Hello, it's a pleasure to greet you, today we are going to talk about a very important topic, acidity and reflux, did you know that anti-acids are one of the most consumed medications worldwide? but here is a truth:
Anti-acids are for acute episodes
It must be taken into account that omeprazole, ranitidine and other antacids have been developed exclusively for acute episodes of gastritis and heartburn, since their frequent consumption can end up modifying the stomach PH, losing its acidity, which is a big problem that affects its function, without acid there is no correct breakdown of nutrients, nor optimal assimilation of iron or B12 and to make matters worse, harmful bacteria are not killed and pass to the intestine. Without acid the stomach cannot fulfill its functions.
Just because it covers up symptoms does not mean that it solves the underlying problem, making you dependent on medication for years
Gastric Physiology
The PH of the stomach is acidic in order to fulfill its functions. When we eat it becomes less acidic and after digestion it returns to its acidic state. The stomach needs acid to digest
Structure of the stomach
Mainly we should highlight the following 3 “layers”:
ACID - MUCOSA - GASTRIC TISSUE
When the acidity of the stomach is lost, the mucosa that is really there to protect the layer of gastric tissue is also lost since it depends on the acid, that is, if the mucosa itself is there so that the acid does not affect us, when I do not have enough acid, it disappears, because I do not need it. Therefore, when food is consumed and acid is needed to digest the food, the acid arrives and collides with the gastric tissue (there is no mucosa to protect) and generates pain, burning, heartburn…
Therefore, what was the origin? Low acid production. And what is this due to?
-Poor diet
-Little consumption of animal protein
-Omeprazole
-Excess drugs
What do we really achieve with chronic consumption of Omeprazole?
Being an inhibitor of the proton pump and avoiding acidity, the PH approaches alkaline, the stomach loses its function, there is NOT enough production of enzymes and therefore poor assimilation of nutrients.
But what happens? That there is no burning or pain, since there is no acid that collides with the stomach layer and thus the symptoms are blocked in a way that ends up being harmful.
Problems associated with a poor functioning of the stomach
1.- Poor ASSIMILATION OF NUTRIENTS such as CALCIUM, IRON and VITAMIN B. 2. Poor DIGESTION OF PROTEINS.
2.- Poor THYROID FUNCTIONALITY.
3.- Greater PREDISPOSITION TO INFECTIONS such as HELICOBACTER.
4.- CONSTANT INDIGESTIONS.
5.- BACTERIAL OVERGROWTH.
6.- Risk of INTESTINAL PERMEABILITY. WE NEED ACID TO DIGEST
Recovering the function of the stomach
What do some functional doctors recommend? Try to recover stomach acidity with the following strategies and action plan:
1.- Water with lemon or apple cider vinegar to recover and maintain stomach acidity during the day. Half a glass of water with 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a few drops of lemon, take 1 before large meals of the day.
2.- Aloe Vera and Glutamine for the mucosa and protect the tissue. 10 g of glutamine on an empty stomach and another 10 before bed. 1 tablespoon of aloe vera or aloe vera along with glutamine in the morning.
And if you are taking omeprazole, leave it exclusively for very uncomfortable moments, thus little by little it acidifies with lemon and vinegar, and protects the mucosa with aloe and glutamine.
Do you want to learn more strategies? Schedule your nutrition consultation here: https://perfitness.as.me/NutritionBook
Thank you for reading