Causes of Acid Reflux: DISCOVER what Really Causes Acid Reflux
Jeff Martin
Acid reflux causes are complicated and multiple. The disease of acid reflux, known also as GERD - gastro-esophageal reflux disease, comes about because of the coincidence of several medical and lifestyle factors. Physiological conditions that provoke reflux include LES (lower esophageal sphincter) hypotonia (the progressive weakening of the LES), together with the backwards flow of the contents of the stomach into the esophagus and the sensitivity to the reflux content of the mucus of the esophagus.
A mechanism exists at the junction of the esophagus and the stomach that acts like a valve. This is the LES (lower esophageal sphincter). When you swallow food it travels down your throat where movements of the esophagus muscles then move it towards the stomach. Closing the LES stops stomach acid from returning or refluxing into the esophagus.
The problem with the LES is the first causal step to the disease of acid reflux. In a healthy person, the LES is only relaxed upon food moving from the esophagus into the stomach. When the food is inside the stomach, the valve shuts again to maintain stomach acid and content inside. When the LES is weakened however and fails to shut correctly, acid can be pushed back up your throat causing a painful burning feeling which is heartburn.
There are several conditions or factors preventing the LES from properly shutting. They include genetic weakness, being overweight and eating too much fatty foods. As well as those factors, the aging process undergone by humans tends to make all muscles sag, not just the LES.
As already stated, an LES that is already weakened has a direct physiological contribution to acid reflux disease. The next factor or group of factors causing acid reflux disease come from behavior and lifestyle. Different foods, drugs and processes of the nervous system can cause this muscle to lose its strength and provoke acid reflux. Orange juice, lemons and lemonade, grapefruit juice, tomatoes and their juice, fried potatoes, sour cream, tea and coffee are foods that may increase the likelihood of acid reflux.
Several options exist for dealing with symptomatic acid reflux. However the esophagus is not properly protected or treated by the classic approaches and the use of these over the counter and prescription drugs, including antacid, over a long period of time can cause multiple side effects with varying degrees of risk. In other words, the conventional frequently used approaches, based on prescription and over the counter medication, only handle the symptoms of chronic heartburn. They may not be good enough to stop heartburn other than in the short term.
Other than prescription medication, there is a large choice of alternative treatments including homeopathy, herbal remedies and all encompassing all natural holistic therapies that address your acid reflux problem while also resolving the internal causes of acid reflux and healing them rather than targeting only related symptoms that are external.
Jeff Martin is a medical researcher, certified nutritionist, health consultant and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, "Heartburn No More- Open The Door To an Acid Reflux Free Life". To Learn More About Jeff Martins Unique 5-Step Holistic Acid Reflux Cure System Visit: http://www.heartburnnomore.com/index5.html Heartburn No More, for further information visit: ( http://www.acidrefluxatoz.com/acid-reflux-causes.html Acid Reflux Causes.
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