the esophagus.  If you have high acidic conditions in your stomach, the valve is going to do a better job to keep shut and protect the esophagus from damage.

And this is why I believe the medical community is approaching the GERD and acid reflux problem from the WRONG angle.  Instead of focusing on reducing acid to the stomach, we need to focus more on what we can do to assist the LES valve in closing efficiently.

Want more info?  The article here talks about how to use home remedies to cure your reflux by working with your LES valve.

High carb diet bad for reflux?

I’ve noticed with my own diet that if I’m eating high carbs, I tend to feel much more full at a much faster pace.  I have to wonder if it could be causing some undesired reflux.  After focusing on a much more protein rich diet (while cutting the carbs a bit) I’ve noticed that I have been refluxing less and having less issues overall.  Might be something to consider.

Here’s a post from an atkins forum on the topic:  http://tinyurl.com/3f4sumb

Silent Reflux

I’ve recently found that I have what you call “Silent Acid Reflux” or it’s medical dubbed name:  layngopharyngeal reflux (say that 3 times very fast!).  A condition where you don’t necessarily feel all of the normal symptoms associated with heartburn, instead you get very annoying secondary symptoms which actually seem a bit worse.  Right now I’m writing this with a bit of a sore throat and one of my ears feeling a bit plugged up.

Why you ask?  Because I didn’t follow my reflux diet well last night!  Splurged a bit, had to use that garlic seasoning (ohhhh so tasty) on that delicious piece of chicken.  Not to mention the really fatty sauce that the whole mess was serenaded in.  Oh well, fair enough.  Guess I’ll have to pay extra attention to my meals for the rest of this week.

More detailed article on silent acid reflux here, check it out.

Vitamin D3 = less reflux?

Something I’ve found out recently — and I don’t know if it’s just pure coincidence, placebo, whatever:  but my reflux does not seem to be as bad after taking a vitamin D3 supplement.  Vitamin D3 is an essential vitamin that we tend to get from the sun when we’re out and about in our busy lives.  If you don’t get enough sun then it’s possible that you aren’t getting adequate vitamin D3.  Why does it seem to work?  Well here’s my logic: It’s been said that D3 may affect calcium absorption in your stomach.. so higher levels of D3 will equate to higher levels of calcium absorption, and calcium also tends to help our LES (lower esophageal sphincter) valves close easier.

Now I’m no doctor so I wouldn’t take my word for this.  But hey, it works for me!