What is Heartburn or GERD?

What are the Symptoms of Heartburn or GERD?

Heartburn or Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) is not a disease but a symptom of burning discomfort in your chest, usually associated with an acid taste in the mouth. It is also referred to as indigestion or dyspepsia and is associated with drinking and eating.

What causes heartburn?

It is caused by the reflux of the acid contents of the stomach back up the oesophagus (gullet) and sometimes into the throat. It may be caused by a ring of muscle at the junction of the oesophagus and stomach does not close fully, and may be associated with a hiatus hernia.

Factors that bring it on are:

·       Particular foods (e.g. cabbage, onions, cucumber, curries, pastries – especially pies and pasties, fruit cake)

·       Certain drinks (e.g. wine- especially red wine, beer carbonated drinks, coffee)

·       Eating too fast

·       Rich or big meals

·       Chewing gum long and hard

·       Stress and anxiety

·       Pregnancy

·       Old age

·       Certain drugs (e.g. antirheumatism drugs, aspirin)

·       Obesity (a common factor)

 

What tests are done?

Tests may not be necessary, but if it persists or your doctor is concerned about an ulcer, X-rays may be taken or a tube called a gastroscope may be passed down into the stomach to inspect it.

 

How can it be prevented?

Don’ts

·       Bolt your food down

·       Eat standing up

·       Smoke

·       Eat fatty foods (e.g. pastries)

·       Eat spicy foods

·       Eat large or rich meals

·       Bend over for work

·       Strain at toilet

·       Drink wine with meals

·       Eat foods that ‘ burn’

·       Drink coffee or alcohol late at night

 

Dos - Heartburn Remedies (The GERD Diet)

·       Eat in a slow and relaxed manner

·       Eat sitting down

·       Avoid foods that ‘burn’

·       Eat small or moderate meals

·       Squat rather than bend

·       Keep your bowels regular

·       Avoid stress : relax!

·       Reduce your alcohol intake

 

What is the Treatment for GERD?

·       Attending to the above preventive advice can bring heartburn relief

·       Learn what brings on your heartburn and deal with it

·       Take antacids when you feel your heartburn coming on and before bed at night.

·       Make sure that you get to your ideal weight, should you be overweight

·       Your doctor may prescribe other medicine to help

These other webpages below may also interest you, click to learn more about your health condition.

Diarrhea Treatment, Learn what is Gastroenteritis, Management of Irritable Bowel Syndrome & Heartburn or GERD

Healthy Diets for Optimal Health

How your Diet can Help you Achieve Optimal Health

Can a Wheat-free Diet help you to lose weight and reduce Obesity, Heart disease, Auto-immune diseases & Cancer, even Alzheimer's disease & Schizophrenia or reverse Diabetes & pre-Diabetes? Recent research has also shown promising results that a Gluten-free diet showed a reduction in the symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Heartburn/GERD, ADHD, Asthma & allergies, even acne.

Watch the following videos by several doctors (Dr William Davies, Dr Sarah Hallberg, Dr Alessio Fasano, Dr David Perlmutter & Dr Rodney Ford) and decide for yourself whether you should adopt a Gluten-free diet if you are suffering from the above-listed medical conditions. Even unexplained diarrhea, headaches/migraines or chronic fatigue has been alleviated by going Gluten-free.

The case these doctors put forward based on research and empirical evidence from thousands of patients is that Wheat and Gluten contributes to this shocking host of diseases and chronic medical problems, and increasing the incidence of celiac disease and Autism.

What does Wheat & Gluten do to your body?

Foods containing wheat have an extremely high glycemic index (70+ out of a possible 100), that is the body suffers a sudden spike in blood glucose after a meal of food containing wheat. Add to that the fact that the wheat we are eating is completely dissimilar genetically to the wheat of the 1950's, after all the genetic modifications and mutations the plant has undergone.

The doctors also point out that Gluten causes prolonged periods of inflammation in the body, leading to many of the diseases most prevalent today. Ironically, foods containing wheat are actually appetite-enhancing and can cause sugar cravings.

William Davis MD - Wheat: The UNhealthy Whole Grain

The wheat of today is not the wheat of our mothers or grandmothers. Modern wheat is the product of genetic manipulations that have transformed its properties. Modern wheat is now a 2-foot tall, high-yield semi-dwarf strain, different in both appearance and multiple biochemical features from traditional wheat. Introduction of this new strain of wheat was associated with the appearance of a long list of health problems, along with weight gain and diabetes.

According to Dr. Davis, saying goodbye to all things wheat provides outsized and unexpected health benefits, from weight loss, to relief from acid reflux and bowel urgency, to reversal of diabetes, migraine headaches, and learning disabilities in children.

Dr. William Davis is author of the #1 New York Times bestselling book, Wheat Belly: Lose the wheat, lose the weight and find your path back to health (Rodale, 2011), now debuting internationally in over ten foreign languages. Wheat belly has helped spark a nationwide reconsideration of the conventional advice to "eat more healthy whole grains."

Formerly an interventional cardiologist, he now confines his practice to prevention and reversal of coronary disease in his practice in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Dr. Davis is a graduate of the St. Louis University School of Medicine, followed by training in internal medicine and cardiology at the Ohio State University Hospitals, and training in interventional cardiology at the Case--Western Reserve Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio. He is also founder of the online heart disease prevention educational program, Track your Plaque.

Reversing Type 2 diabetes starts with ignoring the guidelines - Dr Sarah Hallberg | TEDxPurdueU

Can a person be "cured" of Type 2 Diabetes? Dr. Sarah Hallberg provides compelling evidence that it can, and the solution is simpler than you might think.

Dr. Sarah Hallberg is the Medical Director of the Medically Supervised Weight Loss Program at IU Health Arnett, a program she created. She is board certified in both obesity medicine and internal medicine and has a Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology. She has recently created what is only the second non-surgical weight loss rotation in the country for medical students. Her program has consistently exceeded national benchmarks for weight loss, and has been highly successful in reversing diabetes and other metabolic diseases. Dr. Hallberg is also the co-author of www.fitteru.us, a blog about health and wellness.

Alessio Fasano MD - Spectrum of Gluten-Related Disorders: People Shall Not Live by Bread Alone

The cultivation of gluten-containing grains that were the backbone of the agricultural revolution have also brought with them the manifestation of conditions related to negative reactions to gluten. These include celiac disease, wheat allergy and the "new kid on the block" of the spectrum of gluten-related disorders—gluten sensitivity. The autoimmune disorder of celiac disease is the most widely studied condition on the spectrum. It affects approximately 1 in 133 people, a rate that has doubled in the U.S. every 15 years over the past 35 years. An estimate from the Center for Celiac Research puts gluten sensitivity at 6% of the U.S. population. With current interest in the human genome and microbiome, research is leading scientists to examine the relationship between the intestinal microbiome and gluten-related disorders. Currently the gluten-free diet is the only available treatment for gluten-related disorders.

World-renowned pediatric gastroenterologist, research scientist, and entreprenuer Alessio Fasano, M.D., founded the Center for Celiac Research in 1996. The Center offers state-of-the art research, clinical expertise and teaching for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of gluten-related disorders, including celiac disease, wheat allergy, and gluten sensitivity. Trained in Naples, Italy, as a pediatric gastroenterologist, Dr. Fasano was recruited to the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1993 and founded its Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition. Puzzled by the absence of children exhibiting symptoms of celiac disease in the clinic, he resolved to uncover the mystery of missing American "celiacs." His perseverance in the face of skepticism about celiac disease in the U.S. eventually led to his publication of the groundbreaking study in 2003 that established the rate of the autoimmune disorder at one in 133 Americans.

In early 2013, Dr. Fasano was appointed Division Chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition at MassGeneral Hospital for Children. He brought the Center for Celiac Research to Boston, where he heads the Mucosal Immunology and Biology Research Center, based in Charlestown, and is Associate Chief for Basic, Clinical and Translational Research for the Department of Pediatrics at MassGeneral Hospital for Children. He is a Visiting Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Mercola Interviews Dr. David Perlmutter, Author of Grain Brain

Natural health expert and Mercola.com founder Dr. Joseph Mercola interviews Dr. David Perlmutter about the implications of diet to Alzheimer's risk.

Here is a list of the Best Antioxidants and Free Radical Scavengers that you should be taking as dietary supplements daily as recommended by Dr David Perlmutter, author of 'Grain Brain':

  • Tumeric
  • DHA Omega 3
  • B complex vitamins (including Vitamin B12)
  • Vitamin C & D
  • Bacopa
  • Brocolli
  • Alpha-Lipoic acid 300 (ALA)
  • Ashwagandha
  • Resveratrol
  • Milk Thistle
  • Green Tea
  • Probiotics
  • Coenzyme Q10 (coq10)

These nutritional supplements reduce oxidative stress on your brain and body, thus protecting your health.

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Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It - Gary Taubes | Talks at Google

An eye-opening, myth-shattering examination of what makes us fat, from acclaimed science writer Gary Taubes.

Building upon this critical work in Good Calories, Bad Calories, Taubes revisits the urgent question of what's making us fat and how we can change in this exciting new book. Persuasive, straightforward, and practical, Why We Get Fat makes Taubess crucial argument newly accessible to a wider audience.

Taubes reveals the bad nutritional science of the last century, none more damaging or misguided than the calories-in, calories-out model of why we get fat, and the good science that has been ignored, especially regarding insulins regulation of our fat tissue. He also answers the most persistent questions: Why are some people thin and others fat? What roles do exercise and genetics play in our weight? What foods should we eat, and what foods should we avoid?

Packed with essential information and concluding with an easy-to-follow diet, Why We Get Fat is an invaluable key in our understanding of an international epidemic and a guide to what each of us can do about it.

About the Author:

Gary Taubes is a contributing correspondent for Science magazine, and his writing has also appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times Magazine, and Esquire. His work has been included in The Best of the Best American Science Writing (2010), and has received three Science in Society Journalism Awards from the National Association of Science Writers, the only print journalist so recognized. He is currently a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Investigator in Health Policy Research at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health.

The information provided in this website is for knowledge purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice.

Should you encounter any medical problem that you are unsure of, always consult your doctor or health care provider for assistance and medical advice.

Dr Don V H LAU   Chairperson of AMDA Singapore

MBBS (Monash), B.Med.Sc.(Hons) (Monash), Grad.Dip.Derm.(Wales,UK)

AMDA International Peace Clinic is a part of AMDA (Association of Medical Doctors of Asia). We are part of the network of AMDA Peace Clinics & Friendship Hospitals around the world. We dedicate part of our profits to AMDA's worldwide Emergency Disaster Aid Relief missions, Social Development projects and Vaccination programmes.

AMDA, founded in 1984 has carried out more than 160 missions in 65 countries over the last 32 years. It has contributed medical expertise and supplies to every major natural disaster since 1984. AMDA holds General Consultative Status with the United Nations ECOSOC since 1995.

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Chairperson of AMDA Singapore

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